Deadly Dozen: Pacific Theater is the sequel to the budget title shooter
Deadly Dozen. As the title suggests, it moves the World War II action from
Western Europe to the islands of the South Pacific - and even the very Northern
Pacific in what is probably the first treatment of the fighting in the Aleutians
in a computer game. While it suffers from its share of problems, the
gameplay is surprisingly good for a budget title and you get more bang for your
buck than with many action games that sell for more than twice the price.
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| The steamy jungles of the South Pacific. |
The game's title refers to the twelve men available for each of the game's
missions. They are a ragtag group of misfits that have been honed into a
crack fighting force (and who are not to be confused with the
Dirty Dozen). Before each mission you'll be able to select a team
of four of these men and select the weapons they will take into battle.
Each man is rated in a number of categories such as toughness and proficiency
with different weapon classes. Some of the men are
specialists in demolitions, sniper weapons, etc., but in the end it really
doesn't matter too much who you select since you can equip each man with any
weapon or item and the skill ratings do not have a noticeable effect on the
action. As such, you can just accept the game's default choices and
jump right into the mission.
Once you've selected your team the mission begins. Each mission comes
with a set of primary objectives and usually an optional objective as well.
The mission goals are pulled from a standard set of objectives, and it seems
that you're always sent in to rescue somebody, assassinate somebody else, or
blow something up. Oh well, somebody's got to do it, right? You'll
spend a lot of time in jungle environments, but the maps are surprisingly large
and filled with details. You see and hear swarms of insects, jungle
streams, and a seemingly endless sea of foliage. The game also includes
environmental effects, and missions will take place at different times of day
and in different weather conditions. There's a night mission that takes
place during a thunderstorm that is particularly impressive. The pounding
rain is both seen and heard, and lightning flashes periodically flood the
landscape with bursts of light.
The character models don't hold up as well as the environmental graphics.
Movement is a bit jerky and there seems to be only one or two death animations.
The faces are also on the flat side and appear washed out. For a game that
tries to build on the personality of your team, the models don't have much
character. In fact, other than for different voice acknowledgements when
they're selected the soldiers are interchangeable.
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