"A game that truly represents the capabilities of the GameBoy Advance!"

When I first bought my GBA, I was immediately looking for an FPS to satisfy that burning desire to shoot anything and everything. I instead ran into a game that involves more than just killing everything in sight, you have to use strategy, like a Goldeneye or Perfect Dark game. Well, let me tell you the reasons I recommend this game to the fullest...

Story-8

You assume the role of either an FBI agent or an NSA agent, both having their own specific roles. A lot of the story-line gradually reveals itself through semi-long courtroom readings. Although the fact that these readings are rather long, and may turn off some gamers, I liked the way the game took its time to explain what's going on, I think that showed that they actually put some effort into this game.

Gameplay-9

Although hard and frustrating at times, this game will keep you engaged for hours. I found it hard to put this game down. My only gripe is that this game doesn't support a game-pack save feature, you have to remember passwords, which is a big no-no for portable games.

Graphics-8

The graphics simply amazed me at first, that a portable gaming system could possibly produce such great visuals. But after playing for a while, I still basically think that way, excluding a few parts. For example, when you get up close to an enemy, they look very bad, but all that doesn't matter, as long as you can make out what you're shooting at, and Ecks vs. Sever more than accomplishes this task. The environments look fine, with not a lot of detail but gets the job done.

Sound-6

Well, this is where the game lacks. I reduced points from this score because there is no background music,(which can be a good or bad thing depending on your opinion), also because I don't think I heard any voice acting, nor when you shoot enemies, they don't give any groan of pain. The one thing I absolutely loved about the sound is the reloading of the guns, it just sounds great, you gotta hear it.

Controls-10

With the lack of number of buttons on the GBA, Bam! did a great job with this. Such easy controls on the harder levels persuaded me to think that it's not the controls that's hurting your play, it's your lack of skills. Which is a good thing! I can't stand games that have such horrible controls that cause you to suffer the loss, but games such as this make me think about how I have to improve my own gameplay.

Replay Value-9

If the lengthy single-player game (12 levels for each character, 24 in all) doesn't keep you busy, then the great multi-player will, providing fun for up to 3 other friends. Plenty of levels, plenty of guns, and plenty of modes in multi-player make this a game that can be played for a good chunk of your time.

Pros: 1. Great variety of gameplay
2. Excellent replay value
3. Good plot
4. Tight, extraordinary controls
5. Reloading sound effects that just rock!

Cons: 1. Where's the background music?
2. More variety of enemies
3. Enemies should groan, screech, shout, howl,
anything when they die!

Difficulty-Medium to hard

Rent or Buy-If you're into FPS's like I am, you should definitely put this on your list of GBA games to get, but if you're not, you should rent this first to see if you should add this one to your GBA library. I personally recommend to buy this game right away!

Conclusion

This game surprised me in a good way since the very first time I turned it on. I strongly recommend this game over Dark Arena, BackTrack, and even the coveted Doom.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/14/02, Updated 07/14/02