War is ugly, yet war has been a part of human existence since as early as we can remember by studying our history. Video games haven’t been around for quite as long as war yet mankinds fascination with the subject never wanes as video games and movies suggest. Adults and children worldwide have recreated battles in their bedrooms with toy soldiers or even full scale recreations for fun at weekends. Well since the arrival of video games, war has featured heavily. From humble beginnings with games like Commando or even Missile Command to the modern day war games such as Medal of Honour and Full Spectrum Warrior to name a few.

Video games and war would seem to be a match made in heaven as gamers love to shoot things, so why not recreate a slice of history in the process. Medal of Honour brought to life some of the perils of World War II, however now the focus seems to have shifted to the more recent Vietnam War. Not one but several games are being released on Xbox that cover this period in America’s history. Conflict Vietnam aims to thrust the player in to a world of frustration and despair to relive what some experienced during that gruesome war.

Gameplay:

Conflict Vietnam is a squad based shooter which can be played in either a first or third person viewpoint. Starting out in your camp as field medic Cherry the first port of call is a spot of training. This sets the scene and will help familiarize you with the game’s controls and command interface. It’s worth paying attention here as what seems like a simple tutorial can actually open your eyes to another method of playing.

As Cherry you are accompanied by three other team members who will obey your every command so to speak. Each one specializes in particular weaponry and therefore will be useful in different situations. However the player is able to switch between each member of the team and take control of that person with a simple tap on the d-pad. This means you can switch roles to suit your playing style.

Commanding your team is fairly straight forward as you are able to command them to hold positions, regroup, interact with objects, heal other team mates and position them any where you please which is useful depending on how you are playing. Mostly your team will follow you and cover your back as best they can, especially if you give them the fire at will command.

There are a wide variety of authentic weapons and other devices for the player to mess around with which adds to quite a large arsenal of equipment. Players also can take control of mounted weapons for extra carnage or pick up the weapons and equipment from fellow team members and fallen foes.

Conflict Vietnam allows players to assign points gained from completing the missions into several categories such as weapons use or medical ability. This RPG style levelling is actually one of the game’s better features and allows players the chance to develop their team as they wish.

So far you are probably thinking that this sounds like a reasonable game and for some it probably will be. For me it isn’t . Firstly the fluidity of character movement is absolutely horrid as the character you control moves in a sluggish and exaggerated manner. This becomes even more apparent when aiming as the control and movement is terrible for proper combat. There seems to be a lack of precision here as you simply point, shoot and hope for the best. As a gamer I always turn auto aim off as I feel that leaving it on takes away full control over your on screen counterpart. However with this game I am not so sure as the aiming is really hard to get to grips with even at close quarters. It seemed at times that the more manoeuvrable enemies you face can with stand ample bullets to the chest/head before dropping as hit detection just didn’t feel right to me. What also annoyed me was the useless first person viewpoint when aiming. The bulk of the weapon itself would cover the majority of the screen taking away most of your vision and with no means to lower your aim without switching to another item.

Another instance that annoyed me early on in the game was when I controlled a mounted gun as the enemies attacked. It seems that the enemies had been taking tips from Neo ( The Matrix) as they simply dodged bullets before my very eyes. What was the final nail in the coffin was seeing a team mate toss a grenade from within our bunker only to see it bounce off the wall then land at our feet finally blowing up the whole team. Whilst this AI trick has been documented in games such as Rainbow Six 3 the culmination of poor controls, stiff aiming and terrible AI makes Conflict Vietnam a game that is poorly executed.

Graphics:

Graphics are not so good either as the overall look of the game is very sub par for an Xbox title. A lot of soft focus effects are used and one cant help thinking that this has been used to mask some of the poor graphics on offer? Character models are horrid and totally take away any feeling of reality whilst playing the game. On a plus point there are usually lots of other things going on such as helicopters flying overhead and such which help create a reasonable level of atmosphere.

Sound:

Sound is actually quite atmospheric and does a good job of conveying life in Nam. From the offset you will bear witness to a wide number of conversations that you can listen to or interrupt. Gunshots, explosions and a wide manner of ambient sounds are out in full force including some pop tunes from the period. Overall the sound is one of the game’s better features.

Longevity:

Whilst the single player has enough diversity for die hard players to keep coming back for more once the game has been beaten multiplayer in the form of in the form of split screen co-op has also been included for those wishing to share the experience with others. Overall there is enough here to keep those entertained for a reasonable time as long as you can persevere with the game’s weaker aspects.

Overall:

Conflict Vietnam is a very average game and one that has been poorly put together in my opinion. With a little refinement and maybe a little more polish then perhaps the game could come into its own. As it stands there is some enjoyment to be had with this game however I do suggest renting first. If you absolutely love Vietnam and war games in general then it’s definitely worth a look.