| Deprivation: Direct ActionWolf | Deprivation is an extremely short first-person shooter with good graphics and little else. You take on the role of a "secret agent" tasked with retrieving a laptop, containing sensitive information, located inside a small abandoned building. You'll be amazed at how good the graphics are for a freeware game, but you'll soon discover that the developer's effort could have been spent sanding down the jagged gameplay mechanics.
The controls are your basic FPS setup: WASD to move, mouse to aim, R to reload. Everything will seem familiar to you until you run up to your first door. The game conveniently positions the "open door" button right where your Enter Key should be. I literally smashed my keyboard with the hopes that one of them would trigger the door but to no avail. "Maybe this door can't be opened?" I asked myself as I ran to another one, furiously pressing buttons. It turned out that I had been pressing Enter in front of all of the wrong doors, adding to the confusion.
Once you get through the door to face your first batch of enemies, you'll notice the main mechanic that destroys any sign of playability: enemies know exactly where you are at all times and shoot as soon as you're visible. Duck behind cover? Useless! The split-second your head pops into view, expect a full clip in the face.
It also doesn't help that the game doesn't even try to make the sound realistic. You'll often hear the voices of people in the room to the right sound as though they're shouting in your left ear. There will be times when you shoot startled, frantic looks all around you while wondering who just shouted French obscenities at you.
You'll probably finish Deprivation: Direct Action in less than ten minutes. There's no boss battle or ending cut scene, so unless you've got "the itch" for an FPS, move along. |
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