I've never played the first game, so any references to it will have gone over my head. Not that it matters, watching some videos makes it look like SiN anyway, and this game is basically a post-9/11 modern military shooter. Then again, it came out not even a year after, so I guess it's running off of post-90s fumes. I played this when it was relatively new back in the day. Regardless, I just finished the game, and let me tell you, it is a fun ride, but it is very bumpy. Don't be ashamed to cheat, the game is not designed around fair play. It locks you into a bunch of situations where god mode is mandatory. So if you keep dying in, say, an on-rails section, just throw setrandom sv_cheats 1 into the console and god mode until you are satisfied the game is playing fair again. This may be tempting to do so when the game is hard, but I assure you, I played on Consultant with unlimited saves and inaccuracy off and the game throws a bunch of stuff at you, but unless it is absolutely clear the game isn't playing fair, only do so if you just can't get past something. The game isn't the prettiest, but I think it holds up. Not the character models, they veer into the uncanny. The art design is very clean with high res textures in the environment, and the brushwork makes me nostalgic for that not-quite-HD era. It runs on the Quake 3 engine after all. Speaking of level design, the game is very linear. You'll have some areas that stock you with resources and maybe somewhat alternate paths, but generally speaking, there's always one way to go in one fashion. I was actually surprised at what the level design requires of the player. In this age of waypoints, this is definitely old school. I was stumped more often than not, but I'm a clever boy, so I persevered and didn't bother noclipping through levels like I did as an easily amused and bemused child. Let's just say, it requires platforming and an eye for the hidden. I give this game a base recommendation. Not great, not bad.
