Shadow Ops: Red Mercury

Shadow Ops: Red Mercury Description

The latest video game to raise an arm and say "aye" in favour of the 'games are becoming like movies' debate is Shadow Ops: Red Mercury. A gritty and realistic first-person shooter in which you step into the combat boots of an elite Delta Force operative, the game draws its inspiration from the typical Hollywood action flick and, as a result, benefits from some pretty high production values, which reflect strongly in elements such as visuals, physics, AI and motion-capture. The game's story subsequently follows suit, offering a very Hollywood-esque yarn about terrorists, an extremely dangerous substance that most certainly shouldn't fall into the wrong hands, and the fact that, oops, actually it has fallen into the wrong hands. You take on the role of the aforementioned operative and are duly charged with the task of joining an elite team of Special Forces and travelling the globe in the quest to save the world from annihilation. There are four main single-player campaigns on offer that have you sampling the delights of places such as Syria, the African Congo, Kazakhstan and Chechnya. These are made up of over 20 individual levels, set in a variety of detailed environments including lush tropical jungles, war-torn cities, and alpine fortresses, which offer such challenges as rescuing hostages, demolishing buildings and acting as bodyguard. As for the multiplayer side of things, nothing seems to have been left out, with the inclusion of both local and network play across a wide variety of game modes. Xbox Live subscribers can hook up and take on up to 15 other players (and those not online can enjoy four-way split screen play) in games such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Plant the Bomb, Capture the Flag, and Escort. As mentioned before, there's some impressive technology on display throughout Shadow Ops, courtesy of some high quality - and obviously quite costly - production. In-game characters have been created by advanced 'cyber scanning' at a Hollywood studio, motion-capture comes courtesy of real US Special Forces and Army Rangers, and the game's environmental textures are the result of a rather intensive globe-trotting photo source shoot on location in Morocco, Russia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hawaii. This all results in a very authentic feel to the proceedings and, ultimately, in an intense and involving FPS experience.

Industry-leading sound quality includes full Dolby 5.1 effects; groundbreaking sound effects created by renowned Hollywood sound studio, Soundelux, best known for their work on the films Black Hawk Down and Kill Bill; cinematic score recorded by The Northwest Sinfonia orchestra reacts to the action onscreen

Four worldwide single player campaigns from Syria to the African Congo to Kazakhstan to Chechnya

More than 20 single player levels in a variety of highly detailed, photorealistic environments, including lush tropical jungles, war-torn cities, alpine fortresses and more; levels are packed with animated props, including wind-blown curtains, falling dust and leaves and over-flying planes to create ultimate immersion

Superior multiplayer capabilities, including splitscreen co-op mode on more than 10 cooperative maps, four-player splitscreen, system link and Xbox Live! competitive multiplayer modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Protect the V.I.P.

An arsenal of the latest high-impact special forces weaponry, including more than 20 rifles, pistols, shotguns, grenades, rocket launchers, sub-machine guns and more

The latest Unreal^? technology from Epic Games, optimized for performance on the Xbox, using the engine's advanced particle system to bring the battle-ravaged environments to stunning life-like reality

Ultra-realistic in-game characters created by advanced cyber-scanning at a Hollywood studio; detailed facial animation includes mouth, jaw and lip movement as well as eyebrow raises and eye blinking

Motion capture for all in-game characters acted by real United States Special Forces and Army Rangers

A.I. animation blending modifies the way an enemy moves when hit - characters will limp to the correct side if shot in the right or left leg

Hyper-realistic textures created by a globe-trotting photo source shoot on location in Morocco, Russia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hawaii

The Karma physics engine provides realistic physics effects, including "rag doll" death animations and explosions that blow enemies and objects through the air in a terrifying ballet of military power

Sophisticated enemy artificial intelligence (A.I.) enables adversaries to see and hear the player and react accordingly - they can find and use cover quickly, call out to their brothers-in-arms with commands based on each situation and kick or throw grenades tossed at them

Complex hit detection on enemies causes foes to react accordingly to being shot in the head, arm, torso or legs - each area inflicts differing damage levels