Tuesday 25 April 2006
The fact that real-time strategising and first-person shooting sit at opposite ends of the gaming spectrum - one requiring studious brain straining, while the other demands razor-sharp synapses - hasn't stopped developer Digital Reality from bringing the two genres together for its latest PC project, Field Ops.
Billed as the first real-time strategy shooter and set in the front-page world of counterterrorism, a recent recon of Field Ops went some way to convincing us that Digital Reality's RTS/FPS hybrid might not be as harebrained as it first sounded. Indeed, both styles of play - while neither appears overly ambitious - promise to offer a solid experience.
Squads are comprised of seven different class types, each possessing a unique skill - machine gunners lay down suppressing fire, bazooka-wielding troops use their heavy weaponry to reduce areas to rubble, and so on. Special 'hero' characters also appear at scripted moments and have access to more spectacular methods of destruction, such as the ability to call in air strikes.
In terms of controlling your troops it will be possible to take charge of any member of your squad in FPS mode. But while orchestrating from on-high will be favourable in more tactically demanding situations, players will also be able to issue simple commands - such as 'go' and 'heal' - to comrades while in the thick of it on the battlefield.
