The summer is nice, especially for most parts of North America. It's time to go outside, see the sun, and just do those outdoor activities while you can before old man winter arrives. This time of year is also noted by gaming developers as you will see very few titles, and even fewer great ones during this season. This idea brings me to my latest review for Atari's Shadow Ops for the Xbox. While not a stellar game by any means, Shadow Ops feels very average, and more like a budget title, versus a full priced one. It's not original, it doesn't take advantage of the Xbox hardware, and honestly, it's not too much fun. What it does do is give you something to play on you Xbox Live if you are sick of your current library. I just don't suggest paying full price for it though.

Shadow Ops: Red Mercury looks like what Full Spectrum Warrior may have been if it were a first person shooter. Dusty baron wastelands of the Middle East are the feast for your eyes here. Sure there are some buildings to wander through, and even some grassland fields to duck and cover behind, but the level design isn't anything new or surprising, especially if you've played Conflict Desert Storm, Full Spectrum or the like. Player models are a bit on the blocky side, and aren't very detailed. This hold true for the environments as they aren't dramatically lighted, and rely mostly on flat textures with little to no bump mapping. If you've played the Xbox port of Soldier of Fortune 2, you'll get the idea. Heck, even the explosions are bland and don't really add much to the excitement of the game. Definitely not one of the Xbox's best looking games.

One thing Shadow Ops has going for it is the fantastic sound. Sure the visuals may be less than pretty, but the audio displays what the Xbox can really do with sound! Not only done in 5.1 audio, it's done in THX surround sound! The results are wonderful, with bullets whizzing by your ears, loud gun fire, and louder explosions, make this one of the best sounding war games on the console front. What's more, the voice acting is very well done, and the game is accompanied by some very nice orchestrated music to get the blood pumping. Zombie did a great job with the audio, and should be proud of their efforts, now if they can come up with the same intensity on their game design they'll be great!

Game play for Shadow Ops is a tough one to judge. The controls are good, using your pro to typical FPS style controls. The A.I. can be very tough and will give most a demanding challenge when trying to complete levels. I think overall the game just feels tired and gives you that been there done that sentiment. There is no real innovation of weapon use of controls, choice of weapons, level design, or even plotline that will hold a fan of the genre's interest for much longer than the game's length. With all the FPS games out, and some stellar, more innovative ones on the way, it's hard to really recommend this to anyone as the game play is just so-so.

Shadow Ops has a decent sized story mode, with some long engaging missions. Shadow Ops also has a multiplayer mode for Xbox Live, and while basic, allows for replay value past the game's story mode. There are a few modes on Xbox Live to fill the void, from Deathmatch, to co-op (split screen only), and even an annoying Escort mission called VIP. To say there is little to do in Shadow Ops would be wrong, it just feels rushed and added on at the last minute for selling appeal.

All in all, while my review may sound like the game isn't worth owning, that may not be true for everyone. The fact of the matter is there are many other FPS on the Xbox that have a better story, better multiplayer play, and more innovation that will make you feel like you just made a smart 50 dollar purchase. Shadow Ops almost makes you regret you did.