Conflict: Denied Ops Demo Proves It's an Above-Average Game

The Conflict franchise has consistently delivered above-average, team-based tactical shooting games. After playing through the Xbox 360 version of the demo, I can say that this fact remains true with the latest incarnation of the franchise. With this installment of the Conflict series, the leap to first-person shooting is made, and I personally think it is a welcome change.

Story:
The story is nothing new to the FPS genre. You are dropped into a war torn country that needs your help. It looks like a middle eastern country at that. In the game, you take control of a pair of soldiers. Nothing new or exciting here.

Gameplay:
True to the conflict series, switching from one character to the next on the fly is necessary to complete your missions, and you are given objectives to complete. Character switching is smooth and fast. Teamwork makes the difference between success and failure in this game- your teammates can heal you, and you can tell them where to go or what to do. For example, they can provide covering fire. Sometimes it may be necessary to take control of a teammate to complete a task.

The game 'feels' alright, though the guns lack kick. They feel unresponsive to say the least. When shooting a light machine gun, there is no recoil whatsoever. The game features the typical red barrels (and other red objects) that explode when shot. You'll need to restock your ammo supply throughout the game, and objectives are clearly marked. Switching to night vision will be necessary, and it is a bit slow for my liking. Toggling between views when you need to use your scope or ironsights is tedious and feels like a dated feature. Teammate AI seems to be good, though sometimes they 'steal' your kills. Maybe the friendly AI is too good. Enemy AI doesn't seem to be that great, but the baddies are disposed of so quickly that it's hard to make much of a judgment. Enemies do hide behind cover, and they will melee you if you get too close.

The control scheme in this game takes a minute to get used to, but once you become accustomed it, it becomes intuitive. Ordering your teammate is easily accomplished and is not confusing at all. One thing that is really irritating about this game is the inability to jump or run. When you come to an obstacle, you must press a button to climb over it. Overall, I'd say that the gameplay is just above average- the game engine does feel pretty solid.

Graphics and Environment:
The graphics in Conflict: Denied Ops are acceptable for this generation. In places, there is plenty of detail, and other places seem to be lacking a bit. Characters and weapons look a bit flat. Objects in the environment are very destructible, but the walls themselves are not. Shooting a television results in new bullet holes with every shot, and the object will eventually go flying when shot enough. Considering that the weapons have no recoil, maybe their bullets shouldn't be able to launch heavy objects. Overall, this is about average for this generation.

Sound:
Voice acting is good enough. Sound effects are alright, though weapon sounds seem a bit weak. I'd say that the sound is average.

Summary:
While this demo is short, it does give you ample opportunity to get a feel for the game engine, and it gives you a small taste of what the rest of the game has to offer. To be honest, I found it to be a bit bland, but I could see someone having fun playing through the campaign, and cooperative play might spice things up a little bit. The game engine seems to be solid, the introductory level puts you right in the action and your objectives are clearly marked. I felt that the weapons lacked response and the enemies were easily eliminated, even on hard difficulty. Fortunately, there's an unlockable 'extreme' difficulty setting. The game also looks like it will feature online multiplayer in the full version.

In summary, Conflict: Denied Ops looks to be an above-average offering. Decent gameplay, good graphics and responsive, intuitive controls make this a game worth checking out. However, I wouldn't pre-order it or rush out to buy this title on its release date.