Chernobyl Commando – Review
Chernobyl Commando is the new FPS game by Silden. Since the game is called Chernobyl Commando it is pretty obvious that the story will have something to do with the nuclear power plant. The game looks nice and has a good concept but I was kind of disappointed, seeing it could have been executed better.
Story
Terrorists have found out that there is still radioactive waste at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, even 26 years after the incident. This fatal incident covered half of Europe in radioactive smoke clouds. Ukrainian and Russian forces know that these terrorists want to use this radioactive waste to start a war. As a counter, the government deploys troops to stop the threat. They didn’t realise how prepared the terrorists were and both parties clashed into a fierce battle.
You play one of the two Spec Ops agents who have to settle this war and eliminate any enemy who tries to escape with the prized loot. The army can help you in some situations but you will be on your own most of the time. It is up to you to keep the terrorists from getting a hold of this radioactive waste.
Graphics
Overall the game has pretty good graphics. For example the weapons are nicely detailed. Graphic wise this indie does impress. Trees have been designed very nicely, both close and from a distance . This also counts for the several buildings and enemies.
It is noticable that the developers put a lot of work in the graphics. Objects such as guns, your clothes and the NPC models have been created very well and have a nice detailed view which makes playing the game a lot more fun.
One flaw that can be found in the design of the game is the effects. Hitting an enemy with a bullet, seeing a grenade explode and shooting a gun just doesn’t look good. Continuously shooting a gun, such as a machine gun, looks like a still image pasted on the end of the gun and feels unnatural.
Although the animations don’t look that well, Silden has put a lot of work into the level design itself and that makes up for it.
Sound
Chernobyl Commando has a general music theme that fits the overall atmosphere of the game. This theme can be found in both the menu screen and the levels itself.
As for the effects and the voice acting, the game could have done better. The voice acting of the game does seem below average and some of the sound effects are missing while others are too noticeable. A plane flying over while you are listening to an NPC talking is too loud and you can’t hear the person anymore which forces you to read the written text above their head. Other sound effects such as the car you are in driving is just not there which does seem weird when you can hear every other vehicle very clear.
When engaging in combat the game gives you suitable music for you to get into the mood. This music however can be a bad thing for players that like to hear where the shooting is coming from. If you are used to playing games where listening to the enemy matters, you will most likely not want this music.
Gameplay
Chernobyl Commando immediately puts you into a vehicle where you are in control of the mounted machine gun on the back. You being put into this machine gun gives you the impression that you will have to shoot enemies but that is not the case … yet.
The first thing that is quite noticable after jumping out of the vehicle is that the movement mechanics are very stiff. Walking and shooting doesn’t react the way you would expect in a shooter. Moving up and down while walking is too exaggerated while the recoil while shooting some weapons is non-existent.
There is one basic kind of objective while playing these missions: kill the enemy attackers and defend your base. This being the only kind you get in every mission makes the game feel very repetitive. Only two types of combat can be found in this game; either taking out enemies by foot or sitting in a mounted turret waiting for waves of attackers.
While looking for enemy troops you notice a pattern in their movement. The AI uses fixed positions to take cover which makes it easy for you to aim at one position and kill multiple enemies. With the troops hiding on fixed places also comes that they don’t follow you, if they don’t see you they either run straight to the base or just stand back looking at an empty space which makes the combat situations less realistic.
As said earlier the levels don’t have a lot of variety in them and they don’t take very long to complete. Each level takes about 10 to 20 minutes if you follow the objectives you get. Other than the levels being short and making usage of the same mechanics over and over, they do have a different design every time. Exploring levels is a part of the game that was well done although it can become boring fast. Being able to sprint for only a few seconds does add reality to the game but gives you a hard time exploring every part of the level.
Conclusion
Overall this game has been a disappointment for me, while the graphics are nicely done it doesn’t seem like there has been put much work into the gameplay. Both the mission objectives and the actions become repetitive too fast which means that you won’t be playing this game for long sessions. If you are looking for a good indie shooter this is sadly not the game to go to.
Chernobyl Commando - Review,
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