Special Forces: Nemesis Strike Review

Some games are under everyone’s radar. This would be the case for Special Forces: Nemesis Strike, the Xbox version of CT Special Forces. For those not familiar, CT Special Forces is an underground favorite on the Game Boy Advance. CT Special Forces started as a 2D Metal Slug clone. Now, the 3D Special Forces franchise is a kill.switch clone, an underground favorite on the PlayStation 2 in 2003.

If you’re unfamiliar with kill.switch, Special Forces Nemesis might as well be known as the unofficial sequel. The controls are nearly identical to kill.switch. You can lean against walls, duck, blind fire, throw grenades, leap, etc. The only real difference between the two games is in that Nemesis Strike has two playable characters: Stealth Owl and Raptor. The storyline for both characters will overlap throughout the game.

One of the biggest draws to Nemesis Strike is its use of vehicular mayhem. You’ll get a limited number of vehicles to drive and fire, including a watercraft in what is one of the better levels of the game. A city has been flooded from a dam explosion. Your job is to deactivate satellite signals coming from computers within the city. You’ll be using a watercraft to steer through the streets of this unnamed city, destroying all that get in your way, including other craft and rocket-launcher enemies.

As far as missions go, you’ve come to expect nothing more than finding explosives, rescuing people, etc. You’ll get a lot of that here too, but mission variety isn’t the biggest draw; the action is. The first few levels will take place on a frigate overrun by baddies (not surprisingly an oil tanker was also a level in kill.switch), a train hijacked with explosives planted, and the dam level, among others. In all, there are twenty-six missions for your two characters to take part in.

The most unique of the missions is the free-falling. With 360 degrees of rotation, you’re given full control of your skydiver. You control the descent speed, fire at enemies as they approach your character, and endure the elements. Combating aerial forces and shooting oncoming rockets can prove to be a real challenge.

The interface in Nemesis Strike is basic. In the upper left hand of the screen is a display of your health percentage and shield percentage. The shield percentage, which varies in uses between the two characters, uses the same source of energy as invisibility, thermal vision, night vision, and sonar. This energy can be regenerated at terminals. The bottom left displays a very handy map. The bottom right, your primary and secondary weapon selection.

The biggest challenge is survival. Snipers can be a real pain in your side if you’re not cautious. Even when you are, including when you’re invisible, they find a way to see you. The same goes for other enemies. This is an obvious flaw in the game, considering your progress will be lost to the last checkpoint, which are few and far between. Be sure to kill your enemies before they kill you. The rocket launcher and snipers are lethal.

At the end of the day, Nemesis Strike proves to be a longer than expected, and better than expected, third-person shooter. I praise the developers for their first attempt at a 3D Special Forces console game. Sure, some of the game’s aspects might not be up to a level of excellence, but every department, be it graphics, gameplay, or game length, gets the job done well. If you’re looking for a quality third-person shooter for a budget price, look no further than Special Forces: Nemesis Strike.