IGI 2: Covert Strike

Preview - Ferrago delve deeper into an action game determined to prove itself.

Out there, somewhere, are the ten commandments of gaming. These sacred tablets contain all that needs to be obeyed by development teams in order to create a great game. You know the contents, number 3 ‘thou must not get the work experience kid to design the levels in between making the tea’ that kind of thing. Unfortunately some nefarious developer has hidden the great text in a cupboard, probably surrounded by the skeletons of work experience kids. Thus, with no guiding beacon, games which should have been great (Project IGI step forward) are reduced to above average by design mistakes.

Luckily for us then that Innerloop Studios, the game’s developer, have gone on an Indiana Jones style adventure to rescue the commandments. This time around it seems that most of the major gripes from the first outing have been addressed. Despite the frustration Project IGI was an enjoyable experience, with the new additions and fixes to previous mistakes Covert Strikes is something to be excited about.

The central character of the first game is back again, Dave Jones, an ex-SAS uber soldier. Once again Jones is thrust into the world of clandestine counter-terrorism, and once again he’ll be doing this in a cross between stealth and all out gunfights, in some huge outdoor environments set across 20 missions. The landscapes of the first game were superb and a welcome break from the more traditional corridor style settings of other shooters. These landscapes are back, and improved upon both in levels of detail and with more complex indoor sections. Different weather and light conditions combine with new destructible objects contained on the maps, adding authenticity to the environment, but obviously these kind of features will be dependant on system performance.

Another big addition to the outdoor world is that of water, doesn’t sound particularly impressive but Innerloop have added the ability to swim which could add up to some fantastic aquatic insertions into enemy bases. The game’s avatar also now has the ability to crouch, which in a stealth game makes slightly more sense than wandering around bolt upright. All Jones needs to do now is to learn how to drive. However unfortunately Jones himself will not be driving any vehicles in this game. On reflection this can be understood, driving a tank into an enemy base maybe fun but is not really in keeping with the stealth ethos. It doesn’t mean you won’t get your hands on some heavy back up though. One section sees you at the hands of a mounted machine gun in a helicopter strafing enemy troops. Set pieces like this, and a good selection of mission objectives will help to give the game variety.

One of the main talking points in the development of Covert Strike is the addition of the save feature. Your progress in the original was saved upon the completion of a level. While this added superb tension, later in the game when the levels really started to get big starting from scratch too often resulted in huge amounts of frustration. Now you can save your progress via the map computer. Innerloop are trying to avoid the quick save tension killer of most shooters by making saving a more ‘tactical’ affair, also based on the skill level you’re playing at. How this pans out though we’ll just have to wait and see in the final version. The computer system Jones has will retain the same functionality of the original, also allowing him to receive Intel from the supporting cast.