Conflict: Denied Ops

Hands-on with Pivotal's light-hearted shooter

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2007 was a good year for gaming. In particular, it was an exceptional year for the FPS genre. Not only did we savour the story-telling delights of BioShock, the fast-pace of Halo 3 and the hard-hitting Call of Duty 4, but we also enjoyed the life-sappingly great Orange Box. Into this climate of high standards, and big-name genre stalwarts - SCi-Eidos are set to deliver the next installment in their long running Conflict series. We'd be lying if we said we weren't ever so slightly concerned that the game might not have what it takes to shine through in a genre bursting at the seams with excellence.

Journeying into the depths of an underground bar in London's west end, however, I'm encouraged by the abandon with which Eidos are showing-off Conflict: Denied Ops, which is set for release in 'early' February, according to Pivotal's Terry Watts, in town from Bath to show off his game.

Designer Watts is unsurprisingly pleased to finally be displaying a game that has been in the works for some two years, but does the fifth game in the long-running action series have enough to differentiate itself from the crowd, while appeasing existing fans of the series? Conflict has, after all, sold some six million copies worldwide to date.

Pivotal are promising a few features that Call of Duty can't offer. For example, the game is actually a two-player experience for the duration of the singleplayer mode - lone players having the option to switch between characters Graves and Lang, out to stop a splinter cell acquiring and using a nuclear device. You can switch between these two army-types on the fly, issuing a full roster of commands to your partner as required.

Alternatively, you can play the entire singleplayer game co-operatively, either locally or online. You can even take your singleplayer save games online with you, allowing you to play sections of the title in the company of a real person. Shock. This may be preferable, as at times your squad-mate's AI leaves something to be desired (in the preview build, at least); your opposite number getting himself murdered on various occasions trying to heal you. At least, this seemed to be a minor issue in the code we played.

The game is out in February, with bug-testing under way, so any problems we experienced (a mysterious spinning tank on the PS3 version, being the most amusing) could and hopefully will be ironed out before the game reaches shelves.

The two-player approach certainly gives Conflict a new dynamic, even if at this stage it does seem to lack the intensity of its big-name rivals. A conscious effort has been made by developer Pivotal to broaden the game's appeal, Watts speaks of a desire to attract new players to the series as well as appeal to existing fans, who may not be too pleased with the dumbed-down squad-based dynamics, and the more player-friendly approach the game offers, at the expense of an in-depth tactical experience on occasion.

Not that the team are simplifying things too greatly. We're still promised a range of locales, from dank Monasteries to the crisp chill of the Arctic Circle, as our military heroes tackle those mean old terrorists in a classic/hammy plot (depending upon your penchants) to save the world. Original story-telling it is not, but Pivotal seem sure they know what their audience wants - and are working hard to inject rapid-fire 'after the pub' fun into the tried and tested formula.

With this in mind, a range of vehicles are available to drive in certain relevant missions, the game allowing us to pilot Soviet APCs (called BMPs in the game), hovercraft and tanks as needed. If you're playing co-operatively, you'll both be able to get well and truly stuck into these sections, one player driving while the other mans the gun, etc. etc. If you've got a sufficiently aggressive weapon, much of the scenery is also destructible, allowing you to destroy relics to kill your foes within, and open up new sections of the game world by destroying what blocks your path. In the preview copy of the game we sunk our teeth into we found that the interactive scenery was somewhat... patchy. There seemed to be little in the way of rules governing what you can and can't blow up, leaving it instead to trial and error on the players' part. Not the end of the world, but, well, you know...

What's left to talk about? Well, Mr. Watts promises us a multiplayer mode, but declined to reveal what Pivotal are planning for this potentially crucial side to the game. What we do know is that downloadable content will be released by the developers post-launch, though once again plans remain vague on this 'nice to have'.

Speaking from a hands-on perspective, I found certain sections of the game hugely enjoyable (the helicopter shoot-out in the Arctic Circle could be a blast in co-op), while other areas left me with the impression of a game that can't quite out-muscle the competition. The jury is out then, but at this stage I'm worried that Denied Ops simply doesn't have enough to say for itself when put alongside the likes of CoD 4. This isn't a particularly technical analysis of course, so we'll reserve final judgment until the full release.

The 'pick-up and play' efforts made by Pivotal may well see the developer reach the casual audience they crave, too, however as mentioned it could be tough for Conflict to live up to the competition - Watts admitting that the CoD 4 remains the "genre leader". Visually, the game can at times offer some detailed interior environments, the textures on the Monastery impressing particularly, on the other hand outdoor could be an odd mix of beautiful and beastly, with little in between. Enemy AI seemed passable, if unexceptional. The PS3 version also seemed to be noticeably less impressive than the slick Xbox 360 and PC versions on display, but we were assured that the versions are identical, Watts revealing his pride in this, Pivotal having decided late to release Denied Ops on Sony's machine, the development team seemingly having pulled off a miracle on tricky hardware to facilitate a simultaneous release on all platforms next month.

All in all, then, Denied Ops is a game that will stand or fall on how the public perceives it. Will Pivotal's casualising alterations to the gameplay formula; less tactical play, less emphasis on strategy, a more forgiving approach to saves and checkpoints, entice gamers overwhelmed by rival titles - or will the fifth Conflict find itself out-gunned and out-flanked by competition which has raised the bar in the last six months? We'll find out for sure in February.

By Luke Guttridge