From the tactical espionage action of Solid Snake in Metal Gear to the vampire-slaying exploits of Simon Belmont in Castlevania to the gung-ho guerrilla combat of Bill Rizer and Lance Bean in Contra, Konami made a name for themselves by developing and publishing quality games which could perhaps be best described as “manly.” It was simply something they were good at, and you could even see it in their name (if spelled backwards): “I man, ok?”

Simple, perhaps even subliminal, but effective.

But while those titles have managed to endure, even thrive into the present day, there was another title which was not quite so fortunate: Rush’N Attack.

Originally known as Green Beret in Japan and Europe, Rush’N Attack was cut from a similar cloth as the other titles mentioned above. Its titular play on words set the stage as your United States special operative infiltrated Russian enemy lines during the era of the Cold War in order to rescue a number of POW’s, all while taking down as many of the Reds as he could.

All while armed with only a knife (plus a few odd limited-use weapons from fallen enemies).

If taking on the Russian army single-handed with only a knife isn’t as manly as traipsing through Transylvania with only a whip, marching off to fight Genome soldiers with only a pack of cigarettes, or fighting off an entire alien invasion with a machine gun and no shirt, then I don’t know what is.

And yet alone it would sit, largely forgotten as the Cold War ended and time passed it by, as the U.S. would instead spend the following years proving their superiority over the Soviets by neatly arranging their blocks into stacks, making entire rows disappear at a time.

Fast forward about 25 years and some change. Beyond a little-known arcade-only spiritual successor known as Missing in Action, Rush’N Attack would lay dormant as the Snakes, the Rizers, and the Belmonts would go on to greater glory. That is until April 2010, when Konami revealed that the all-but-forgotten title would be receiving a sequel. And no, they were not joking.

Released in March 2011, the new game subtitled Ex-Patriot, would retain some of the elements of its namesake, but also attempt to forge a new direction for itself. You’re still facing the Russians, albeit 15 years on from the end of the Cold War, and your protagonist, Sargent Sid Morrow, is still armed with only a knife, but so much else has changed.

As an aside, perhaps saying “only a knife” is a little off the mark. Morrow’s knife is actually quite large, falling just shy of being comically huge or being labeled a sword. One look at this blade would be enough to make even Paul Hogan blush.

That said, the game is still played in the two-dimensional perspective of the original, though it now sports some nice three-dimensional graphics, courtesy of Unreal Engine 3. But whereas the original was more run-n-gun- er, knife and action-oriented, Ex-Patriot utilizes stealth to a more significant degree.

In addition to crawling around ducts and moving quietly out of the enemies’ line-of-sight, you’ll have Morrow sliding into darkened doorways and hanging from ledges, just waiting for the right moment to make the kill. It’s an almost morbid thrill to position him in the shadows before whistling, leading a nearby guard to pass right by, where you can suddenly emerge and pull your prey into the darkness, where the sounds of repeated stabbing accompany the occasional spurt of blood before the body is dumped back outside.

Alternatively, you may want your oppressors, who kept Morrow locked in captivity for quite some time, to know you are coming. With the right moves, you can quickly run up and perform any of a number of attack moves and combos you learn as you progress through the game. The more you kill, the better you become at it, though the game awards more points for embracing the art of the silent shank.

Furthermore, you can arm yourself with more than the knife by killing certain well-armed individuals. Grenades, rocket launchers, and rifles are among the weapons which are yours for the taking, but with the obvious detriment that not only are they finite in their use, but a lot louder as well.

The levels, while few in number, are rather large in size and relatively non-linear as you go about your objectives, as provided by the mysterious man who frees you from your prison cell at the beginning of the game. You learn about the Russians’ discovery of a new material called “Ulyssium,” which has the capability of being weaponized, and which is also being used on your POW teammates in experiments. As you explore the levels, you’ll come across batches of Ulyssium, which increase your health bar, as well as other items, including health kits and night vision goggles.

In the early going, the game is a lot of fun as you sneak around and perfect the art of killing. Unfortunately as you progress, you discover some parts which are a mixed blessing before an ultimate let-down.

Despite the stealth, there is plenty of action to go around, including some fairly challenging bosses. There is also platforming, which is a bit of a mixed bag. In situations where Morrow is able to grab a ledge and pull himself up things are fine, but in other areas, particularly where you must jump from one box to another in order to traverse a pool of radioactive… stuff, the physics are a lot less merciful; even after landing, the buoyancy of the crates can topple you right into the glowing green drink.

Precision is key, but thankfully, this game differs from the original in that you have unlimited lives and checkpoints. As such, you can keep making attempts until you get a proper feel for where and how you need to land. It can be a little frustrating, but patience pays off.

Unfortunately, that same patience is more likely to wear thin as you make your way through the second of Ex-Patriot‘s three chapters.

Moving from the prison’s dark recesses and sunny exterior to a nuclear base located in a snowfield, the challenge begins to pick up, even on the easiest difficulty. But whereas the prison guards were mostly armed for short-range combat, you’ll find a number of watchtowers with armed guards about midway through the nuclear base. Between the foggy atmosphere and the snowy surroundings, it becomes very difficult to see the bullets coming from the guards’ guns as they essentially cut you down where you stand.

And try as you like, none of the stealth tactics you learned from completing the previous chapter will afford you much relief, while simply charging in will only see your game cut short that much faster. On the ground, or even in an adjacent watchtower, be it left, middle, or right, only those with the best skills are likely to proceed.

This is where Rush’N Attack Ex-Patriot falls apart. While the first chapter was an absolute delight to play through, the second chapter changes things up, and not for the better.

As a result, I cannot really recommend this to anyone but the gamer who doesn’t just love a challenge, but thrives on it. As I proceeded through the first chapter, it almost felt as though I was witnessing a potential new franchise in the making. Sadly the second chapter brought such expectations to their knees, one bullet at a time. Someone may thrive on this kind of challenge, but frankly, I found it tiresome, and worse, boring.

Still, I can’t help but root for this underdog of a Konami franchise. Developer Vatra Games had something good going at the start, but it seems they weren’t able to keep it up for the duration, leading to a game which begins with high hopes, but ends in deep disappointment.

I do hope that Konami allows Sgt. Morrow another chance at glory, hopefully in a sequel that is a little more balanced and refined. After all, he’s been sitting away in a Russian prison all this time. I can forgive him for being a little rusty, so long as he’s better prepared for his next mission.

If you’re still not sure, then check out the free downloadable demo on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace; it covers a good portion of the first chapter, and if you like what you see there and think you’re up for a steeper (and arguably cheaper) challenge, then the full download should be just what you’re looking for.

This review is based on the Xbox LIVE Arcade version of Rush’N Attack Ex-Patriot provided to the reviewer by Konami.

Tags: 2D action game, Konami, Rush‘N Attack Ex-Patriot, stealth gameplay, Vatra Games

This entry was posted on Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 5:00 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.