Pacific Storm: Allies is a sequel to the award winning strategy game Pacific Storm, which was released in 2007. The game itself feels much, perhaps too much, like the first rendition, but does build upon many of the areas that were lacking the first time around. The game is good, but unfortunately, it feels too much like an expansion rather than a standalone game.
As with Pacific Storm, you assume the mantle of commander in chief of armed forces, though this time, you\'re thrown into the rough and tumble between Japan and the United States. The game plays out like you might expect. You have units, and you attack with them to gain dominance over a given area. Nothing revolutionary. What makes this game above par, is the extraordinary detail the developers have injected into such a small release. The only problem is that it seems that they may have lost sight as to what this is, a game, and not a strategical simulation - which definitely hits home when you\'re, you know, trying to play the game. Unless you\'re a die-hard, you probably wont get many hours out of this title, but if you enjoy a romp in the muck of things, you\'ll get a great amount from Pacific Storm: Allies.
Pacific Storm: Allies is a bit of a mixed review; the game that won awards the first time around is back again, but relies too much on what made it great, rather than improving on what made it not so good. The game does add an in-depth campaign between Japan and United Sates, which would serve as a great patch - or upgrade, but does not serve so well as a standalone game.
Pacific Storm wont be pushing your rig to the limit; it seems as though the developers focused a bit more on the game-play than they did on the visual representation of the game. Pacific Storm did not receive an update in the looks department; which leaves the game looking dated - remember, the first rendition was released in 2006. The game supplies "just enough" 3D accelerated material to stay somewhat trailing-edge, which is perhaps one of Pacific Storm: Allies biggest draw backs. The world and the battles are 3D sandboxes; you\'ll have a plethora of land, sea, and air to conquer, grow, and dominate.
During the preparation for battle you\'re presented with an overview of the world, or at-least the area in which you\'re engaged. Units are displayed in a "Risk" like fashion which you are able to control much like any, and every, other RTS. Direct orders can be issued by selecting units in a group, or selecting them one by one. Here you\'re also able to add upgrades, such as engines, ammo, facilities (think abilities) and buildings. The sheer amount of data presented here can be overwhelming, to say the least, but its also pretty interesting and for the most part pretty entertaining. Despite the intense, or hardcore, approach to game-play, its easy get a hang of. The difficulty is sloped fairly steep; the first few levels, or encounters, feel like tutorials, while after the third or fourth encounter, you\'ll realize that the war to end all wars was not an easy victory.
One of the best features, which has been retained from the first Pacific Storm, is the ability to jump into the heat of the battle and control a friendly air unit. This adds a bit more action to the otherwise hardcore RTS. My biggest gripe with this feature is that at times, the planes feel like they are moving in slow motion, or at-least slower in relation to the world than they should be.
Direct control over the units is surprisingly easy, through the use of the tactical information screen - the top down command screen. The biggest downfall is selecting all units of a certain type - which was some how forgotten; there\'s no real excuse for forgetting such a necessary function in an RTS.
The ability to upgrade and add new abilities to units does not relate directly to the control of the game, but it does add more depth and gives a bit more control in battle. Otherwise, the game handles just as well as it has to.
Sound is one of the most overlooked and undercooked area of even blockbuster games. Here, I felt the need to turn off my speakers because of the cheap synthesized tracks and poor voice overs. The bullets whizzing through the air sound just fine, but again, just fine is unfortunately not good enough.
As I said before, the game is good, just as good (if not better) than the initial release - two years ago. Unfortunately, I couldn\'t get past the overwhelming similarities or the negligible differences. Pacific Storm: Allies just does not hold its own as a retail release. The content is fun, the graphics are a bit trailing edge, and the game honestly feels like an expansion. If we consider this game Pacific Storm 1.5, the content alone would have made this a very worthy addition to your RTS collection, though on its own, it is not a game I can stand behind.
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