Up until now the GCN has not been the console of choice when it comes to first person shooters, but with quality titles such as Turok Evolution now released and Timesplitters 2 and Metroid Prime on the horizon, things are starting to pick up. So, obviously, when Die Hard: Vendetta releases this November there is going to be a lot of competition, and the game will have to stand out considerably in order to fare well. Fortunately, the version I played, which was almost 100% complete, seemed very promising.

Basically, you play as John McClane who is running around shooting bad guys responsible for his daughter being kidnapped. It is classic Die Hard stuff, filled with all the typical humorous touches that characterize the movies.

The game consists of 10 huge levels that are further divided into two or three sub-levels. When you start a level you are presented with quite a few mission objectives that need to be taken care of. These include: disarming bombs, killing a certain boss character, avoiding civilian casualties, etc. Usually more objectives will be added as you progress through the level, which is cool, because it adds a sense of unpredictability to the gameplay. Also, cut-scenes always crop up between sub-levels and they unfold the plot very well, using in-game graphics and quality voice-acting.

The levels themselves are fairly straight-forward, but still well-designed. One of them takes place in a subway system filled with terrorists. The first people you meet are confused bums who do not know what is going on. You can actually point your gun towards one of them, in which case he gets scared and ducks. This is just one example of the great attention to detail found in the game. Around the next corner you will see three terrorists talking. Now you have a choice. Either rush in guns ablaze, in which case you will lose both ammo and health, or put on hobo clothes as disguise. Sneaking up to them wearing the disguise, you will be ignored and get the chance to listen to what they are saying. Not only that, you will also notice one of them wearing different clothes. He is the leader of that group. Walk up to him and you can hold him hostage with a single press of button. He will then tell his comrades to drop their weapons, allowing you to pick them up, snap the leader and execute the two other guys in the most brutal way. Without a doubt, this is the most innovative and rewarding aspect of Vendetta. The fact that you always have different possibilities when facing enemies gives you an impressive sense of freedom and makes the gameplay feel much more varied. Smart!

Moving further through the subway system you will eventually reach the underground railway where oncoming trains have to be avoided. You need to walk along the railway, finding small holes to crawl into whenever a train is coming. This is very hard, and to make everything even more hectic and confusing, it is so dark that you have to use your special night-vision goggles. Suffice it to say, I died here. Quite a few times.

What is really amazing, though, is that when reaching this point in the level, you have only played about three minutes of the game. Three minutes and you have already seen and done so much. That is certainly a testament to the quality of Die Hard: Vendetta.

There are few significant flaws, but the controls are definitely the least accomplished aspect of the game. Aiming is frustratingly clumsy, because the C-stick controls jumping, ducking, and sidestepping rather than aiming. To rectify the situation, Bits Studios have included an auto-aim function, but when this is activated shooting becomes far too easy. Basically, all you have to do is get an enemy on the screen and then press the A button – the auto-aim will take care of the rest, and before you know it the enemy lies dead on the floor. This might be good for beginners, but for anyone else it completely removes any sense of accomplishment when mowing down a whole group of bad guys. Furthermore, when auto-aim is on, head-shots are impossible to make, because your gun will always be pointed to the enemy’s chest. Fortunately, I was told that the controls were actually one of the few things that they would tweak before the game’s release, so there is still hope.

Everything else, though, seems to work brilliantly, and as big FPS fan I am really looking forward to this game. This fall is sure going to be expensive…