Despite its sometimes laudable investment in realism, Terror Strike is ultimately a one trick, maniacally-paced, pony that is likely to exhaust gamers long before it entertains them.

The squad–based, tactical shooter is a well-established genre of gaming. Fans of this genre are sure to recognize the heavyweight contenders: “Rainbow Six,” “SWAT,” the original ‘Ghost Recon” and, more recently, “GRAW.” Because these major franchises have both defined and evolved the genre, it is quite a challenge not use them as the rulers by which we measure the success of Encore’s most recent addition, “Terror Strike” (TS). In my humble opinion, we can make some important comparisons between TS and its forebears, but we should also recognize that, for better or worse, it has its own agenda for gamers, one that runs counter to the slower-pace, and greater tactical depth to which we’ve become accustomed from previous entries in the genre.

TS doesn’t serve up a cohesive storyline; instead, it offers five unrelated scenarios in which players are thrust into leadership of a four man Special Air Service (S.A.S) counter-terrorist element, and as such, players will find themselves in various locales distinct to the UK, such as the British Parliament and London’s Metro Station. Though it’s sometimes nice to have an overarching story (think of “Rainbow Six: Vegas” as a recent example), it’s not a necessity in this particular genre, as it inherently lends itself to scenario-based gameplay, so I don’t consider the title’s lack of a unified storyline as a negative. On another note, though TS only has five scenarios, each one is comprised of approximately three levels, each with its own objectives, so the game is longer than you might first think.

Stealth is not an option. Slow, methodical gameplay has left the building. TS, unlike its more established predecessors, requires fast, accurate, room-by-room takedowns of barricaded terrorists holding hostages. In reality, this is exactly what S.A.S assault squads are trained to do. The general idea is that they strike with such speed and (often lethal) accuracy that X-Rays (think “tangos”) don’t have a chance to launch an effective, let alone coordinated, response. To its credit, TS seems to do a good job of capturing the frantic pacing and intensity of such a dynamic. Every mission is timed, and the longer it takes you to successfully complete your objectives on a given map, the lower your score will be. If your score isn’t up to snuff, be prepared to replay the level, even during the numerous training missions. On paper, this dynamic sounds challenging and potentially entertaining, which it is, but the fun to be had is very short lived.

The major obstacle to enjoying more than the first 15-20 minutes of gameplay in TS is, ironically, the sheer speed with which gamers are expected to secure rooms. While the intensity of executing lighting fast room breaches is at first exhilarating, it loses its charm very quickly, and this dynamic is the only one that TS has to offer. The real question here is how many times can you rush blindly into a room blasting every enemy you see as quickly as possible before you start to become bored with the hyperactive, repetitive gameplay? It’s not that the core gameplay in TS is bad; it’s that it gets old quick, and gamers will want more out of the title than it can give.

Not only is TS ultimately kneecapped by its frantic pacing, some of its other gameplay mechanics leave something to be desired. For instance, you can give a handful of commands to your squad, but you can only give them orders when pointing the cursor over a door, and you do not have access to a “move to” command, which is both unfortunate and annoying, especially when you want your squad to watch your back from a specific vantage point, if only for a moment. You also can not tell them to stop following you, so you can’t scout ahead and then regroup. Additionally, players are also unable to split the squad up. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to breach a room simultaneously from two entry points when the opportunity arose? These restrictions add up, and offer a gaming experience that feels more and more like a straightjacket as you press on.

When breaching a room, players have a few options. You can open the door yourself and lead the team in, command the team to assault the room and follow them in, or you can order your squad to wait for you to pop in a grenade of choice (frag, gas, or flashbang) and then they will rush in to clear the room. If a door is locked it will need to be shot off its hinges with the shotgun. If you stand to the side of a door, your squad will stack up behind you and one of them will yell “GO! GO! GO!” and that lets you know they’re ready to rock and roll. It’s cool the first time you hear it, but it really starts to wear thin when it happens every time you stop near a door, especially when the door leads to room that was previously cleared. These game mechanics generally work well, but they are not enough to compel gamers to spend extended time with the title.

It is fair to note here that the squad is indeed responsive to your commands, but it’s hard to be overly impressed by that when the command pool is so limited.

Along with being tasked to neutralize all the bad guys, players will have to secure all hostages, as well as injured but still living X-rays, by handcuffing them. In a nod to the “SWAT” series, hostages may protest to being cuffed, but you can give them a quick punch to make them submit. Unlike “SWAT,” however, you don’t have to radio in each secured hostage and downed X-Ray.

