Conflict: Desert Storm (Xbox)

The plotline is standard military sim fare--strategic targets must be blown up, prisoners rescued and bullets expended by the thousand--but the extra edge provided by the ability to drive vehicles and to creep around undetected by the excitable Iraqi guards makes this a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. The maximum squad size for any given mission is four team members, each soldier having a special ability ranging from marksmanship to explosives use. In theory, handling four troops simultaneously sounds like a tall order but developers Pivotal have done a great job of creating a control system that works well, even in the heat of battle.

Desert Storm is not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination and the learning curve can be quite steep; stick with it, though, and there's much to recommend it. For the cautious player there's an excellent training mode which gives thorough instruction on how to perform all of the basic functions guaranteed to turn you into a killing machine. --Chris Russell

This review refers to the PlayStation 2 version.

There is a real lack of atmosphere in this game. In the reviews it was compared to Halo! There IS NO such comparison to be made. The gameplay is very limited, the pace exceptionally slow, the graphics, and sound are lacking for an XBOX title and look more like early PC 3D titles (think Voodoo 2) certainly not up to usual glossy standards. In fact, glossy is a word that in no way applies to this game.

Missions are dull (imagine GoldenEye missions but without any real storyline/continuation or character/s)... again no atmosphere. If you do buy the game, you will feel nothing.

Additionally the controls take a lot of patience, promise a lot of interaction and actually deliver very little.

All in all a very limited title. There are MUCH better options out there. Two words: zero excitement. Certainly NOT a classic game, very much a disappointment.

The biggest disappointment is that the game could have offered so much more given its subject matter. It's just a poor implementation of what should have been a fantastic concept. It's like a poor man's Battlefield Vietnam. (Again, no comparison.)

In theory I should be promoting this title, so I can sell my copy on. But where's the honour in that? What a dismal, dull game.


Awsome   February 7, 2004
Pudding Piler
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Conflict Desert Storms is one of those games where you might say rent it or play it at a friends house and then you'll just have to get it. The game is sheer brilliance.

Let me back it up a bit. Conflict Desert Storm is a third person shooter set in the Gulf (or at least i think its the gulf, my histories not to good). The difference between this and other third person shooters is that you control a team of people. That doesn't mean you just give orders to a few people helping you along the way, you can actually switch contol to each seperate character and control them the way you like. This means you could say walk your sniper up to the roof of a building and get him to cover you, set up your machine gunner to make sure no-one sneaks up behind you and run in with your team leader, your explosions expert following closely so you can plant the C4. The commands you can give your teamates are quite simple but they get the job done. You can command people to follow you, stand their ground, fire at will / hold fire and order them to go to a specific place.

In terms of being an actual 3rd person shooter this is not at too good a quality and the first level when you have no teamates is not very fun, but when you have a full array of teamatesyou don't care about that. There aren't many weapons and the shooting style isn't too fun. In fact if there wasn't teamates at all this game would get little over two stars in my opinion.

Possibly the best part of this game however is the 2 - 4 player co-operative where your friends can control a member of your team or two and you can really become a team. You'll find yourelf yelling at your friends and not realising that its just game.

The actual game itself is HUGE. i have owned this game for a month now and i still haven't bought the sequal because it just lasts so long. Each level takes about an hour to complete and thats just on the easy difficulty setting. There are a total of about 15 missions and each one is very different from the one that proceeded it.

I would advise this game to ANYONE but especially those who like teamplaying games and co-op multiplayer games. God bless Conflict; Desert Storm, Desert Storm 2 and the soon to come Conflict: Vietnam


Action Galour   December 31, 2003
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I first purchase this item when it came out for the PS2. I thought it was great and played it many times. I now have an Xbox and this was one of my first games purchased for it. I never get tired of playing this game.
If you like a game that requires skill and also allows you to blow up literally everything in sight this games is for you.
You can play as either a 4-man team of US Navy Seal's or British SAS. You take on the Iraqi forces, destroying Scuds, rescuing captured prisoners, Demoliting bridges etc. The only sad thing about this game is that there are not enough levels, but this dosen't deter me from playing it over & over again. An excellent Shoot 'em up game.


lost in the desert   December 30, 2003
MR L J GREGORY
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Conflict Desert Storm finally arrives in the uk with a storm of a title for us. What a masterpiece this game really is. If you loved Halo Co-op mode you will love this one. Fighting the Iraqs in the gulf war this really is a good Strategy game which will keep you up all night. This game takes you to a whole new level. you and your mate control two guys each and command them to follow, hold position, fire at will and tell them whether to run. there is a lot to do on each level, each level consists of at least 4 or 5 missions.


Almost great   April 30, 2003
You know those games that leave you thinking, "if only..." or "why didn't they..." Well this is what you get with this game, its on the edge of being phenominal, but just lacks something. Maybe its the fiddly control system or the lack of a sense of danger. On the plus side if you've got the friends it makes for some extremely inapropriate fun. You'll find yourself screaming at your comrades to lay cover or to take out that armour. Sadly the single player game resembles something from the PC's murky past with the uncomfortable sense that you have absolutely no control.

ah well