Play It:
For the Arcade and PS2.
Story:
The country of Lukano has been invaded by Zagorios. The Lukano army
is no match for them and most of the country is quickly taken over.
However, it is discovered that tactical missiles have been deployed
on the captured island of Astigos. From there, the Zags will have the
ability to strike at any of the neighboring nations with ease as well.
Agents Alan Dunaway and Wesley Lambert have been dispatched to deal
with it.
Well, they are getting better, but this still isn't going to win any
awards. Alicia's quest does add a few twists. Anyway, does anyone care?
Cause I don't.
Graphics:
Top of the line graphics (as of 2003.) I heard that the graphics for
the home port are better, but I haven't noticed. The arcade's were good
enough anyway.
Sound:
The music is well orchestrated, but is very forgettable. I have the
home port, and I still can't remember more than 3 tracks! The sound
effects are the standard fare. Anyway, the voice acting is good. Leagues
better than Project Titan. I can't think of any bad lines although some
are a bit... goofy, like "Over here, ya idiot!" Some of the
deliveries are a bit flat.
"I see. They're using the hostages as bait to force the resistance
to surrender, right?"
Oh, come on, the voice actor was obviously just reading that one.
Difficulty:
Much harder than number 2, but still pretty easy. Alicia's mission is
a pretty good challenge and much like the first game. Also, Crisis Mission
is also a good challenge although I'm not counting it.
Enjoyment:
Well, if you liked the predecessors, you'll like this one. Like
part 2, this one also has 2 player support. Strangely, the ability to
choose your path in-game via orange foes is not present, so to play
as a specific agent, you plug the gun into either the first or second
USB port. Kind of annoying. There is no double gun feature in this game.
What? Pretty weak, Namco. Pretty weak. I could understand complications
with the weapon select, but there are a few things they could have done.
Like only being allowed to use one weapon at a time, or even only allowing
you to use handguns. Hey, I would sacrifice those for some double-gunning
action. Also, this is NOT compatible with the Guncon 1. Guess Namco
wants you to buy some more guns. The Rescue Mission is a pretty cool
addition. Too good, in fact. Alicia actually makes the VSSE agents look
pretty weak.
Replay Value:
There are 2 (slightly) different routes through the game depending on
which agent you are. There is no reason to replay the Rescue Mission
or Crisis Mission.
Rant Session:
I've got a gun that can fire handgun bullets, machine gun ammo, shotgun
shells, and grenades. It can hold 200 machine gun bullets, 50 shotgun
shells, 5 grenades, but ONLY 9 HANDGUN BULLETS!?! What's up with
that? All that firepower, and I still can't get 15 bullets in a clip?
I'd also like to address the recent conspiracy theories on Wild Dog.
The manual states that "he returned from the fires of Hell"
and now we got people going "He's made a deal with the devil and
is doing his bidding!" Um, do not take literally, people! Its called
an expression. It doesn't really rain cats and dogs. Although how does
Wild Dog keep surviving, anyway? I mean, he's been shot (like 274 times),
blown up twice (3 including this time), and been inside a helicopter
when it crashed. There's the Russian Torture Chair thing; something
about putting explosives in a perfect circle and standing directly in
the middle when they go off. Supposedly, it creates a vacuum which will
save you from getting your ass burned. I don't know if it works, but
even if it does, I doubt that whenever Wild Dog gets shot down, he just
happens to be within his circle that he put up "just in case."
Maybe Namco was serious about the devil deal. That would be pretty retarded,
but it might be true.
The enemies have to reload their guns every so often. This is good, right? I mean, its more realistic. Except for the fact that they literally reload every so often. Just watch. Enemies will fire 6 shots, reload, fire 3 more, reload, then 4 more and reload. What gives? Man, I knew I should have put more than 3 bullets in a clip!
Hey, when I shoot someone, the screen says "1 hits!" Huh, last time I checked, 1 doesn't constitute multiple, so then why is it plural? And does that really need to be brought to my attention? I think I'm perfectly aware that I shot someone, and is it really a big deal? As if I'm playing a racing game and it would suddenly say, "Turn navigated!" Holy shit! I must have some mad skillz. Actually, he says "Woo, that was a great counter! You must be one genius of a driver! You gotta teach me!" I never heard of driving skills being considered genius, but eh.
The Crisis Missions are better than last time, but they are still pretty lame, and a complete pain in the ass. Don't shoot the civilians! How am I supposed to do that? They run in front of everyone I'm shooting at! They run out so fast that you can't see them before you put a bullet in one. And the time limits are impossibly tight, so you can't wait for them to pass. How do you do it? By failing the mission about 20 motherfucking times! Eventually, you start thinking "I need to shoot this guy for 2.5 seconds, pause as a hostage runs by; resume firing for 3.1 seconds, pause for another civilian... resume!" Who am I, RoboCop? Why are they even running between us? Isn't the whole point of running to get AWAY from the shooting? Why do I keep asking so many fucking questions for this rant? These are the stupidest civilians since Lethal Enforcers! No wonder they got taken over. They probably shot at least half of their own troops by accident. Oh, the fucking humanity! They also wave their arms about in rather unorthodox ways as they run, probably so that you have a higher chance of hitting them.
And they still haven't fixed the problems with 2 Player. I still get only a fourth of the screen to shoot at. Better hold that gun straight, or you will miss your box altogether. Only here, it is even more impossible since you can't see some guys until they give off a red flash, and you can't use a controller as a foot pedal in 2P; you need to use the buttons on the gun.
Finally, there is one last gripe: CHEAP ASS HITS! You may know; hiding behind the box as some guys are firing. You wait till the firing just about stops, pop out, and WHAM! You meet up with a bullet that just happens to be where your head is. This has existed in all TC games, but it has never been a problem before. I'd get hit once, maybe twice. Usually not at all. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but here I usually lose 4 lives (that's one full continue, if you're playing this game with a fair allotance of lives) a game to this shit. Once, I swear I lost at least 7 lives this way. And its not like I thought "OK, the car should have already passed..." It wasn't really my fault; I had simply picked the wrong nanosecond to stick my head out.
Bottom Line:
Don't let my rant discourage you, I really like this game. The PS2 extras make this game one of the top shooters, period.