The following article is just a series of 'random thoughts' on an early beta version of Spec Ops 2: US Army Green Berets, and should not be considered a review. All items mentioned here are subject to change at a later date.
Zombie's upcoming game, Spec Ops 2: US Army Green Berets
is looking very promising. This new game incorporates many new features and overall
improvements over the previous Spec Ops titles. Zombie really listened to user feedback
and added many of the features we requested.
Menus
After booting the program, you are presented with the main menu. The AVI intros were
included on the CD I received, but weren't 'hooked in' yet I presume. I have purposely not
watched them as I want to be surprised when the retail version is released.
The main menu, sporting new background graphics and mouse interface, has options for new game, training, options and to quit.
| The new game screen lets you choose your difficulty level (private, corporal, sergeant.) After picking your difficulty level, you get the mission choice screen, with missions taking place in Germany, Antarctica, Korea (no snow this time), Pakistan and Thailand. After picking your campaign, you then pick your sub-mission, and finally your loadout. There is an abundance of equipment and weapons to choose from. For equipment, you can pick medkits, claymores, satchels, frag grenades, smoke grenades, HE & WP grenades, extra clips, flak vest, flashlight, and a radio. As for weapons, there is even more choice: AK47, AT4, ChiCom, grenade launcher, M203, M249, M270, M82, M4, MP5 (plus silenced), M4, the 'supergun', SAS, sniper rifle, Steyer, USP (plus silenced), and the UZI! I think that's plenty of choices for you weapons freaks out there! :) My weap of choice these days is the UZI due to its high rate of fire. It really turns the enemy into Swiss cheese. :) |  Taking on the enemy camp |
If you instead opt for training, you have a choice of obstacle course, target range, shoot house or tire house, all there to help you hone your military skills.
The game options screen will once again allow audio and video setup, control setup, and gameplay toggles.
The quit option is a revolutionary feature created by the wizards at Zombie that lets you exit the program and return to your Windows desktop if you decide you can't hack being a U.S. Army Green Beret anymore. :)
Its ALIVE!!!
The first thing you may notice once you start a mission is your weapon now has a laser
sight mounted to it. The second thing you'll probably notice is that you now see your
shells eject from your weapon when you fire (in 3rd person mode.) Looking down at the
ground, you can see the spent casings. And while you're looking down, you will also see
footprints which is another nice touch. Shot objects will display bullet holes now, which
was another requested feature (mine in fact. :) Spray your M4 at a wall or truck, and be
treated to an array of visible bullet holes in the surface. The bullet holes,
casings and footprints do disappear after some time, presumably to keep the framerates as
high as they can be, and I see no problem with that. And also, the terrain would look
pretty messy after awhile if that wasn't done. :) (And even Quake3 removes surface
damage.)
 Checking out the enemy installation |
Zombie has really taken major steps to make the game environment much more 'live' this time out. Besides all the effects mentioned above, some windows in buildings can now be shot out, with perfect sound effects to match. Most lights can be shot out now as well, which will give you greater stealth capability. At the present time, you can't shoot out vehicle windows or tires (and in fact, they also display bullet holes on the surface.) While shooting out vehicle windows or tires would be very cool, it wouldn't really add much to gameplay (heightened realism factor notwithstanding), unless there was a mission to stop a moving vehicle, such as there was in Spec Ops 1. Note that I have not played all of the missions yet, so perhaps there is a mission like that. In that case, 'conventional' methods (i.e. mines, grenades) can once again be used to stop the vehicle, I'm sure. |
Interface
The game can be played in 3rd-person view as before, but there is now a real 1st-person
view. Auto-aiming is gone in 3rd-person mode as well, so its up to you to aim your Ranger,
but you know exactly where you're aiming with the use of the laser sight. You can
also manually set the camera view to where you want it during gameplay, so there should be
more than enough camera flexibility to play the game in any view that you're used to.
The use of scopes, binocs and night vision goggles have been redesigned for SO2. No longer will the entire screen 'zoom' in scope or binocs mode or highlight in green for the NVGs; you will now get a 'tube' effect while using them, and it looks a lot better. Using binocs gives you the 'double tube', and the scope and NVGs use a single tube effect, just as you'd expect.
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| new NVG mode (Korean mission) |
new binocular mode (target range, ranger 2 looks on) |
new sniper mode (Pakistan mission) |
 Oh is this sweet or what?! Look at that dynamic lighting! |
Features One feature that I'm really impressed with is Zombie's dynamic lighting system. Mounted to your weapon is a very powerful light which will illuminate the area you point your gun at. Muzzle flash will convincingly light up the surrounding area, as well as cast real-time shadows appropriately. Walk under a streetlamp, and watch your shadow move accordingly. Even better is to walk between 2 light sources, and watch as four shadows are cast in real-time! The combination of muzzle flash, with shells ejecting, and the real-time shadows really ups the realism factor! This is definitely a feature that will make you say wow when you see it. |
Another nod to realism is in the reaction animations programmed into the game. Jump/fall off a ledge, and your ranger will fall forward slightly and crouch, and take a few seconds to steady himself and stand back up. Very nice touch. There is a nice "oof" sound effect to go with it as well. This is much more realistic than the "Quake-style" of running off a 10 foot ledge, and hitting the ground at a full run. Jump off that ledge and you're a sitting duck for a good 2 seconds.
Take a bullet hit, and your body will recoil from the impact. If the hit wasn't fatal, you'll see a red splotch of blood on your uniform, and you'll begin to drip blood from where you were hit. If you then run around, you will leave a trail of blood behind you. The drops of blood also disappear after a time, again, we presume to keep the framerate high. Think of it as the blood drying. :)
Explosions from grenades now feature particle effects, instead of the 2D sprite animations of before. I honestly can't decide which I like better. :) Realistically, the isn't much of a 'fireball' from a grenade as was shown in SO1 & RTB, so the particle effects explosion in SO2 is a bit more realistic. We still don't have ground deformations yet though.
Some missions now feature changing time of day. You may start the mission at dusk, but as you progress, the world will turn to night. Another nice touch.
Another cool thing is the new ability of your rangers to climb both ladders and fences. The first time I saw Ranger 2 climb a fence on his own totally blew me away! :) But being able to grab the high ground in a tower will really come in handy during gameplay, and certainly in multiplayer! Another great addition to an already great game.
| And I must make mention of the interior areas found in the game. Not only does Spec Ops have great outdoor areas, but also indoor areas both above and below ground. Wait till ya see the Thailand levels -- they're huge! I was quite impressed with the level design. You'll like it too! |  Is this Spec Ops or Tomb Raider? :) |
Conclusion
Zombie has a great many new & improved features, plus many new missions
and locales in store for us when they release Spec Ops 2: U.S. Army Green Berets this
fall. Look for it!
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