Standard Serpent- G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra Reviewed

For many gamers, depth is an obligatory element in their electronic diversions. Not me- growing up in an era of Contra and Gradius, I find the simple intensity of an arcade shooter delightfully relaxing and invigorating. Dropping a steady stream of foes with a barrage of bullets is cathartic medicine for the soul. When I first heard that the videogame adaptation of summer blockbuster G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was going to be translated into a third-person shooter, I grew excited. Molding the title after the arcade recreations popular during G.I. Joe’s television heyday seemed like a sensible concept.

At its heart, The Rise of Cobra, is a capable blast-a-thon, with an endless supply of personnel, vehicles, and structures to annihilate. Unfortunately, this focus is diverted by a continuous dialogue between players, an unfocused story, loose vehicular controls, and the lack of in-game camera control. Despite these criticisms, Joe aficionados will likely find merit in the game due to its incorporation of unlockable assets.

At its inception in 1964, G.I Joe reflected an American militaristic motif, honoring each of our armed forces. Modern Joe encapsulates a more geographically diverse, paramilitary unit that evokes contemporary PMCs. Luckily, the game’s moral distinctions are clear-cut, with Joes being the heroes, while the Cobra team hell-bent of nefarious global domination. As the game commences, Heavy Duty is imprisoned, requiring the skills of Duke and Scarlett to liberate their comrade. As the title persists, additional Joes will be acquired and added to the player’s available roster. Each soldier has a particular aptitude and armament, and is classified in a close range, marksmen, or hybrid category.

On the battlefield, players move their soldier with the left stick, while the right trigger launches a bombardment of ballistics at any nearby foe. Rise of the Cobra automatically aims toward any enemy or destructible, meaning players will likely march through the game with the fire button depressed. When multiple targets exist, the gamer may choose the direction of their attack with a flick of the right stick. For persistent foes, each protagonist has a secondary weapon with is initiated with a tap of the ‘B’ button. Since Joes hit the battlefield in pairs, a tap of the right trigger will alternate between teammates.

Combat isn’t particularly deep- a cover system is employed, but most structures are quickly destroyed by enemies, eliminating would could have been a tactical element. Forgoing strategy, Rise of the Cobra’s  warfare can still be engrossing , but the title is hurt by the incessant use of dialogue to drive the game’s complicated narrative. Additionally, cut-scenes interrupt the flow of the game, but at least a majority of them can be skipped when playing through a mission a second time. Periodically, the player will be given the use of vehicles, which contain a devastating amount of firepower, but control clumsily. Although the game supports local co-op play, any online foe fragging is inexplicably missing.

One of the most important visual fundamentals of any shooter is a consistent framerate; bouts of frequent slowdown can prohibit the player from becoming immersed in the on-screen carnage. Rise of the Cobra’s refresh rate is remarkably steady, even when multiple explosions fill the screen. This may be attributed to the title’s limited amount of on-screen geometry; both character models and environmental landscapes are somewhat rudimentary. G.I Joe’s greatest graphical fumble may be the game’s camera, which doesn’t allow for any user control. Occasionally, our protagonists were left blindly shooting toward the player, as the title did not recognize a change in the player’s trajectory.

G.I. Joe aficionados will surely appreciate the bonus content, with unlockables that resemble the file cards on the back of action figure boxes, and a handful of campy public service announcements.  More casual Cobra combatants may enjoy the game’s competent, if pedestrian, third-person arcade inspired gameplay. Sometimes a little mindless destruction can be amazingly therapeutic; it’s just a shame that Rise of the Cobra‘s medicine wasn’t undiluted.