by Adam - October 6, 2004

William Sherman said it best "War is Hell". Well for "Vietcong:Purple Haze" on Xbox it certainly is.

Watch out for mines

Gameplay on VC:PH is a warmed over vietnam version of your average first person shooter. While the single player is challenging, mainly because you can shoot Vietnamese soldiers 5 times without them dying. The single player story is worthy of a single play through though you aren't going to want to go back for seconds. Your squad that you command is a little lacking in the A.I. department, difficulties moving around fallen logs are just some of the problems. However enemy A.I. is pretty sharp requiring scouting out of objectives and planning on various missions. The controls are set up perfectly on the Xbox. Every button is right where you need it.

Come visit the green forests of Vietnam

The environments in VC:PH were rich in color but not necessarily texture. Thick vegetation plays a major part in the game for setting up ambushes and avoiding mines. Unfortunately the characters look poor and stickly. Character movements were rigid and choppy. There also was an issue of clipping, simply amazing how the NVA can shoot through walls.

Some folks' are born made to wave the flag!!!

The soundtrack to VC:PH was well coordinated and included a fair amount of period songs really reflecting the timeperiod. Unfortunately I've never heard "Fortunate Song". This soundtack culminates works of the time and a few more modern songs. The only problem is that the post game music was a little poor. The tragic music after your death is very hammy and pathetic. Character voices are on point except for blurb's made by teammates.

Fighting Charlie with Mr. Charlie

VC:PH initially becomes a fun game. But after the first 5 missions the fun starts to wear off on the single player. An interesting play option let's you just go on an "action mission" which basically is you versus a bunch of bots in different settings. A wide selection of weapons keeps the game interesting. I'm sure the online portion of the game is fun to play but with other better first person shooter's out there this won't get much attention.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

The only spin I give this game is that the inital video strongly captured the attitude of the people of the time. The narration of the game felt at home with the anti-war attitude. Unlocking levels to fight in was slightly rewarding. New weapons will be issued depending on your skill. I did like the aspect of vegatation in results to how missions would be played. Overall the game produced the feel of Vietnam.

M.I.A

VC:PH overall is an okay game. It's not a must own by any means. It might be worth a rental for you serious Vietnam war gamers. However with other Vietnam game's coming out soon this one is a little out of date.