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Quite a fantastic title if you ask me. And very fitting as Guerilla Games’ ShellShock: Nam '67 has far lived up to its lofty claim of being the most shocking Vietnam-based game. And while the fundamental gameplay isn’t quite as shocking (in neither a positive or negative way), it isn’t exactly abysmal either.
In ShellShock: Nam '67, you’ll usually lead a squad group as you attempt to get rid of the mean-spirited Vietcong forces. The game doesn’t stray too far from the typical shooter formula of well, shooting whatever possible. The vast majority of the missions involve you killing as many people as possible, and continually advance. There are a few missions with actual objectives; some even try to employ stealth. For the most part however, you’ll be killing endless waves of enemies or perhaps a particular item or guarding a specific place. Sometimes, you’ll need to run around and find a corpse to steal their ammo as you can only carry a primary weapon (an assault rifle for the most part), as well as the trusty pistol and grenades.
The game is made quite a bit easier thanks to the aid of your squad. These guys are vicious and more than able to cover for you when you get hit. In Nam ’67, your health slowly regenerates… something about being realistic or what not. While annoying if you were looking for an all out sim, the rather easy difficulty, coupled with the regenerating health make the game an ideal, almost brainless shooting spree.
When you aren’t in the battlefield taking lives from poor Vietcong forces, you’ll be spending your time back at the camp. Here you can explore the camp and just take a break from all the carnage. The game also allows you to exchange items for some pleasant times with prostitutes, although nothing is shown.
If there is one time that Guerilla Games got absolutely right is the game’s shock value. In a few years, politicians will be talking about this game. The stuff you see in the game is quite disturbing, at least compared to other war-oriented shooters, and there is a magnitude of blood, violence and otherwise just messed-up things. Oh and be warned, ShellShock Nam ’67 has a mouth like a sailor.
ShellShock: Nam '67’s length is quite disappointing. The game has thirteen missions but these can easily be completed in a half hour or less if you’re a skillful player. So let’s say you take your time, explore, spend time at the camp, you’re looking at about eight hours with no multiplayer which isn’t that great of a value considering just how many online-friendly shooters there are on the Xbox. The game does let you replay missions for better standing, and if you’re inclined will likely double the gameplay time.
The game’s visuals do a respectable job of portraying the hectic action of Vietnam, with large environments, populated with many enemy forces. The game attention was not given to the game’s interior-based missions as these are very simple in scope and feature bland, lifeless textures. As mentioned, you’ll encounter many characters on screen and they all animate rather well, if not a bit strange when a limb is forcibly removed. The game’s particle effects (i.e. explosions and the like) are decent, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The game’s background music is compromised of licensed music from the old days, which is fitting and leads to the game’s authenticity. Sound effects in the game are a mixed bag. The weapon effects are rather atrocious as they simply don’t sound convincing which is unfortunate as the rest of the game really tries to bring the war to life. Ambient effects like raindrops and thunder fare much better and do add to the game’s immersion. There’s a good bit of voice acting in the game, most of which is pretty good although the Vietcong’s lines are awfully repetitive.
The PlayStation 2 version of the game is very similar to the Xbox version in both visuals and sound.
ShellShock: Nam '67 isn’t a bad game by any means. The actual gameplay is quite solid, if a bit easy. Nonetheless, it’s hard to recommend the game for a $49.99 purchase when there is so little replay value. Fans of the genre should at least rent it to give it whirl and experience the most genuinely shocking war game that has been released.
-- Edited By: Jose Liz -- Jake Wilson, PGNx Media
---- Oct 8, 2004
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