WWII G.I.
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
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And it was a good old time. A fun game is a fun game, and that rigorous and studied first-person shooter more than made up for its lack of technological wherewithal with a real-world edge.
WWII G.I. is another fun game from the folks who gave us Nam, with all the shortcomings of its predecessor and many of the same simple pleasures.
The single-player mode consists of two separate seven-level campaigns. One is an enjoyable hodgepodge of missions, but the other mirrors Saving Private Ryan, and, do you know, it's respectable. Surviving a stretch of bloody sand on the fortified Normandy beaches, the wracking experience of penetrating the enemy-rich countryside, finding my way through a ruined French town shot with snipers, and finally escorting the private to safety was one of the more involving experiences I've had with a recent first-person shooter. I didn't even mind that, my back pressed up against a concrete abutment, I was getting nailed every five seconds.
Games don't need aliens and other-worldly environments. They thrive on the familiar--what we know is far scarier than what we don't--and WWII G.I., pixelized and DOS-driven as it may be, is instantly familiar. The sound effects can be shattering--even if they're sometimes just playing off a soundtrack and not context-sensitive. The levels are large and deceptive. (One especially devious one directs you toward a giant tank destroyer, and into a field of blistering fire, while the real objective lies closer to your starting location.) And when the game allows you to issue basic commands to the private you're rescuing--he'll either hold position or follow the player like a puppy--WWII G.I. reaches its pinnacle. You have to think local (where do you stow the guy next?) and global (can you knock down the snipers enough so he follow you there safely?).
Is it enjoyable? You bet.
Could it be better?
Oh, you bet.
With Nam, I was so surprised that a game this graphically dated was actually entertaining that I forgot its primitivism. With WWII G.I., I'm more surprised the game is pretty much like the last one. (Fool me twice, shame on me.) I can't help but wonder what WWII G.I. would be like with a 3D game engine, real enemy AI, more command and coordination--"corporal, take two men and clear this building"--and more colors at higher resolutions. It could have been more than a surprise. It could have been great. Nam had those same problems. But the earlier game made up for its lack of AI with the careful siting of snipers within the jungle environment. You never knew quite where the next bullet was coming from--you just couldn't see very far--and this enforced an ultrarealistic sense of paranoia and caution. WWII has snipers as well, but the relative lack of foliage here reveals the utter ineptness of the enemy. It's like Wolfenstein 3-D. They don't use cover. They don't run away when under fire. They don't coordinate their attacks. They stand there with egg on their faces and let you gun them down by the hundreds.
In those moments, I don't feel like a commando. I feel super-human, and this once-familiar game seems a stranger.
