Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising
July 1,2004 -

It wouldn't be unfair to compare Novalogic's new online shooter Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising to the Battlefield series. After all, they both feature a huge number of players engaging in warfare on'big maps, with loads of real-life weapons and vehicles at players' disposal. Joint Operations ups the ante by expanding and honing a proven formula in every direction, and allows up to 150 players at a time to battle it out in a variety of sprawling environments. The result is an exciting experience that feels less awkward than its inspiration, offers some refinements of its own, and almost usurps the throne that Battlefield holds. It may have succeeded, were it not for some inconsistencies in the game's pacing, balance, and depth.

Joint Operations takes place on the Indonesian islands in the near future, where insurgents are wreaking havoc, and it is up to United Nations forces to restore order. While the game manual painstakingly details the backstory, the story has effectively no bearing on the game itself. Players take the role as either an Indonesian rebel, or as a UN peacekeeper, and play one of four game types: team king of the hill, team deathmatch, advance and secure (in which teams must capture and maintain control of designated areas) and cooperative (where teams must complete specific objectives.) You will enter the fray as a rifleman, gunner, medic, engineer, or sniper, and have a nifty array of weapons available. Choose your weapons carefully: your speed will decrease depending on the weight of your current burden. Unfamiliar with the weapons, or the core gameplay' That's fine: the multiple tutorials will walk you through the entire process, making Joint Operations an easy choice for newcomers to team-based shooters. Don't expect to practice with bots, though, as'only the co-op mode features non-human competitors ' and they are miserably incompetent, yet amazing sharpshooters nonetheless.

There are some interesting tactical elements featured prominently, and these offerings have significant effect on the game's pace. Joint Operations features a quickened day/night cycle, and you will find yourself fighting during daytime hours ' or using night vision goggles after the sun has set, in some terrific stealthy warfare. Players jumping into battle will find they don't live long: you must move cautiously and steadily, crouching and crawling often, and using the terrain to your advantage. Ravines and volcanoes mar the landscape, and snipers can find some great vantage points on cliffs and mountains. Even the glare of the sun can be blinding, and it is imperative to keep it behind you whenever possible, while forcing your enemy to face that direction. Joint Ops has a huge number of gigantic maps, and that is the game's most outstanding feature ' and greatest liability. Spreading around the action often makes for unfocused gameplay, as you have to often travel great distances to the areas of conflict. All too often, you won't make it there in one piece, simply because it is very difficult to stay alive. It is extremely frustrating to slowly make your way through the dense jungle, only to find yourself sniped in a single shot. You can spawn immediately at your team's home base, or choose other respawn locations when available, although the wait time can be annoyingly long. Alternately, you can call for a medic to revive you, although this is frequently a useless option, as the available medics will also have to trek an outrageous distance to get to you.

Of course, it wouldn't be war without vehicles, and there is a good variety from which to choose, including Black Hawk helicopters, gunboats, standard issue transport, and even riverboats that get you through ravines in a hurry. Controlling vehicles is a relief, and Battlefield veterans will be happy to note that they will not have to connect their joystick to fly helicopters effectively. Flying and driving is a lot of fun, simply because it controls so easily with just the keyboard and mouse. While we worried that this could increase the frequency of vehicular griefing, we rarely saw it happen. There is a large number of vehicles strewn about the maps, though you are more likely to use them for travel than for combat, due in part to their vulnerability: a single'discharge from the AT-4 or Stinger missile launcher can destroy its target in a single shot. Joint Operations is focused on ground battles, which helps keep the learning curve smoother for newer players, although others will find this focus lacking in depth.

Other controls are standard to first-person shooters, and you can also choose a third-person view, or one in first-person that does not show your weapon. We are confused, however, with the choice of controls for crouching and lying prone. While our pinky fingers are pleased that moving stealthily does not require holding down a key, in order to stand, you must press a separate key. While we imagine that Novalogic chose this setup so that you can move from stance to stance flawlessly, they could have simply allowed the player to stand upright again with the same key pressed to get into their current position. Thankfully, going prone quickly is a snap, using the middle mouse button. Communicating with teammates can be done with just a few keystrokes, and the minimap and waypoint system is done well ' provided the 'change waypoint' button works, as it only occasionally does for us (nor does the screenshot button work, for that matter.) Forcing the player to use numerical keys to choose weapons, and not supporting the mousewheel to scroll through those available, is also a vexing development decision.

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