You can choose to take on X-Rays via one of two modes: “arcade” and “simulation.” The difference between the two is primarily how quickly terrorists respond to your presence and how much damage you and your squad can take. Even on the arcade setting, gamers are more likely than not play a given level more than once to get a high enough score to proceed. Keep in mind, however, the game’s level of difficulty and frantic pacing can sometimes collide head-on and lead to frustration as you retrace your steps in pursuit of a passing score. Unlike “SWAT,” changing the difficulty does not change the minimum score you have to earn to successfully complete a level.

Enemy AI is generally good at using cover and trying to stay out of harm’s way, but it also has moments where it will make itself a sitting duck by strolling right into the line fire, even though there is already a heaping pile of corpses at the threshold to a room. Likewise, though generally capable, friendly AI will sometimes take a cigarette break when an enemy is in sight and then go on the offensive far too late. Fans of the genre will know such issues are not unique to TS; we’ve seen them elsewhere, but that doesn’t make them any less annoying here.

If you are interested in selecting your squad’s gear, you will have to park that desire at the door; TS does not allow you to kit yourself or your squadmates prior to starting a mission; the game assigns you the same weapons every time you play a given level. TS features a small but effective assault arsenal with some genre staples, like the MP-50 and AK-47, and, realistically, some models feature multiple rates of fire.

You cannot replenish your ammo once a mission is in progress, but you can borrow the firearms of fallen X-Rays and put them to good use. You also have a combat knife at your disposal, but, honestly, I can’t see how it’s all that useful, given the fast paced, demanding nature of the gameplay, especially when set to “simulation” and facing terrorists who can cut you down well before you get within cutting range. Stealth really isn’t an option in this title, so the inclusion of the knife seems rather futile.

TS features multiplayer with both cooperative and competitive modes. There’s just one problem — apparently no one is playing the title online ... I mean no one. So, unfortunately, I cannot offer any informed comments on the online component. I checked for several days to see if any servers might open up, but none did at the times I logged on.

Graphically, TS is serviceable, but it is based on an older version of the Unreal engine, so you while you won’t be stunned into silent admiration of its visuals, the game renders well enough for its purpose. Environments are generally less impressive than the weapon models, and you will be unpleasantly surprised when you realize the same face was used for all members of your squad. Either one guy in the S.A.S was so darn good, they cloned him three times, or Encore missed an opportunity to inject some additional variety into their shooter.

Aurally, TS seems on the mark in terms of weapon sounds and general effects, but the team seems to have taken a rather minimalist approach to the soundtrack, as no music is played during missions; though, there is a suspenseful, foreboding piece that is played when you are in the main menu.

My review has been mostly negative, but I will give Encore kudos for realism and intensity. Again, it’s worth repeating that TS is not a bad game in the traditional sense of the term; more accurately, it is a limited game that will leave gamers bored once they have gotten a sufficient taste of its turbocharged gameplay. Even at a budget price, I can’t recommend the title to fans of squad-based shooters, due to its gets-old-quick, limited gameplay and lifeless multiplayer. This one’s a no go.

Gameplay: 5.0
Once the initial rush of the fast action is over, gamers will find themselves quite bored and probably won’t want to complete all of the scenarios. Limited squad commands and no customization options further take away from any long-term enjoyment.

Graphics: 7.0
Functional. TS’s visuals won’t be winning any awards, but the older version of the Unreal engine used to render the game serves its purpose.

Sound: 7.0
The sound is generally where it should be, but the “GO! GO! GO!” every time you pause near a door will drive you half insane after a while.

Difficulty: Medium to Hard
The “simulation” really does make the game considerably harder, but gamers will feel less and less compelled to continue playing at any difficulty setting.

Concept: 7.0
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Encore’s concept, which sticks to a realistic portrayal of an S.A.S counter-terrorist unit, but, as it turns out, the game just isn’t all that much fun to play.

Multiplayer: NA
The title has a multiplayer component, but it’s dead at the moment.
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Overall: 5.0
The quickly tedious and boring gameplay make it hard to recommend this title. If you are looking for a good squad-based shooter and are new to the genre, you would be much better off checking out some of the titles I mentioned in the first paragraph. If you are a veteran looking for something to tide you over until something more substantial hits the shelves, trust me — leave this one alone.