Gotham Games, publishers of Serious Sam on the Xbox, are porting their latest game to the GameCube in 2003, its name is Conflict: Desert Storm. This innovative squad-based tactical shooter is similar to the action that you get while playing with the titles of the Tom Clancy series, like Rainbow Six for example. The main characteristic of these games, as your probably know, is their realism; weapons, locations, language, are usually taken from real life military knowledge. Conflict: Desert Storm, isn't your basic run and shoot everything in site game. Everything has to be carefully planned and executed.

Your main man is the assault trooper; you'll be playing with him the most. The rest of the Special Forces SAS or Delta Force team consists in a heavy weapons expert, a medical expert, a demolition expert, and of course a sniper. Depending on the mission, you can choose to directly play with the members of your squad (often the more efficient way) or use the “move here” function and pick out the exact spot of where you want them to be (for example, when you don't have time to move each component one by one). Placing the sniper in the correct spot, so that he covers you and you're commandos when you attack, is essential in beating the level.

One of the best features that the developers at Pivotal Games have included are the vehicles that have been placed in certain missions. The Humvee, being without doubt the most popular military mode of transportation, is often at your disposal. Not only does this car have a machine gun on one side and a missile launcher on the other, you can actually run enemies over with it, and just imagine the fun you can have with that.

What increases this game's replay value is the fact that there's more than one way to complete a task. Coming up with your own tactics for this game is amusing and often time-consuming. For example, you can divide your team by putting some members in the Hummer, others moving with their feet, and watch your opponents die a surprising death or maybe just charge without any planned approach and die a quick death.

The graphics from the Xbox version look impressive, even dynamic lighting (day and night progression) has been built-in, which certainly positions it graphic-wise at the same point (if not higher) as all the other war games that are being released on PC and consoles like Medal of Honor or Battlefield 1942. The screenshots of the various villages and arid regions you'll be exploring show that the locations successfully captivate the war atmosphere of Desert Storm, which by the way is part of the Iraqi conflict of 1991 (not to be confused with the 13 other USA-Iraqi conflicts).

This third-person shooter certainly is a game to watch out for during 2003. Although the GameCube has Ghost Recon coming its way, Conflict: Desert Storm is an excellent alternative if you're looking to have some fun with a game that isn't part of the often monotonous Tom Clancy series.