With Microsoft's recent claim that the 360 will have over one-thousand titles available by the end of the year, you have to wonder how many of them will be nondescript first-person shooters like Conflict: Denied Ops. Better yet, how many will be worth your time. That large number of games seems overwhelming, but game companies seem willing and able to churn out ordinary FPS games at an alarming rate. Are story and innovation too much to ask for?
The game follows the 'off the records' adventures of two classified military men, Graves and Lang, who are asked to track down an evil Venezuelan General bent on world domination. Sure, there are some minor details sprinkled in via cut-scenes before and after missions, but that is about as deep as the story, the character back-stories, or your level of interest will go. Like most other squad-based military games, you do have the chance to order your compadre into a bad situation in the hopes that he can clear at least a few of the enemies out before you sniff gunpowder. This works decently, but when they are hit and fall to the ground, there is a timer attached to their fading life. Heal them before the timer is up, or it is back to the last checkpoint for the two of you. The same is true if you go down in the process of saving them.
While the game's hit detection works well, the touchy aiming mechanics could use some work. This leads to some rather interesting up-close battles with your shotgun, but more often will cause you to punch your downed teammate in the face rather than healing them. Any non-battle oriented action required with the A button becomes a frustrating mini-game of hokey-pokey when trying to find the sweet spot for pulling off the action. Because of this, your best bet when on the ground is to call over your partner with the left-trigger rather than switching players and attempting to perform the healing yourself.
The A.I. throughout the game is dodgy at best. Sometimes your computer-controlled partner will clear out a room like a trained killer, while other times he will stand around while bullets rain down on him when there is cover readily available he could use. Whenever you start over from a checkpoint, you must remember to order your partner to either follow you or go to a specific point. If you fail to do so, you will end up running through the level on your own, with your partner back at the last checkpoint with twiddling his thumbs. When they are following you around, you will frequently notice your partner's affinity with shooting or kicking the already dead. It is a good thing that the game provides unlimited bullets, otherwise, the game's characters would be out of clips five minutes into each level.
The enemy A.I. seems to operate a little better, although most times when you get a baddie in your sights with Graves you will see them looking at you, but typically wait a few seconds; politely allowing you to pop off the first shot or three. It makes headshots, and the game itself, frequently very easy. The game also provides navigational arrows, which are supposed to direct you to your current objective, but too often take you on a longer trip than necessary. A quick glance around the level can often lead to you finding a shortcut.
