Well the pesky terrorists have done it again and this time have taken over a chemical facility, grabbed some hostages and are threatening the wellbeing of the World in the process. The Special Forces are already on their way in and the tension is set to hit breaking point as you get to take control of the game’s leading characters and live the story from their own personal perspectives. Sounds familiar, perhaps will maybe in the story but this interesting game offers some quirks of its own.

Gameplay

To begin, Without Warning is a 3rd person action shooter with a touch of stealth thrown in as well. You get to roll, lock on, shoot, duck behind cover, snipe, throw grenades and all the usual antics you would expect. The main objectives to the game are portrayed fairly dramatically but in real terms this usually means go to point A and then Point B. The routes through the levels are very linear although some areas are more open than others. In terms of the styling, the game is very industrial, and it would have to be considering the location (chemical facility) and reminded me very much of Metal Gear Solid 2.

The enemy AI was fun to shoot at especially when they were acting intelligently; however this was let down by some poor acts of AI madness at times and re-spawning enemies. The AI will mostly stand their ground (except the mad suicide bombers who rush at you) but will also duck behind the many crates (some are destroyable) that are all over the game. You can aim using a lock on feature but also freestyle which is more cumbersome because the position of the character on screen. The character position might take some players a little getting used to but presents no problem once you get the feel of the crosshair and character position.

Without Warning also features some mini game type events such as for bomb disposal or for unlocking doors as examples. These are quite cool and seem interactive, especially if a timer is counting down and the pressure mounts. Either way, the mini game puzzles are not hard to figure out and merely act as a temporary distraction from the sneaking and shooting and yes there is a lot of shooting!

What makes Without Warning different compared to other 3rd person games of this nature is the fact that you do not follow a single character through the game. The clock starts ticking at the beginning of the game and here the game hops back and forth in time to show the events of different characters. The Special Forces guys have different roles to play especially as one is specifically a bomb disposal expert and the others part of a team sent in to diffuse the situation and rescue. So whiles the Special Forces guys are doing what they do best the game might switch to another character such as the security guard out to rescue his friend Joe or a secretary caught up in the mess. This approach works quite well and means you get to experience 6 stories thrown into one.

Graphics

The graphics are quite dull and use a dark palette of colours to convey the environment; however they are functional and as I said before the design reminded me a lot of Metal Gear Solid 2. The game’s AI used a lot of repeating enemies and the main character models could have been a little more detailed. That said the game runs pretty smoothly and I noticed no slowdown moments when engaged in an intense fire fight. It was a nice touch to have steam or gas blow out at you when a pipe is shot near you; causing the screen to become red and blurry.

Sound

The music in game felt pretty uninspiring to me and kind of sat in the background throughout the game. The voice acting was pretty cheesy sounding for the most part and definitely sat on the average side of the fence. Other sound effects were adequate and as you would expect from an action game.

Longevity

Sadly the game is a one player affair and not really a game that warrants being played over and over. There are 3 levels of difficulty to choose but I think there’s nothing here other than the challenge of upping the difficulty to keep your interest once completed.

Overall

Without Warning is a decent albeit an average 3rd person action game, which although showing some flaws, most noticeably the AI at times; remains engaging and fun. I think the idea of telling the same story from 6 characters points of view works well for the game and the only thing that really lets it down is its overall lack of ambition with the idea and its execution. There is some fun to be gained from this title but I think most people should perhaps rent it first. A decent idea let down by generic game play.