UberSoldier II
"Why would you play this game Chris?" I ask myself (as I sometimes do). A low budget WW2 shooter from a decade ago? Really? Well, it came time to play a "U" game and I don't exactly have a ton to choose from, that could be my excuse, I guess. Also curiosity, not remembering how I acquired Ubersoldier II (probably in some games bundle) or really anything much about it I figured what do I have to loose...
So yeah UberSoldier II is a first person shooter set in in WW2 where you play as some sort of behind the enemy lines special operative Karl. I assume it's the sequel to UberSoldier...but all the Steam page has to say about it is "Deal another deadly blow to fascism!" which oddly actually does sum up the game. And after about 8 hours of blasting my way through some decade old budget level technology I have to say it's not actually all that bad.
The game doesn't make an amazing first impression by dropping you into a chase through the back woods of Europe firing a mount machine gun from a jeep at pursuing German forces in a game engine that clearly was not designed to handle vehicles or physics very well. It feels a bit like a ride at Disneyland, you know the old Fantasy Land ones where you are on a set track moving slowly and the world slides around your cart. Except not as good as those rides, even though you have a machine gun. But UberSoldier II does actually go up from there. While the cliche story told through comic book like panels combined with mediocre voice acting (not a single German accent in the entire game) is completely forgettable the game does two things well, level design and shooting.
I have to applaud the developers for some honest to god really good old school FPS level design. Each location in the game both look and feel distinct, the flow of the routes you take and the situational setups for the many fights you participate in work really well. Lots of over and back via different paths, good vertical set ups, attention to detail both cosmetic and for tactical purposes really took me back to the "good old days" of FPS games. Before they became boring hallway shooters (I over exaggerate). Well done Ubersoldier II!
The shooting was the other mechanic I think they got right. It feels really good to use the weapons in this game. From the rifles to the rocket launchers, flamethrowers and sniper rifles there is a good variety of guns. Meaty weapon sounds with great impact are fun to shoot - which is good because you do a lot of it. Not just because this is a FPS game but because it takes quite a few rounds to drop enemies unless you get a headshot. But three headshots in close succession get you the ability to slow down time for a while - during which time you are invincible and you gun doesn't use any ammo when shooting, no explanation for this, but it's really fun. Same if you kill 3 enemies with melee attacks, you go into a brief invincible rage mode.
Other things not explained (maybe in the original game) is your ability to turn on some sort of force field that blocks bullets, and for a brief bit holds them in the air like Neo from the Matrix and then fire them back all at once. Weird. There are also a couple of boss fights that are a real slog and not enjoyable but at least they are not frequent.
I can't say UberSoldier II is worth the $10 they are currently asking for it (though I've heard it's been as low a $1 on sale) but I am not disappointed that I played it. There are worse games.
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