Parabellum
| Format PC |
| Developer Acony |
| Publisher Unknown |
| Genre First Person Shooter |
Anyway, back to the game, which sees top US anti-terrorist squad Delta attempting to foil a dastardly terrorist organisation called Black November (December, January and February had already been registered by rival rogue factions) from detonating a 20-Megaton nuclear warheard in central New York. Bearing more than a passing resemblence to hit Xbox and PC online shooter Counter-Strike, Parabellum attempts to take the mission-based template of Valve's online masterpiece and inject a new slant into the proceedings. How? By providing you with a dynamic online campaign formed from 12 distinct regions of New York, including skyscrapers, backyards, residential areas and subways - that's how.
After each section is completed, Delta team players will be able to vote which sector to move into next in an ongoing attempt to locate the nuclear device before its constantly ticking timer reaches zero. As a riposte, members of Black November will have the option to vote for levels in which to set up ambushes, giving them a few seconds start to get into position.
Certain sectors will also provide strategic benefits, by allowing teams to call in mortar strikes and helicopter backup to aid their respective causes. We managed to sample a few levels and the slick, action-rammed gameplay, backed up by some stunning Unreal Engine 3-powered visuals and an arsenal of meaty weapons with numerous modifications, got us all watery under the arms with excitement.
With no official word as yet about Counter-Strike making an appearance on Xbox 360, Parabellum may just prove to be the strategic online shooter tonic we've all been waiting for.
| Martin Korda |  |
Among the 12 levels will be a few maps that give your team a strategic edge should you successfully capture them. One is an airport, which enables you to call in chopper support. This eye in the sky will pinpoint
the location of any outdoor enemies, allowing you and your team-mates to launch cunning ambushes against your foes. You also have the chance to capture an area that will provide your team with mortar support, allowing you to blitz the enemy before storming their position.
If there's one thing that Parabellum won't be short of, it's explosions and special effects. Not only will most of your surroundings be fully destructible, with pipes spewing steam and water tanks spilling their contents when shot, but there'll also be a raft of explodable objects too. Gas tanks, for example, will erupt violently when riddled with enough bullets setting off a fearsome chain reaction of other explosions throughout the building as the fire spreads. A pyromaniac's wet dream if that's possible.
Acony is aiming to make each of the game's 12 weapons as authentic and as satisfying as possible. The Delta team's arsenal will include highly accurate machine-guns such as the M4, while the terrorists will rely on deadlier, though less accurate weapons such as the AK-47. You'll also be able to augment your firearms with scopes and laser sights, carry three types of ammo - armour piercing, full metal jacket and soft point - and throw knives at enemies before pulling them from their twitching bodies.
There'll be three distinct ways of playing Parabellum. Classic mode will see you and your team battling the opposition on a single map, with the highest scoring side emerging victorious. Public Warfare will involve several connected levels, which Delta team must scour in order to track down the ticking nuclear weapon. Strategic Warfare will involve a deep strategic slant, where players move squads around on a tactical map, before jumping into the fray whenever two opposing forces meet.
