Beach Head 2002 delivers arcade style shooting in its most basic and repetitive form.
Beach Head 2002 is an updated version of Beach Head
2000, a repetitive arcade-style shooter that lets you assume the role
of a lone gunner trying to fend off a beach invasion. The new game takes
the same approach, but replaces the beach environment with some rolling
hills. The few improvements it includes do little to address the flaws
of the original game, and since the new game is just more of the same
endless waves of enemies, it can't really be recommended even to those
who might have enjoyed Beach Head 2000 in some way.
The game consists of stage after stage of stationary shooting action.
Beach Head 2002 gets old quickly, primarily due to its premise you're stuck in a bunker with a few guns and limited ammunition,
and there's an army of infinite size on the way to kill you.
It might make a good plot for an action film, but it's not much fun as a game. In this situation, there is no hope of retreat, since you can only rotate about a fixed position and shoot at moving targets. There is also no hope of victory, since the game will just continually throw more enemies at you in the form of tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, airplanes, and soldiers. There is very little rhyme or reason to how these targets appear and move--the units have no obvious objective other than to destroy your bunker, and they come from all directions, giving the impression that the invasion has already taken place long ago, and you're the only survivor. Since you can't move and you can't win, your only goal is to do better than you did the game before and maybe gain access to a new weapon or enemy unit to shoot at.
It might make a good plot for an action film, but it's not much fun as a game. In this situation, there is no hope of retreat, since you can only rotate about a fixed position and shoot at moving targets. There is also no hope of victory, since the game will just continually throw more enemies at you in the form of tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, airplanes, and soldiers. There is very little rhyme or reason to how these targets appear and move--the units have no obvious objective other than to destroy your bunker, and they come from all directions, giving the impression that the invasion has already taken place long ago, and you're the only survivor. Since you can't move and you can't win, your only goal is to do better than you did the game before and maybe gain access to a new weapon or enemy unit to shoot at.
At
times, the game is visually pleasing. The weapon and explosion effects
are fairly realistic, and the enemy units and environments look fine.
The game's animation is repetitive but otherwise acceptable.
Unfortunately, some parts of the game's graphics don't add up your
suspension of disbelief will falter when a jet flies into a nearby hill
and out the other side. And like its predecessor, Beach Head 2002 has
the habit of making units pop up out of nowhere, but whether this is a
graphics problem or a cheap way to keep you on your toes is unclear.
The
weapon, vehicle, and explosion graphics are supplemented with decent
sound effects, although like the rest of the game, they quickly get
repetitive. Shells hitting your bunker cause an appropriate explosive
rumble, and small-arms fire ricochets off armor with a metallic patter. Helicopters will buzz the bunker with a
distinctive chopper sound, and fighters will fly past your base with
their jet engine whine. Soldiers
will catch on fire from nearby explosions and cry out in horror, but
there's very little variation in their screams.
The
game would have benefited tremendously from more variation in weapons,
enemies, and environments. The few differences that you come across in
the game are a welcome relief from tedium all of a sudden, it might be
nighttime and you only have a flashlight and a few flares to see your
targets. Or perhaps instead of the usual combined forces raid on your
bunker, the enemy has decided to send a squad of fighter jets to attack
you, and you have to replenish your ammunition by shooting at air-dropped crates.
Despite a few variations to the theme, Beach Head 2002 gets old fast.
To its credit, Beach Head
2002 is tough. Its combination of realistic particle effects, explosive
sounds, and endless waves of enemies can create some tense moments,
especially when you are running out of ammunition. While the game does not include adjustable difficulty settings, it does feature built-in cheats that will give you unlimited ammunition or unlimited armor or let you skip to the next level without having to complete the present level. This minimizes any frustration that might arise from the game's relentless onslaught.
Beach Head
2002 delivers arcade style shooting in its most basic and repetitive
form. If the idea of endlessly shooting wave after wave of the same few
enemies with the same few guns in the same exact environment appeals to
you, you're better off buying Beach Head 2000 from the bargain bin. If you've played and enjoyed the previous game, Beach Head 2002 is more of the same with some minor tweaks.
System Requirements:
System Requirements:
Processor= 500MHz
RAM= 128MB
Graphics= 32MB
RAM= 128MB
Graphics= 32MB
0 comments:
Post a Comment