Chrome Specforce (PC)

Graphics

Chrome featured large environments and before the likes of Far Cry would have been something special, sadly it was too little too late and the two-year old engine hasn’t changed at all, while the rest of the PC game world has advanced by leaps and bounds.

What you do have with C: SF is a serviceable and robust engine, delivering good quality visuals and reasonable eye candy. The large scale environments are there and the frame rate keeps a good consistency throughout.

It has good texturing and everything has a reasonable level of detail to it. In the realms of models and interior/exterior locations C: SF looks decent enough and keeps to the quality of its predecessor.

Level Design

The missions link from one to the other and it feels far more cohesive in that respect that the first game, having missions taking place on the planet lends a sense of continuing story and struggle to C: SF that was absent from the first, since the game leapt from place to place and left the player wondering what really was going on.

It has functional level design, vehicle sections and large scale battles against overwhelming enemy odds. C: SF is a core shooter in that respect.

Animations

It hasn’t changed from the first game and the animation in C: SF remain functional, reasonable and provide a solid counterpart to the engine’s graphics. The word I would use is: decent. There’s nothing groundbreaking since the game’s engine really hasn’t advanced since the first instalment.

AI

The AI has been tweaked for the enemy but not for your squad mates, often your squad mates seem to react in a predictable manner, not bothering to go for cover and becoming inherent ‘bullet’ magnets. On the upside they will shoot the enemy and are often much better at that than the player, usually taking down an enemy soldier before you have a chance to pinpoint them.

The enemy AI uses cover, team tactics and often reacts better than your squad mates. They can sometimes get an attack of ‘the stupid’ and try to hide behind a small tuft of grass, perhaps thinking that this innocent greenery makes them appear as ecologically minded and you’ll leave them to fill you full of holes.