
Game still looks as good as the best...

As a previous owner of this title, I have to say that this is by far one of the prettiest, and most difficult, first person shooters (FPS) I've ever played, and I'm glad I'm getting another copy!
For those of you not familiar with the game, here is about as brief a synopsis as I can possibly write: you're some type of secret agent dude, looking to rescue a secret agent dudette on a tropical island. There's some type of paramilitary research facility where they are creating nasty mutants that are trying to kill everybody on the island. Basically, get the girl and get out of Dodge!
Graphically, when this game first came out, many computers couldn't handle the demands. Now, with cheap computers and graphics cards for under $100 that can handle nearly anything, this game doesn't come close to stressing out a computer. Keeping that in mind, nevertheless this game is beautiful to look at, even if one is own sitting back and watching another play. The water looks inviting, the trees and grass sway with the breeze, birds and bugs fly by.
Now for audio: the soundtrack is good, paced with the action of the game. Sound effects seem true-ish, although I haven't fired many of the weapons. Subtle sound effects are there, too. Overall, the sound adds to the atmosphere.
The AI for bots is very good, and they seem to work together as a team. For instance, in one firefight, at the foot of a stone stairway leading up a mountain, two guards were firing at me from two different angles, while three others crouched low and circled from behind. On a base, when you're trying to shoot at targets, one of the bots will try to sound the alarm to call for reinforcements. The AI is almost scary.
Game play itself is standard fare: WASD controls, mouselook, etc. Other features, though, like the many levels of zoom, binoculars that also pick up sound from whatever is being looked at, etc., make this an overall well-polished game that gave Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 a run for the money! Anybody who hasn't played this game is really missing out on some FPS goodness.
My current system is an AMD Ahtlon 64x2 3800+, with 2 GB RAM, 1.5TB HD space, DVD+/-RW, Sapphire ATI Radeon 3850 w/512 MB, and Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Exteme Audio sound card with a Logitech 5.1 surround system and a Gateway 22" LCD (1680 x 1050). Game runs smooth as glass on my rig, with 84 FPS (as measured with Fraps) when everything is maxed out. Good enough for me.
Review ID: 10000000012047936

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