Conflict: Desert Storm

War is never as easy, or as pretty, as it seems. Here it's even worse?instead of a jammed rifle, you've got the Z Button to deal with.

At a time when the GameCube's tiny end of the port-stick is growing shorter and shorter, you have to appreciate Pivotal Games for giving ?Cube fans a favor for a change. The Nintendo version of Conflict: Desert Storm is irrefutably ahead of the PS2 and Xbox ports?the enemies are smarter, the animation's noticeably smoother throughout, and the massive frame drops seen elsewhere are mostly a thing of the past (even in four-player co-op mode). The question, then, comes down to whether you want to play the game in the first place?and that, unfortunately, is where things get dicier.

The basic concept should be right up your alley if you're a SOCOM addict?it's the Gulf War, and you must control a four-man Delta Force or SAS crew as they infiltrate Iraqi territory and kick some squad-based tactical ass. As team leader, you can bark orders to your squad, exchange weapons, and execute complicated attacks once you've sussed out the controls. Unfortunately, many people won't manage this: The order system uses the Z Button far more than it really deserves, and doing anything more complicated than the Gulf equivalent of a Braveheart berzerker rush takes godlike dexterity.

Conflict is not without its merits?the atmosphere is excellent, and the GameCube version lets you restart a mission easily if you're in an impossible situation?and a sufficiently tactical-minded person will get mounds of fun out of this with a little perseverance. If you played SOCOM for the chat, however, then you'll probably abandon this game early on.

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