Conflict: Denied Ops
Developer - Pivotal Games
Ah, the good old CIA Special Activities Division. Elite nutters sent out to deal with "serious problems" in the most serious kind of way. Totally on your own, no rules, no guilt, and no backup - so if it all goes wrong, then you're stuffed. Bit like game development, eh? Conflict: Denied Ops is Pivotal Games' fifth installment in the squad-based, third person shooter series. Like the previous release, it's set in modern times but change is afoot, and Pivotal are hoping to bring something a bit different to the popular franchise. Nothing really new, just different. Eidos UK kindly gave us a lengthy demonstration of the work so far - not hands-on but neither was it a pre-recorded trailer: all live gameplay. The basic premise of the game is... well, it doesn't matter to be honest. Something, somewhere, has gone wrong and it's all horribly sensitive material, so the CIA pack off two of their best troopers to deal with the mess.
Conflict: Denied Ops Trailer
Hold the phone! Two? yes, that's right: no more four or five man squads to manage; just you and your chum, and you're free to easily switch between the two (which really makes it a case of you and you). The reason for this design choice was to move away from the complex squad tactics found in the likes of Rainbow Six games, where one would spend considerable time just getting ready for the mission, only for it to go pear-shaped two minutes in. Managing just two people also means that co-op multiplayer is available, for all platforms; this mode of gameplay is sorely missing from a lot of games, so Pivotal deserve some kudos for using it here.
Naturally, the two characters have separate and distinct modes of attack and abilities: one is a bit of a tank, packing heavy duty guns and the like, whereas the other is better suited for sniping. In addition to this, one can hack computers better than the other, disable bombs and so on. This might sound like it's totally simplifying the squad game format but in many ways, it's not - if one has a team of, say, 6 soldiers in a game, each role is nearly always totally unique (i.e. there's a single, clearly defined demolitions expert) but here things are more complicated because one has less obvious choices, resulting in compromises. A tank can't provide much cover if he's busy cracking a login code.
PC gaming fanatics will undoubtedly start bemoaning and ranting about "dumbing down for consoles" and whatnot, but the Conflict series has always been a cross-platform title, so there's nothing new in that respect. One commands the other character via the use of a few context-sensitive commands: go there, disarm this, cover that area and so on. The mechanism appears pretty intuitive and quick to use, helping to maintain the hectic pace of the game. This is no slow burning, deep thought title - it's get in there and go! go! go!!!
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