A psychological thriller with a war as a frontier.
The shooting mechanic has a really good flow. With smart covering mechanics and level design that complements you when you play it smart and use cover and your teammates to take down the enemy. Your teammates are also really responsive when you tell them orders and they do it effectively. The variety in which you can take down enemies is totally up to you and with what weapon you want to use any given situation. The weapon feel very balanced and you can never go in charging in to a situation. Often you need to use various tactics to manage to overcome the enemy. The game gives you a lot of freedom even though being a linear game. You never feel overpowered, but you don't feel as you are being overpowered by the enemy. The game difficulty feels very fair and if you manage to fail in the game, it is your own fault.
The story is very well written. You feel at times during the game, "is this necessary?" "Do we need to do it this way?" But you are forced down this path intentionally and really gets you inside the mind of these three soldiers. The story is really violent, but you feel the sense to move on and explore more of the story. It does get uglier the further you play, and it does end with something that some might not see coming, but you will remember it for a while after you have finished it.
The voice over acting and writing are superb. They really make the game feel more awful and necessary. Having different views is intinsified by the good writing and the good voice acting through the story. Seing their reaction to making decision that are horrible and not liking it. This might be the best soldier based story of this generation. It's not always as it is in the movies. Most of the time war is terrible and it destroys people mentally and physically. This game does an excellent job with that through the writing and the voice acting.
The graphics of this game have a distinct style to them. They use it well, like having desert storms and having different levels look different, but still have the same feeling that you are still in the same city. They use the element of the desert and city and combine it beautifully. Feeling like there is a lot more going on than what's on the surface. Having windows break in with the sand is stunning to look at. Trying to find enemies within a desert storm is really well done and it isn't overused either.
Overall: A really great story with good level design. It is possible to do every scenario different regarding tactics, weapons and resolving the situation. A really heartfelt and horrible insight in how it is to be a soldier if you suffer through horrible situations.
+ Great story
+ Great voice acting
+ Freedom to every situation
+ Great gameplay mechanics