G.I. Joe, supposedly a real American hero though in EA’s The Rise of the Cobra, the game to cash in on the success of the recent movie bearing the same title, that would probably be the last thing on your mind. This third person arcade shooter seems to have missed some fundamental pieces to the puzzle that make for an action packed and enjoyable experience in the gaming world. With some redeeming qualities such as a variety of characters and many different levels there may well be some enjoyment to be had however.
This game essentially picks up where the Paramount Pictures movie gets off. In theory that’s a clever strategy designed to reduce the number of spoilers usually readily available in games of movies. However the result delivers something of a lacklustre story that isn’t really enough to enthral its audience. With 45 years of G.I. Joe history behind the movie and game you’d have thought the premise of a decent plotline would have been something they’d cracked long ago. Poor voice acting in monotonous tones does nothing to help spice up the delivery of the plot characteristics that do exist either.
Let’s consider the positives. With 16 different characters to play, including 4 unlockable COBRA baddies, there’ll be plenty to do. A lot of the old G.I. Joe characters make an appearance such as the old classics Snake Eyes, Duke and Heavy Duty. There are also some playable characters that didn’t make an appearance in the movie to liven things up all the more. Each individual character in the game has their own unique weapons and abilities, falling into three categories; the commandos – ideal for all your close ranged combat needs, the heavy’s – complete with expert shooting skills… From a distance that is, or the combat soldiers – a happy medium of the previous two. With these different characteristics to consider selecting a character to play with becomes a more challenging pursuit.
Unfortunately unlocking the characters can become something of a chore in itself. Although some of the G.I. Joes can be discovered through progression in the story there are still others that require the fulfilment of specific criteria such as doing bonus missions or finding specific items. As the thought of repeating some of the missions aren’t one to inspire the faint hearted it is likely that a lot of the characters may remain forever locked.
There are 20 levels in the story of G.I. Joe the Rise of the Cobra; each boasting 3 – 5 different areas to explore. It seems that no one stopped to inform the creators however that simply putting more bad guys in to make it harder doesn’t make for compelling gameplay. Holding your finger down on the shoot button as you run from checkpoint to checkpoint seems an entirely successful way of navigating through the levels. The two player co-op functionality playable either with a mate or an AI character make the gameplay more exciting, with the option to swap characters if you’re playing alone, or to simply have company if you’re with a friend. And gadgets such as the invincibility-offering Accelerator Suit awarded after a substantial amount of damage has been done may inspire you to continue to the end.
Generally blocky graphics, an underdeveloped plot and a ‘shoot anything on site’ mentality are big flaws in the design of G.I. Joe the Rise of the Cobra, but there is certainly some fun to be had with it if you can stick at it.