Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Crimes of War picks up the fast‐paced, no‐frills shooting formula popularized by its predecessor, offering a responsive control scheme that feels immediate from the very first firefight. You navigate tightly designed corridors, open courtyards, and subterranean labs using a straightforward arsenal of five weapon slots. Each weapon—from the trusty pistol and rapid‐fire rifle to the thunderous rocket launcher—serves a distinct purpose, encouraging players to swap strategically as they confront swarms of ÜberMacht soldiers and mutated monstrosities.

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What really sets Crimes of War apart is the ÜberSoldier power system. Karl Stolz’s bullet shield, stasis field, and berserker knife attacks transform ordinary encounters into adrenaline‐fuelled skirmishes. Landing knife slashes builds rage, unleashing powerful melee onslaughts, while precision headshots grant brief windows of perfect accuracy. Managing these temporary buffs becomes a thrilling juggle, especially when the action heats up and enemies close in from every angle.

Between missions, experience points allow you to bolster Stolz’s innate abilities—boosting health, extending shield duration, or improving emotion time. This RPG‐lite progression injects a welcome sense of growth into the campaign, rewarding exploration and combat finesse. Rather than simply hauling gun to gun, you’ll find yourself weighing which upgrades best complement your playstyle: a steadfast bullet shield for survival, or heightened damage output to overwhelm foes faster.

Graphics

Visually, Crimes of War delivers a gritty, industrial palette that perfectly captures the desperate struggle within the ZE1-Complex. Textures on rusted pipes, cracked walls, and muddy terrain are rendered with surprising detail, while dynamic lighting casts long shadows that heighten tension as you creep through darkened halls. Explosions light up the environment convincingly, and particle effects—smoke, debris, and sparks—add a visceral flourish to every encounter.

Character models for Karl Stolz, Maria Schneider, and the über-enhanced soldiers exhibit solid polygon counts and smooth animations. Although facial expressions can feel a bit stiff during cutscenes, the overall motion capture shines through in combat animations, especially when Stolz unleashes his knife‐driven frenzy. Enemy designs, from armored troopers to grotesque bio‐experiments, are varied enough to keep your eyes engaged throughout the dozen or so levels.

Performance remains stable on modern hardware, with only minor dips when large firefights erupt around you. The configurable graphical settings allow players to dial down shadows or post‐processing effects to maintain a steady frame rate, making Crimes of War accessible across a broad range of systems. In multiplayer skirmishes, textures and models load seamlessly, ensuring that competitive matches stay fluid and free of distracting stutters.

Story

Picking up where ÜberSoldier left off, Crimes of War follows Karl Stolz and fellow operative Maria Schneider as they hunt down the source of the T9 substance. After the dramatic destruction of the ZE1-Complex, the Alliance believed the war was over—only to discover that T9 production has simply moved, prolonging the threat of mind‐controlled ÜberSoldiers. This narrative setup provides a clear, motivating objective: infiltrate hidden facilities, neutralize T9 labs, and end the cycle of resurrected warfare.

The campaign weaves together tense stealth sections, high‐octane gun battles, and scripted set pieces that underscore the stakes at hand. Dialogue between Stolz and Schneider reveals their camaraderie and lingering doubts about the moral costs of their mission. While the story doesn’t break new ground in sci‐fi storytelling, it remains engaging enough to push you from one level to the next, especially as small twists emerge about the true masterminds behind the ÜberMacht.

Cinematic cutscenes bookend key missions, showcasing sweeping vistas of war‐torn landscapes juxtaposed with grim laboratory interiors. These interludes effectively build atmosphere and remind players of the human toll behind each skirmish. Though some narrative beats feel familiar to fans of military sci‐fi shooters, the game’s brisk pacing and focused objectives ensure the story never overstays its welcome.

Overall Experience

Crimes of War succeeds as a streamlined, action‐focused shooter that doesn’t overcomplicate its formula. The blend of classic firearms, unique ÜberSoldier mechanics, and light RPG progression provides enough variety to keep combat fresh across multiple playthroughs. While the campaign clocks in at a modest length, side challenges and hidden upgrade nodes encourage exploration and replayability.

Multiplayer extends the fun significantly, supporting up to 16 players in modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and ÜberMesser Deathmatch—an all‐knife free‐for‐all that puts your berserker skills to the ultimate test. Matches remain fast‐paced and balanced, with power‐up pickups and environmental hazards adding unexpected twists to standard arena layouts.

For players seeking a solid, no‐nonsense shooter with just enough superpower flair to stand out, Crimes of War is an easy recommendation. Its polished presentation, reliable performance, and satisfying weaponplay combine into an experience that rarely slows down. Though veteran FPS fans may find its structure familiar, the game’s smooth mechanics and well‐timed thrills make it a worthy addition to any collection.

Retro Replay Score

6.4/10