Tactical Ops : Crossfire review

They said it would never happen. Tactical Ops would not get ported to the Unreal Tournament 2004 engine. This is semi-true : in theory it didn't happen, since Crossfire is a completely new modification that simply borrows most gameplay elements from the original Tactical Ops. But who are we to complain? We get to play the game, what else can you ask for?

A little bit of history...

December 1999 marked the birth of one of the most popular Unreal Engine modifications ever. SWAT 1.0 was welcomed into the Unreal community and was quite popular. The modification pitted special forces against terrorists in a heated battle. Due to legal reason, the total conversion was renamed to Tactical Ops and with each new version the popularity of the game grew bigger and bigger. It became so popular among Unreal fans that publisher Infogrames took notice of it and plans for a retail version became reality in April 2002. When developer Kamehan Studios stopped support for the mod, the community asked and received permission to release a community patch which polished most of the leftover bugs.

On the first of April 2005, a new TO game was announced, this time for the Unreal Tournament 2004 engine. The new TO would be developed by a team consisting of some of the old TO/TOST developers, backed up by a bunch of artists, modellers and mappers. Some claimed this to be a cruel joke since it was announced on April Fools Day, but now, almost 7 years later after the original release, TO:Crossfire becomes reality with the release of the first public beta.

Objective accomplished!

So what does Crossfire offer its potential players? TO:Crossfire is a semi-realistic and fast-paced FPS modification. The goal of the TO:C development was not to "just make a mod", but a "game". You'll have to look very hard to find anything that might resemble UT2004. Practically all aspect from the original UT2004 game have been altered to fit the Tactical Ops legacy.

The gameplay feels like the dev team took the best parts of TO2.x and TO:AoT, and mixed them together with a good portion of new gameplay elements and tweaks. Although the game isn't as fast paced as the previous versions, the action is still as frantic as it ever was. It takes a while to get into the game, but once you get the hang of things, it's hard to stop playing. Since this is the first public beta, there are still a number of bugs that need squashing and some rough edges that need a bit of polishing, but there are no real show-stoppers.

When you join a game, you get to play as either a Special Forces member, or a Terrorist. Both teams have a distinct arsenal, and some weapons are available for both teams (more on this later). This first beta offers us a variety of objectives spread over 11 original maps. We have the well known C4 scenarios where the Terrorists try to plant explosives to demolish strategic locations. In the Hostage scenarios, the SF team must rescue some innocent bystanders. There is also a Console scenario which should feel familiar for TO oldtimers, in which computer terminal must be hacked in order to win the round. And ofcourse the standard Team Elimination scenarios where you simply have to dispose of the enemy team.

The main focus of TO:C is on online matches. At the time of the release, there were already over 250 servers running the modification so it shouldn't be hard to find a server with players on. You can dive right into the action. But for those without a decent internet connection, botmatches are possible too. Don't expect them to be smart though, there's still a lot of work to be done in the area of artificial intelligence.

Show me the hardware!

All shooters ever made have one thing in common : weaponry. Be it lethal or non-lethal, you can't have a shooter without it having one or more weapons to bug your opponents with. Needless to say that TO:C isn't any different in this area. Oldtime players will surely recognize most of the arsenal TO:C has to offer, but there are also some new additions that will surely provide some interesting battles. Most of the weapons are tied to one of the 2 sides, with some weapons available for both SF and Terrorist forces.

First of all, we have some melee weaponry for those who love ultra-close combat. The SF gets a SpecPlus knife, and the Terrorists get a rather cool looking diving knife.

But as we already mentioned a shooter needs guns. There are 4 handguns available for those awkward moments when you need to reload or when you ran out of bullets for your submachine gun or rifle. For the SF, there's the Beretta 92F, while the Terrorists receive the HK USP Compact. There are also 2 "shared" weapons, the popular IMI Desert Eagle with the laserdot attachment, and the Taurus Raging Bull which packs quite a punch.

In the Submachinegun section, the SF Forces get to play with a full-automatic Mac11, HK MP5k PDW with optional silencer, or the HK MP7. The Terrorists have the choice between the Scorpion vz.61, the TO-classic HK MP5A3, the powerfull FN P90 or the silenced Famae SAF Silenciada.

For close quarter combat lovers, TO:C has a couple of bad-ass shotguns available. The Special Forces get the well-known Franchi Spas 12 or the full-automatic M3 Jackhammer. The Terrorist side has the choice between the lovely Serbu Super Shorty or the Benelli Nova Pump Tactical.

