Spec Ops: Covert Assault – Sony Playstation (2001)
Released in 2001, Spec Ops: Covert Assault for the PlayStation is a third-person tactical shooter where the player controls a two-man team of elite U.S. Army Rangers. The game’s story revolves around a series of intense missions to infiltrate highly guarded areas and lead your team through dangers across four locales, such as Sicily and the Longtain Airbase, often involving objectives like rescuing hostages or a general. Gameplay emphasizes tactical choices, as players select a two-man team from six types of Rangers (like a Grenadier or Sniper) and utilize over ten different weapons, with the key features being the ability to command your partner and a two-player cooperative mode. However, the game was part of the budget-priced Spec Ops line and its reception was generally poor or mixed, with critics noting its dated graphics (especially for a 2001 release), difficult and sometimes unpolished controls, and overall lack of improvement over its PS1 predecessors, though the co-op mode was often cited as its best feature.
Complete
2227
£2.40
Spec Ops: Ranger Elite – Sony Playstation (2001)
Spec Ops: Ranger Elite is a third-person, squad-based tactical shooter released for the PlayStation in 2001, where the story follows a two-man United States Army Ranger fireteam deployed across various international hotspots like Afghanistan and Egypt to complete objectives like infiltration, reconnaissance, and direct assaults. The gameplay centres on commanding this two-man fireteam, chosen from a roster of specialists (rifleman, sniper, etc.), with the ability to switch control between the two operatives or issue simple commands to the AI-controlled partner; it emphasizes tactical movement and weapon selection over arcade-style action, and features a local split-screen co-op mode. However, the game received generally unfavourable reception from critics, with a Metacritic score of 48, who criticized its basic, stripped-down squad mechanics, outdated and glitchy graphics (including poor draw-in distance), clunky controls, and inconsistent AI, though a segment of the user base found the challenging nature and co-op mode enjoyable.
Complete
2228
£3.20
Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol – Sony Playstation (1999)
Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol is a third-person tactical shooter for the Sony PlayStation that puts the player in command of a team of U.S. Army Rangers on various counter-terrorist and military operations across global hotspots. The story is basic, revolving around leading an elite team to neutralize hostile terrorist threats and complete objectives like sabotage and rescue missions across five major campaigns in environments like jungles, deserts, and arctic tundra. Gameplay is centred on the tactical control of a two-person Ranger team (or a single-player controlling one Ranger with an AI partner, or two-player co-op), where the player chooses specialized Rangers and equips them with a large arsenal of weapons and gear before deploying. The game is notoriously difficult, requiring slow, deliberate, and tactical movement, as death is permanent for the chosen soldier in a mission. Reception for Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol was generally unfavourable due to its shoddy graphics, unresponsive partner AI, frustrating difficulty, and perceived lack of polish, though some reviewers found the intense challenge and the enormous satisfaction of completing a mission rewarding for a niche audience interested in realistic, demanding military simulators.
