Take some action, add strategy, mix with a dash of exploration and you might create something like the top-down team exploration-shooter that is Elite Forces: Unit 77. Players manage a team of four unique individuals as you explore a somewhat confined mission area, discovering traps and enemy agents along the way. A bit too slow paced to be a pure action game, it has too many real time elements to be considered a strategy title. If I had to describe the game to an old-school videogame player, I would consider it a top-down perspective of GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64, but with a team of four instead of a single character.

The game centers around missions, which primary goals provided at the start, and additional goals presented as the mission progresses. A world map is accessible, but most dangers do not appear (enemy agents, mines, snipers, etc…) until a member of your team approaches. The player controls a single agent at a time, while others will remain where they stand or follow, depending on the orders you give them. While everyone carries some sort of firearm (click on an enemy to shoot), each member of the team has special ability which can be used. Swapping between team members is quick, so you could swap over to the sniper to shoot down enemy snipers before approaching, swap over to your engineer to guide the troop in safely (he’s the only one who can spot enemy mines and deactivate them), switch to the bazooka wielding guy to take out entrenched enemies, and then deactivate any electronic devices with the technology guy.

Missions are very enclosed, initially funneling your team along predetermined paths, although later missions begin to give occasional larger areas to explore closer to your own pace. Aside from the health of your troops, the most important resource to manage is ammunition. Spend too much ammo sniping enemy units at a comfortable distance and you’ll be in trouble if you ever come up to enemy snipers and have no long distance bullets of your own. There are occasional minor puzzles like you would find in a first person shooter – disable this device here to unlock a special area over there filled with ammo and other goodies. However, the focus is on getting from point A to point B as efficiently as possible – using limited ammunition and avoiding damage.

All in all, I found Elite Forces: Unit 77 to be a solid game and it provided enjoyment as I scoured out the maps, carefully planning my assault without raining too much enemy opposition back down upon me. However, despite the four characters present and the exploration elements, it didn’t scratch my strategic itch. Strategy gamers will find it far too light, but someone looking for a simple action-tactical romp may find something to enjoy as you progress through the missions.

Kid Factor: The kid-appropriateness is what put me off the game the most. I am not looking for a realistic game when I boot up my Nintendo DS. Most of the enemies found in the game are human agents (sure, they’re bad guys, but people nonetheless). When shot, they leave a bit of a spurt of blood and then the bodies eventually fade away. No options were present to turn the graphics off. It is listed as a T for Teen title, and while the difficulty of the game is such that younger kids could play it, it is a tad too dark in theme for me to be comfortable to recommend it to kids in the tweens (ie. pre-teen). Other than the violence (guns & explosives) and blood, there are few (if any) other items to be concerned about (like nudity, drugs, and such.)

Tags: Game Reviews