If you're looking for a bit more firepower, take a look at the rifles in TO:C. The SF side gets the classic M4 Commando rifle, the TO2.x favourite Famas G2 and the scoped Steyr Aug, another TO2.x favourite returning to the franchise. The Terrorists have the choice between the IMI Galil and the scoped Sig 551. And there are also 2 "shared" rifles: the famous AK47 and the single/burst action HK G3.

And a counter-terrorism shooter isn't complete without a couple of sniper rifles for longe range combat. While the SF has the TO-classic HK MSG90, the Terrorists get to play around with the Dragunov SVD. And then wse have the "shared" one-shot-one-kill AI AWM sniper rifle which packs one hell of a punch.

Ofcourse, a couple of grenades are always handy, whether it is for temporarily blinding the enemy's vision with either a XM86 Flashbang or a AN M8 Smoke Grenade, or seriously wounding the opponent with the M61 Frag Grenade.

As you can see, there should be enough choice for everyone to find his or her favourite weapon. The handy buy menu from the original Tactical Ops mod is back, although it's a bit of a shame there aren't any pictures available for the weapons you choose. So you'll need to learn the names for each weapon if you don't want to make mistakes while buying. But since this is only the first public release, who knows what the future might hold?

Finally, without a decent hitbox system, a good arsenal is of not much use. So hitboxes got tweaked, resulting in a much more complex and better hit system with damage based on the bodypart you actually hit. Some extra tweaking might be necessary to get the best possible experience though.

Take me where the action is!

The maps themselves are varied and are set in distinct locations around the globe. Each map looks great and plays very well, with a couple of bugs that need squashing here and there. The gameflow throughout the maps is good, and several attack routes are available to keep the tension high.

Let's take a closer look at the maps that are available in this first release:

° OBJ-Anvil (by Spin) - C4 scenario
Industrial themed map that is perfect mix of both fast, hectic close combat action and long range sniping.

° OBJ-CaspianSea (by Pere-Fouetard) - C4 scenario
High tempo map with lots of attack/escape routes. Be sure to check in all directions before crossing...

° OBJ-Downtown (By SweDalg) - C4 scenario
Urban themed map with a focus on z-axis combat. Teams battle it out on both streets and in appartment blocks.

° OBJ-Hyperion (By Milli) - C4 scenario
Industrial themed map with a good combination of long range and close combat areas.

° OBJ-Province (By somb]I[) - C4 scenario
A TO classic returns with a twist. The popular Province map has undergone some serious cosmetic surgery, and is back with a layout that provides a good flow.

° OBJ-Rage (By somb]I[) - C4 scenario
Urban themed map that allows for a multitude of different attack and defend tactics. A good map to settle clanwars on.

° OBJ-Medina (By BabyNuke) - Hostage scenario
Battles are fought during the night in this middle eastern themed map. Although the layout might be a bit simplistic, the fire fights will surely get your adrenaline pumping.

° OBJ-Prelude (By Ssswing’) - Hostage scenario
Medium sized map with a focus on z-axis fire fights. You might feel a bit alone due to the complex layout that provides a large number of possible routes.

° OBJ-StGeorge (By r@yden and RestCreW) - Hostage scenario
Fast, hectic gameplay are a certainty in this small map.

° OBJ-Avion (by BabyNuke) - Console scenario
Need to perfect your nade skills? This might be the map you're looking for. The fast action and open locations provide the setting for intense fire fights.

° OBJ-SunsetBlossom (By PSYCH[o]) - Team elimination scenario
Very open map which is perfectly suited for long range combat. But shotgun lovers will surely love the indoor close combat action.

What meets the eye... and ears!

The development team behind TO:C really went all out when it comes to the graphics. From the player- and weaponmodels to the environments in which you get to wreck havoc, everything looks sharp and polished. The special effects are nicely done (take the bloodspatter for example), but the ragdoll effects still need some polishing.

There's also a great deal of behind-the-scene optimisation that might not be apparent at first. The framerate stays practically the same even during intense fire fights and for once a smoke grenade doesn't cause your framerate to drop by simply looking at it. A really outstanding job especially if you keep in mind that these guys are putting a lot of their own free time in the modification without getting anything in return for their efforts except for our gratitude.

The sound effects are good although the announcer sounds a bit bland. The soundtrack is a good mix between rock and techno and should please almost all players.

Conclusion

It looks like Crossfire might become the next-gen Tactical Ops most of us have been waiting for. Great gameplay which borrows the best of the TO games mixed with new elements, an expansive arsenal, and a good number of high quality maps to play on. Combine these with sweet looking and greatly optimised graphics and sounds, and you know it has to be good. An impressive beta worth checking out, even if you never played Tactical Ops before.