I'm going to make a quick note that this review is based off what I have played so far. And so far, well.. I'm enjoying it.

The plot of the game is taken from the likes of STALKER, you're a mercenary, one of 9 playable characters, who has been hired to travel to the African Sub-lands to take down a dangerous arms dealer named, 'The Jackal.' This individual has been supplying two militant units, the UFLL and the APR Shortly arriving in Africa, the character you have chosen is a silent protagonist, not having a speaking roll. It does seem though that the NPCs know exactly what you want.

The first 5 to 10 minutes of the game is riding in a Taxi cab as the cab driver gives you a bit of back story about what is going on. But the closer you get to town the sicker your character seems to be getting. After you pass out, you wake up in a hotel room with a gruff looking character digging through your belongings. And in the end, it seems that it's The Jackal, and that he found you first, taunting you because you seem to have caught Malaria... in the 10 minutes you have been in Africa.

After threatening you, leaving you alive, then leaving... you pass out again and this is where the game finally starts. Though the story doesn't really extend past finding this guy, various tapes you find throughout the game lets you look deeper into The Jackals past and motivation for supplying the two units.

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First up, graphically, for the X-Box 360 it seems that the game has been stripped down so that the system can play it. And to me it seems that unless you have high def TV you're gonna be getting a bit in the ways of pixalization, but in ways.. they've only reduced enough down to the point that I have yet to receive any sort of slowdown in gameplay, even when up against 10 enemies at one time. Though I honestly haven't had any issue with the graphics as this game is a rather good PC port, and I have no PC graphics to compare it with. So all and all, it's a verrrrrrrrry good looking game for the 360. Ranging from Lush Landscapes of the African Wilderness, to just the graphics of fire burning away at the dry grass and trees.

Now gameplay. Gameplay is superb. In the beginning, while in the tutorial part of the game.. your movement is limited. After finishing the initial story, the map opens up out of something like Grand Theft Auto. Go anywhere, shoot anything, destroy anything, steal anything. Except without the cops. There ARE some areas in the game that limit what you can do. As the first big town you start in has a cease fire and there are some 'No entry' zones that if you enter, the entire town will be out to get you since you went into a 'no-no' area. Also like Grand Theft Auto, on your hunt for The Jackal, you'll be taking missions from either the UFLL or APR, and from those you'll be earning hard earned Diamonds for spending money to buy yourself, via Computer at a Arms Dealer, a variety of gear and weapons for your warehouse and safe houses. You start off with a limited amount of weaponry in the beginning, more of which can be unlocked by doing missions for your Arms Dealer.

As you move throughout the game you'll pick up various buddies who will help you out in your main missions as well as moving to save your hide after various periods of time. For example, one mission requires me to take out a unit of highly trained soldiers who have entered the area. The APR wants me to remove them so the UFLL doesn't think that THEY were the ones who sent them. After getting the mission I receive a phone call from one of my buddies to meet her at a safe house. Once there.. she actually adds on to the mission. The unit I was sent to kill, is actually after her.. and she can set it up so that I can make the mission easier on me instead of driving into the middle of their camp. Of course.. you can skip meeting her and just charge in with full guns blazing. This lets you choose your path accordingly. I will note that the buddies and helpers change accordingly to which character you had chosen at the time, as well as missions change depending on which path you took.

The downsides of the game however are rather plentiful. As with all Sandbox games, traveling from Point A to Point B without a car or vehicle can be bothersome, though the breaks in the gameplay is eased by guard points you have to fight through to get to your missions objective. Though you have a steady supply of Malaria pills on you that you get at the end of the tutorial, you're character is constantly having to pop a few of them as you play the game. This can be a hassle in the middle of a firefight, and even worse as you don't know when you'll run out. If this is the case, you're character will pass out or even worse, and can be problematic if you're right at the dead end of a mission.

In the end, the game is enjoyable and as stated in the beginning feels a lot like a highly upgraded STALKER, where you can go anywhere and do anything.

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I will say in the end the finished product is something to enjoy, though I'd want to see the final product on the computer first as well before making any more assumptions about the graphics. Though the traveling from one spot to another on such a huge map can be pretty boring, though breaks in the gameplay stopped by having to fight through factions guard points, and the Missions are fun with lots of action involved. The Malaria part could of been left out though.


Score: 8.0 - Great (8s are impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.)