Joint Task Force

Joint Task Force Review (PC)

The real-time strategy genre can be a beautiful thing. RTS games teach us organization skills, responsibility and so much more in a fun, intuitive approach. But heaven knows if you get yourself addicted to a real-time strategy/simulation title, real life will take a turn for the gutter, especially if you’re not too great with managing your time.

How does all this pertain to Joint Task Force? This is an RTS that removes (to a degree) most of the aspects that make up the genre – character development, managing forts, etc – in place of a quick-action formula just about anyone can jump right into without the standard growing pains of beginning a complex epic.

You begin Joint Task Force in control of Officer O’Connell, a hard-bitten hero with an attitude. One of the main focuses surrounding the concept of JTF is its approval system. This scheme allows the brutally honest media to judge your mission performance in real-time via news updates presented to you on the upper left-hand section of your screen. Gaining respect from the press isn’t a simple task. You’ll have to promptly complete objectives, be tactful around civilian environments, and a great deal more. Once you have proven you’re a responsible, diplomatic squadron, your hard work will be rewarded in the form of funding. This funding can be utilized to purchase artillery, vehicles such as army-advanced Hummers, and additional forces, including rangers, commandos, marksman, combat medics, and engineers.  

As you progress by neutralizing war-damaged zones, transporting civilians to safe houses, and in a nutshell saving a nation in a day’s work, you will come into control of supplementary squads. You can possess up to nine units, but the more the game throws at you the higher the difficulty will rise. The reason behind this is your primary officer of each unit must stay alive at all times, no questions asked. Your rangers, medics, and other infantry may die at will, but as long as your leaders are breathing you are good to go. Obtaining new specialties (weapon mastery, perception, toughness, etc) will keep the task of keeping these chaps alive a tad easier.   

Leading officers are able to order inventory with a click of a button, amount of cash withstanding. All of the previously-mentioned items and soldiers are bought using this route. After stocking an on-screen helicopter with supplies, you must select a designated area where you wish the aircraft to deliver the materials. It will usually arrive in a minute or two, depending on where you are located on the playing field. You can also buy special-order vehicles at airports.

Joint Task Force’s single-player experience is brilliant in every sense of the word. On a normal day, I avoid this genre like the plague, simply because I usually don’t have the caliber of time we know deep down these types of games require for full enjoyment. Joint Task Force’s campaign is fast-moving, intense, and exceedingly well-designed.

What about multiplayer, you ask? Available modes offered include deathmatch, domination, and capture the flag. To add to these cookie-cutter gametypes, you can also create custom matches with JTF’s Rules of Engagement system or join in on some online cooperative play where you and a friend will work as a team to tackle the single-player objectives. Due to server issues, we couldn’t fully test out the functionality of all this, so here’s hoping a patch fixing the online difficulties will be released soon.

Joint Task Force’s visuals are a major strongpoint. The animations and physics are nothing short of amazing and, providing you have a decent setup, the particle effects are awe-inspiring, notably the way the buildings collapse with a sense of finesse. Environments are fully destructible, from fences to trees, buildings to cars. A great deal of detail has gone into lighting effects as well. In short, Joint Task Force provides gamers with a realistic, true-to-life representation of modern battlefields.

Gameplay: 8.6
Joint Task Force doesn’t break any new ground, but it doesn’t have to. It boasts simplistic, pick-up-and-play mechanics that make this one an absolute blast for short or even long gaming spurts. It doesn’t skimp on depth despite its simplicity, either. You still have all the objectives, equipment, and features that you’ve become accustomed to over the years.

Graphics: 8.4
Vivacious, detailed, and realistic describe this game’s technical side quite nicely. While this may not be the best looking game on the market, it contends with the finest for its genre. Destructible environments, incredible lighting, and a large helping of modern style set it apart.

Sound: 7.3
The score is extremely subtle, so much so that after my third session I had to have iTunes running in the background to fill the void. The voiceovers are pretty standard fare – nothing too epic, yet not overly emotionless. Sound effects, such as explosions and gunfire, are first-rate.

Difficulty: Medium
For experienced RTS gamers, this’ll be a walk in the park. However, newcomers will have to acclimatize themselves to the game’s flow and pacing to succeed.

Concept: 8.0
Sure, Joint Task Force’s premise may be worn out, but its flawless delivery is something to commend. It excels in its simplicity and allows gamers to come to the realization that less can be more.

Multiplayer: N/A
While JTF’s multiplayer offering may appear dull and generic, it’s actually fairly well-done and customizable via Rules of Engagement. Expected modes such as deathmatch and capture the flag are included in the package as well. Bundle this with cooperative play, and I really, really wish the servers worked better. The multiplayer score will be rendered as N/A as I feel I didn’t efficiently examine the multiplayer due to matchmaking issues.

Overall: 8.3
Joint Task Force is a solid game, pure and simple. Those last two words are precisely why.