Chrome Specforce

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	Chrome Specforce	CG rating 70 /100
	Developer: Strategy First, Producer: Techland System requirements: CPU 1.5GHz, 512 MB RAM, 3D Video Card with 64 MB, DirectX 8.0 compatible Game: Chrome Specforce Genre: Shooter

Pluses

- It's better than Chrome
- Attractive price tag

Minuses

- Doesn't stand out in any way
- Quite a few bugs

Posted by Bossman on 01-Mar-2006 08:26

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The launch of the first game is a critical moment for any game studio. Back in the infancy years of the industry, if you didn’t get it right the first time it wasn’t such a big deal, you could easily start over and try something new. Now, if you screw up the first time, you can pretty much close the shop, since publishers are reluctant to trust a new game studio that already has a failure written on the CV. Chrome was the first shooter for polish game studio Techland. Even if it didn’t stand out among the crowd, you could lose one or two days playing it, if there was nothing else available to you. That was in 2003. Last year saw the release of Chrome SpecForce, the follow up to Chrome, with developer Techland feeling they could do a better job than they did last time.

Unfortunately, the term “mundane” perfectly describes SpecForce, the game having nothing that would differentiate itself from “any other FPS”, just like its predecessor. You will once again play as Bolt Logan, which is now a member of SpecForce, an elite unit of the FSB, something like a galactic police force if you will. His mission is very simple: investigate the alleged illegal activities of the LoreGen Corporation on the planet Estrella, activities which include producing and distributing dangerous stimulants, among other things. Since the FSB doesn’t have any hard evidence of these activities, you’ll be inserted covertly, with nobody officially knowing that you’re there. A nice excuse to kill everyone you find in your way and blow the crap out of vehicles or buildings, all to keep your presence a secret from the authorities of course.

For reasons I don’t quite get, SpecForce lacks any kind of cutscene during the singleplayer, all the story related information being given to you via sterile dialog windows, whether you’re talking to your superiors or allied soldiers. As a result, the player doesn’t have any reason to be connected with what’s happening around him, let alone care.