Hammer & Sickle

No ranks here, but you can call me Comrade Instructor … err, Ok, that seems to sort of put a ranking on things. The intent, as Comrade Rook enters training, is to give the game a feeling of covert operations, of dark secrets and espionage. Unfortunately, this title falls a little short in that department.

CDV and Nival are behind the PC release of Hammer & Sickle, a game that plays out from a distaff third-person viewpoint and delves into a variety of missions in the Cold War era. If you have played some of the Eidos war games in the Commando series, you will recognize elements here. Line of sight, listening, moving through an environment using stealth (called Hide here) with an interface that requires you to click on the action buttons (in lieu of hotkeys, which the game has, but this review version came without a manual and the disks provided were publisher burns, not retail copies) to navigate the system.

While billed as an RPG (role-playing game, single player only), the game is more of a turn-based adventure with some RPG elements. Turn-based, you say, how so? Well, each turn your toon, this Soviet agent, who is supposedly spying but that will be addressed in a moment, has AP (action points) that are expended in either movement or performing deeds. After the AP are expended, the game switches to your opposition, the computer controlled forces. They are clever and unless you are playing this game of chess right, you will lose.

The game itself centers on a top Soviet agent in the post-World War II era, on clandestine duty in the Western-controlled sector of Berlin. The superpowers are battling, bickering and the world teeters on the brink of World War III, but this war promises to be short and of the nuclear variety. The game states, overall, that your job is to figure out the right from the wrong and keep the world safe.

Err, Ok. So, if this soldier is a top spy, one would think his intent to blend into the surroundings would be somewhat blown by the fact that he is carrying around decent Soviet weapons and grenades. It does not seem likely that fragmentation grenades were the backpack choice of common everyday West Berliners. And for a covert game, said spy spends a lot of time wiping out small groups of “enemies.”

But all is not lost in this game. As you accomplish tasks, your character levels, and there is a decent skill tree that you can work through to improve abilities. There are six character types you can choose from and you can customize your character’s appearance to some extent – not that it affects anything. You will gain skill points that can be applied to areas in the tree, which include throwing (for launching those aforementioned grenades), shooting or stealth.

But the game, while featuring some strong ideas, falters even before it begins. The dialogue scenes (and cutscenes in general) are poorly done, featuring marionette heads along the bottom of the screen with wagging jaw lines that do not synch while improbable dialogue spills forth. You are told that your initial mission is not sanctioned and if you are caught, you will be labeled a defector. Now doesn’t that sound a little Mission: Impossible-like. All that’s missing is the disclaimer:

“If caught, the secretary will disavow any knowledge …”

And it gets worse. In the opening scenario, you are tasked with finding a man you once met and deliver a “proposal.” If he agrees, all is well; if he doesn’t, you are to kill him.

Sounds a little too Godfather-esque. I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse …

During the mission briefing you are told that Western leaders are escalating tensions and looking for an excuse to drop atomic bombs on the Soviet Union. You counter with the fact that the West only used A-bombs on Japan to end the war. Your briefing officer explains that those who advocated dropping atomic weapons on the Soviet Union have increased their power.

“What does that have to do with my mission …?”

“I’ve said too much …” replies the officer.

Anyone else here confused? Your character obviously is, though undaunted by the task before him. But later in the scenario, after you find out where your insertion point is, your character says “Well, this isn’t the first time my orders make absolutely no sense.” That about sums up some of the game’s elements.

The interface is a little clunky. You have two slots at the bottom of the screen for equipping items you drag from your backpack. And these open up new action menu icons. The game is entirely controlled by the old point-and-click system. Click on a piece of ground to move there. Click on an enemy to get options to attack. Remember, this is based on AP and turns. You shoot at them, they shoot back – no hit-and-run maneuvers unless you save enough AP to move after you shoot.

As odd as some of the sound is, graphically this game have some real problems as well. Any resolution past 1024x768 (32-bit) on the host machine completely distorted vast portions of the game. Blocks of pixilated color overlaid the images and caused a graphical mess. The cutscenes were not fluid and looked as though robots were moving.

Hammer & Sickle had a decent idea, but then it expanded out in ways that took the good idea and made it silly in areas. This is not a title to recommend.

Gameplay: 5.5
Finite maps, long load times, overly dramatized dialogue scenes – what is here is not very good.

Graphics: 5.5
There is a threshold for the graphics on the disks received – and before anyone asks, yes, all the drivers were up to date. The cutscenes look robotic and the talking heads is silly.

Sound: 6.0
What the heck is with that lilting piano-driven menu music? This is supposed to be an action game, not an elevator ride in a department store. The dialogue is sometimes laughable. The in-game music is better but not by much. The dialogue is overdone.

Difficulty: Medium
The game sports three difficulty modes. The AI is suspect in all three modes.

Concept: 6.5
A decent idea that was expounded on too much and became a story that is all over the place and seemingly not in line with the initial idea. Still the skill tree is a good thought.

Overall: 5.5
Hammer & Sickle is an idea that went much further than necessary with graphical problems and sound that seems out of place. Better to pass on this one.