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UFO: Aftermath
Confrontation
Mageknight
Warhammer 40,000
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Used to be real good... and nostalgia
makes this re-hash tolerable.
The Story (spoiler)
This time the setting takes place just next year and the aliens have
successfully invaded the Earth. Unlike its predecessor, the world is
nearing its end. Most people have already died. And this makes for a
greater background theme (unlike going undersea), a greater need for you
to actually save the world.
Enemies initially are just weird looking mutations. Giant dogs, flies
and mutated people are what seem to make the most of the 'aliens' that
you have to battle. Then comes the UFO detection where you start
shooting down UFO's and actually see the real aliens. It’s pretty much
the same as the original.
As the game progresses, you discover that there had actually been aliens
here on Earth before. Peace was broken when renegade aliens invaded the
Earth in a plan to take over the world, then begins the sudden
appearance of growths called 'biomass' which predictably was planted by
the aliens themselves.
Eventually, the aliens realize how important the human race is and
actually want to cut a deal with you. If you accept their offer the
Earth becomes a giant organic mass, which in theory, should become the
most powerful sentient being in the entire galaxy. And humanity will be
offered a seat in the control council. Unfortunately, the earth 'god' is
unknown in it's power or in what it will really become... point being...
the world still ends.
Or you could opt to take the longer route, which requires you to search
for the queen's lair. And as with all games... have the final showdown.
Packaging (Visuals and Sound)
It's somewhat reminiscent of the Fallout theme, where the world has
become a desolate place. The map actually takes on the atmosphere where
you can see dead bodies strewn on the street. The other maps, such as
the biomass and alien bases do have a distinct feel for each, with their
very own lighting effects.
Your squad also has very distinct faces and appropriate voices for each
face. It's actually helpful to have different persons for your squad as
it helps in differentiating who's doing what with their verbal
responses. You also get to recruit some aliens, who unfortunately have a
very bad accent.
All in all the visuals and sound were ok, though much was lost when the
shrink everything down. The people and objects were too small.
But overall, the graphics were better than average. I did tax my video
card.
Game play
First thing you'll notice... you have too many people in a squad. It
feels more like 2 squads to me. Second thing you'll notice is that the
maps have vastly increased in area. They've shrink the people and
squares you stand on, and increased the size of the map... effectively
making the entire map overly large. And at some point it becomes overly
tedious to play.
Alien AI isn't exactly smart. They're just programmed to hit you with
whatever they are carrying which makes the game somewhat predictable and
frustrating. I've been killed so many times by point blank range missile
launchers that clear out the entire alien ship... aliens included.
What's great about the game is that the ease of the missions does not
depend on how great you squad is, so there will be no 'super friends'
squad. The weaponry, however, are very much a factor to the game.
Replay value is pretty OK; though on some maps (alien base) the aliens
come out at exactly the same point which makes you kind of psychic
sometimes.
I wouldn't suggest to anyone to take the easy mode...just because it's
actually an insult to someone's intelligence, unless of course you just
want to see the game end. (There are cheats for that)
Overall, the game play is pretty much the same as the original, though
it gets really boring and repetitive near the end. I just rushed through
the last few days of research to finish the game.
Tips
It's always best to equip your squad with weapons that can handle both
long range and close combat.
Sniper rifles are a joy, and will forever be a staple weapon from
beginning to end. The maps are overly vast and simply scream for long
range fire.
The Neosted became my best friend for bases, as the provided the best
close combat punch. Of course, the warp assault rifle will eventually
take over after that… but the lack of ammo reloads may limit its use.
The HK CAWS provide the most powerful close combat potential and may
find use even near the end of the game, perhaps this is the only weapon
that can go toe to toe with the green shielded aliens.
Of course, there’ll always be the microslug accelerator which almost
always runs out of ammo. Chances are you’ll probably get only a few ammo
clips for the entire game. These are the most powerful weapons available
and you’ll learn to fear the way the weapon sounds because it usually
means one of your guys will be put down by it.
You’ll probably also want to bring along some grenade launcher as these
give you the area effect you need without having to reload after every
shot. They also provide longer range than just throwing grenades.
I, however, did not enjoy using the plasma weaponry (save for the adv.
Alien plasma) because I found them lacking in the rate of fire area.
Really heavy weaponry would have been great; unfortunately, they require
the use of heavy armor which does not permit running. This means you’ll
have to wait for the squad members to walk from on end of the map to the
other.
The alien rocket launchers are the best weapons for taking out groups of
aliens, because of its greater range and damage potential. Rocket
spritters come a close second.
Mind control is probably one of the most powerful aspects of the game,
especially in tight areas. It requires no line of fire just simply have
any member see the alien. It’s a lifesaver in defend your base missions.
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