ic-games Review - Hammer and Sickle - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

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Hammer & Sickle

Hammer and Sickle

Information
Reviewer: Bill Hartley
Developer: CDV
Publisher: CDV
Reviewed: PC
Genre: Point And Click
UK Release: 14th Feb 2006
Article Date: 23rd Apr 2006
Difficulty: N/A
Retail Price: £19.99
Price Comparison:
0

Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 58%

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Pros

Interesting idea,

Decent graphics.

Fair pricing

Cons

Poor audio,

Frustrating game play

Screenshots

24 of 25

Hammer and sickle is a turn based RPG game published by CDVSoftware. The story is set during the Cold War which developed shortly after WW2, between the Allies and so we are taken back to 1949. You fill the shoes of a Russian Commando who is sent, with your squad, into the British/American occupied sector of West Germany. And so the story begins...

The game offers a tutorial, which is always a good place to start, and it takes you through all the moves required to play the game. It became quickly apparent though that the game suffers from a few problems. One of the first instructions we had was to click on a red arrow to move our player to, there was no arrow visible. A quick restart later and the arrow appeared and the move completed. The combat training was also a little odd, after picking up some throwing knives actually throwing them at the target dummy seemed a little more dependant on luck rather than aiming skill and the instructions given could be more helpful. Eventually though, the tutorial was finished and we sallied forth in to the game proper.

The view is from a top down perspective but there is a useful zoom and the screen can be turned around, you can even go through different levels that remove building roofs so seeing into buildings you have entered is not a problem. The game is played as a turn based adventure; you are given missions to complete and are awarded ‘Action Points’ to use during your turn. How you use these points is up to you, whether you use stealth or go blasting in each action will use points, or you can use them to upgrade certain skills like throwing or shooting. There are six character types to choose from like Medic or sniper and you can customise how they appear and all character types can be ‘upgraded’ using the points you have collected.

The game goes into turn based mode when in combat and every action uses points whether it’s running for cover, changing position or aiming and firing. When all your points have been used the computer takes the turns of the other characters. This can be a lengthy process and some battles can seem to take an awfully long time: game play stops while the PC works out the opposition’s moves. Often there isn’t much cover so you shoot from the open only to be killed when the computer takes its turn. This isn’t helped by the fact that each enemy has a number which, apparently, is supposed to indicate your chance of a successful shot. This number however doesn’t seem to be anything like accurate, you can have a high chance of success yet still miss more times than the number indicates, it’s almost like it’s a random number. Battles had to be restarted over and over before the ‘right’ tactics were stumbled upon: that and the long loading times took most of the fun out of the game. Other events can also seem a little random and this can make any sort of planning a bit hit and miss. You cannot leave an area until all the enemies are killed so there is a lot of restarting of levels. Various missions are given by other characters by interacting with them, changing a question or answer can result in a totally different set of instructions although often it is difficult to know where you are supposed to be going.

All dialogue with other players is through a couple of ‘talking heads’ at the bottom of the screen. The next line of dialogue is delivered after clicking a ‘next’ button and all this replays every time you get killed and have to start again.

There is an inventory for your character where you can drag items from a back pack to be used but overall the interface is a little clumsy, even picking items up could have been easier as some are very small and positioning the cursor only adds to the overall frustration of the game. There is a fair selection of weapons and equipment to be had though and selecting any opens a set of icons relating to how it can be used. You can also give items to members of your squad from the inventory.

The games graphics are decent enough with some nice little lighting and shadow details and a day/night cycle but it is let down by the numerous cut scenes with their ‘robotic’ animations: the ‘talking heads’ at the bottom look like ventriloquists dummies. The audio isn’t up to the graphics though with some decidedly dodgy accents and a background music track that is probably best described as suitable for Tescos. Other sound effects are fairly basic and could have been much more realistic.

Overall Hammer and Sickle is a game that will be enjoyed, but only by some. If you like point and click RPG/Adventure games and can find it at the right price it's just about worth a go. The idea of a Cold War Russian agent infiltrating the ‘enemy’s’ sector could (and should) have been so much more, but the frustration and abundance of small flaws induced by Hammer and Sickle sadly point to another missed opportunity in our books.

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