No war unfolds exactly as planned, but it's Desert Storm It's improbably glitchy gameplay that guarantees this battle a place in the annals of martial mistakes. Definitely worth a rental if you're craving some urban combat. Plus, the addition of splitscreen cooperative play ekes out a little extra longevity. Ultimately, it'll appeal more to someone who isn't particularly interested in constantly issuing dozens of commands or taking 10 minutes to walk five yards through a city. That said, the game still improves on its predecessor with a solid variety of missions that are actually fun to play through, though a little frustrating.
The graphics aren't all that hot, either. (infecting both your squadmates and enemies) mucks up the action, and balls-out run-and-gun gameplay sometimes works better than sound tactical strategy. Let's get this out of the way: Desert Storm II is far from perfect. With so many similar games getting it right, overlooking the Desert Storm series' flaws is harder than ever. Then you have displays of stupidity so flagrant, they nearly defy description (see sidebar below). When they're not refusing to follow orders, members of your squad stand in the street passively taking fire, and enemies at turrets won't turn around when flanked (talk about sticking to your guns). Like some half-assed high-school theater production, nothing works as it should and no one seems to be doing the right thing. Unfortunately, much of the disorder is unintentional. When Iraqi soldiers ambush you amid swirling desert sand and the nerve-racking rumble of approaching armor, it's hard to keep a level head.
Switching on the fly between each of your four specialists-sniping, demolitions, small arms, and heavy weapons experts-keeps the action interesting, while immense and active environments (much improved over the last outing) help capture the chaos of combat. Politics aside, Desert Storm II is a flawed operation with a few moments of valor. Sure, the conflict in question is a decade old and not the war unfolding in today's headlines, but in light of continued casualties, it's worth considering even if it didn't affect the score I gave the game. weapons inspections) no longer seems like the most appropriate context for entertainment. What was once a timely setting for a squad-based shooter (the first Desert Storm deployed during the twilight of U.N.