Vietcong: Purple Haze – Review

Yet another first person shooter set in wartime but this time you’re traveling to Vietnam. The Vietnam war actually lasted a lot longer than people probably realize since US troops were first sent to Vietnam in the 1950’s, the following 25-year period created mass tensions in the United States due to it being a War for ‘questionable reasons’ (wow we’ve come so far in 5 decades). The Vietcong formed in 1960 and by the late 1960s America was the scene of Massive Anti War Protests. Almost 3 million US men and women were sent to Vietnam. In total, it is estimated that over 2,5 million people on both sides were killed.

Okay enough of the history lesson let’s get to the game… on loading Vietcong: Purple Haze you’re shown an introduction to the war, this includes interesting historical footage such as presidents elect, the peace movement and the soldiers themselves, this sets up the overall atmosphere without overdoing it and you’re now keyed up and ready to ‘feel’ the sticky heat of the jungle… sadly though it’s more like a tepid shower in your back garden given the games many flaws.

Graphics:
Good grief, I’m not sure whether this title was rushed or whether the developers were enjoying ‘purple haze’ when it was being made but the character models just seem… drooped somehow, they’re nothing fantastic given titles such as Rainbow Six 3 exist and show how good character modeling should look. Draw distance too seems to suffer somewhat given you are almost swimming through a ‘haze’. Textures aren’t fantastic either with detailing seemingly non important.

Sound:
Where’s the music man?! Come on!! Vietnam war tunes that became anthems of the time are non existent in this title despite the Hendrix reference in the very title itself. Although it tries hard by using songs that have a similar sound to those classic protest tunes it just doesn’t do much at all to get you in the mood. I couldn’t help but think that had the game included even a couple of the iconic themes of the time (We gotta get out of this place, Paint it black or Eve of Destruction) it may have gone some way to add to the atmosphere and therefore take your mind off the other problems it suffers from.

Musical letdowns aside the sound effects try to add ambiance but it’s just not… I don’t know… feeling it I suppose. And because of this you’re not feeling it either. Actual music doesn’t appear during gameplay, well I guess having a walkman could be dangerous, you might miss the all important ‘Tripwire Sir’ and KABOOM! I’m trying desperately to find something positive here because I like to be nice, so I’ll say the high pitched squeal ringing through your ears should you happen to be a little too close to an exploding grenade is a nice touch, though nothing new.

Gameplay:
I just cannot for the life of me explain why but despite this titles numerous problems I felt the need to keep playing the missions. Call me stupid (I’m sure some will) but I feel I have to share this information with you given that I have not been very kind to this title elsewhere in this review. If a game is all about the gameplay then for whatever bizarre reason, for me, Vietnam: Purple Haze has something, I’m just not sure what it is. Perhaps it’s watching your team mates jump up and down suddenly for no apparent reason, perhaps it’s watching the non intelligence of the AI soldiers as they don’t react to the most obvious of things, perhaps I got a kick out of waiting till my pointman could actually figure out which way we were to go as he danced left and right like someone having a fit… oh the joy… perhaps it merely sent me demented to the point where it became fun.

Multi Player Xbox Live:
Oh dear, never go online into a room where you know no-one with a gamertag that has the word Girl in it, particularly if you’re trying to review a ‘boys game’. Suffice to say my short and unpleasant time on Live with this title does it no justice I am sure, but given that the same problems still existed online that exist offline all I can say is it added little to the enjoyment factor, all it taught me was that some Xbox Live teens apparently don’t enjoy female company. Playability of the game itself would be slightly better if you could find some players on Live who didn’t suffer from the same bad AI the in game characters do… meow.

Female Gamer Angle:
It’s Vietnam… need I say more? It’s all testosterone and napalm, so if you like the smell of that in the morning, I guess this is for you regardless of your gender.

Conclusion:
For all its flaws I found myself playing Vietcong again and again, and I truly cannot tell you why. I’m usually a fussy gamer and I love my graphics, my good AI, my wicked 5.1 sound effects and Vietcong fails in pretty much every area… yet.. I just want to know what happens to these droopy faced boys as they trawl through the jungle. So it does have a redeeming quality after all then? Apparently so and if it’s in the gameplay section then all the better since it’s one of the most important areas a game can fail or succeed in. I’m not telling you to rush out and purchase this title, because given all its flaws that would just be wrong, but I can’t lie to you… I don’t know whether it’s enjoyment.. curiosity or what it is.. but the urge to play just another level is there. Perhaps it will be there for you too.

Review by Angela

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