User Reviews

2011 was a WEIRD time for First Person Shooters: when FPS' weren't trying to rip-off Modern Warfare, they were trying to cram half-baked Multiplayer modes down gamer's throats or trying to shock the players in ways that made them want to stop playing (see Duke Nukem Forever, FEAR 3 and Dead Island for that). Bodycount is definitely of the extreme former and undoubtedly suffers for it because, let's be honest, only being able to hold two guns at once, having regenerative health with an over-dependence on cover-based shooting and focusing on a particular load-out before every mission is genuinely boring. However, the game makes up for its tedium with surprisingly good combat: unlike any Infinity Ward or Treyarch game, the enemy AI is designed to close-in on the player more and the look of the game makes every incoming shot feel more up close and personal. The game was made by the same team that made Black, so the guns feel and sound as kinetic and visceral as possible. Unlike Black and indeed most games of the time you get four different abilities as you progress that bring different advantages to the field like temporary explosive bullets for each weapon and a field-targeting system, though sadly the game never goes far enough with them (one said ability can only be used outdoors and is mostly necessary to defeat the final boss). While its story carries the shadow of Black's nonsensical 'hush-hush special forces' narrative behind it, the plot gets so silly it's borderline charming and while the soundtrack has that tired theme of stating the obvious in regards to setting ('you're in Africa/Asia/Futuristic World'), it does right by mixing those themes up with bars of orchestral/rock bravery to every big firefight: as every battle escalates into straight-up uncontrollable chaos, the soundtrack keeps the player going along with it no matter the odds. I recommend Bodycount for anyone who was terminally depressed during the year 2011 and just happened to miss it, wants a solid FPS experience from beginning to end or have played enough COD/Halo 2 clones and want to play one with a bit more excitement fueling its performance.