Vietcong 2

They Never Could get green right, those guys at Pterodon. There was just something about the flora in Vietcong which gave the impression of wandering around a garden centre in Shropshire looking for a new fuchsia, rather than clinging to survival in the stifling, damp heat of the Vietnamese jungle. That's probably the reason the sequel is set mainly in good urban environments.

However, quite why the team has decided to crowbar in some squad-based action is a bit less obvious - perhaps they saw how well Brothers In Arms did it, or perhaps they're fans of Full Spectrum Warrior. One thing's for sure though: it doesn't do squads as well as either of the games it unashamedly rips off - or pays tribute to' if you want to be nice about it.

Where should I start then? Perhaps I should mention that the graphics only look marginally better than the first game (which looked pretty ugly when it was released anyway). Or maybe I should berate lazy design ideas, which include the age-old concepts of 'death-from-falling-a-metre-or-two' and 'getting-automatically-shot-for-going-the-wrong-way'? Or should I start by pointing out the enemy's laughable Al, whose ideas of tactics are those little mints in a box? Maybe I could denounce the weightless and flimsy feel to the engine, the weak and insubstantial feel to the weapons, the fact that you care as much for your comrades as you do for some snot in your McChicken sandwich? Or perhaps I should just mock the cringe-worthy voice-acting and corny, stereotyped dialogue?

Get On With It Then

Well, after that torrent of negativity, maybe it's only fair I start (or end, damn page size restrictions) with something pleasant. Vietcong 2 does have some nice set-pieces and intense stand-offs between the US and VC, and Pterodon has even included a VC campaign this time around, dispelling previous accusations of being slightly prejudiced towards the yanks' portrayal of the war. This game, had it been released two years ago would've been a lot easier to swallow. However, considering just how much the FPS genre has progressed, specifically the squad-commanding, war-themed FPS sub-genre, it's really not worth your time unless you're particularly fanatical about the original.