Supermassive Games are working overtime these days. But the famous purveyors of in-game decisions and branching storylines bring us something a bit more linear in tactical shooting gallery Bravo Team.
The titular Bravo Team have been tasked with protecting President Toma during a period of political instability in an unnamed Balkan country. During the intro, the president is killed and war breaks out. The game takes place almost in real-time, each area running through the next with no real cut-scenes between the beginning and the end. This style works in the game’s favour. Bravo Team is tense and swift.
The mixture or weapons isn’t great though; offering the standard pistol sidearm with shotgun, assault or sniper rifle main
Gun-Focused
Gunplay in Bravo Team is good bar some occasional hit-detection errata. The guns have a weight to them, the shots emit a hefty bang and the aiming is precise. The game will not reload until you instruct it to do so; watch your shots and reload when you have the chance. The mixture or weapons isn’t great though; offering the standard pistol sidearm with shotgun, assault or sniper rifle main.
Controlling the game with an AIM controller is probably best as the accuracy is much better than with a DualShock4. Although quarter-turns on the pad make some scenarios a bit easier. Bravo Team does not allow free movement but rather offers a teleport of sorts. Players point either their gun or head at a cover point, tap X and watch their character run to position.
Your AI helper is quite good at staying alive and for a while on medium, I thought he was invincible
Merciful AI Killer
Instructing your AI companion in single-player is a matter of pointing him to cover or issuing one of three other instructions. Stay, Retreat and On Me. Your AI helper is quite good at staying alive and for a while on medium, I thought he was invincible. His shooting is woeful and witnessing him missing at point blank range was frequent.
Trying a game with a human partner might be better but I couldn’t get a game online before launch while reviewing Bravo Team.
Something to break up the tension or offer a counterpoint to it would have heightened that sense of danger
Hard-Hitting and Gritty
Supermassive went down the ‘Ross Kemp’ road of conflict portrayal. Bravo Team is dry and takes itself very seriously. The kind of game that insists you call it Sergeant Team even when off duty. The bad guys are really bad even if you haven’t a clue who they are until the very end. And we, Bravo Team are just doing our job, keeping ‘Unnamed Balkan Republic’ safe.
In a 3-4 hour journey, all that grit and gravity loses its effect. Something to break up the tension or offer a counterpoint to it would have heightened that sense of danger.
Despite its limits and solitary reason to exist, Bravo Team is still a good gallery-style shooter
An On-Rails Shooter with Many Rails
The basic gameplay of Bravo Team, while delivered well, limits the game’s potential to surprise and amaze a player. The cover-to-cover movement and corridor-to-corridor progression coupled with one-dimensional combat become tiring and stale. Bigger battles never stand out as special, just longer or with snipers.
Even the shocking twist as we near the end of the game couldn’t revive my interest as I gritted my teeth at the prospect of another hour of shooting the same four enemy types in different contrived cover-laden corridors.
For What It Does, It Is Still More than Acceptable
Despite its limits and solitary reason to exist, Bravo Team is still a good gallery-style shooter. The controls, though extremely limiting, help keep the focus on simple tactical shooting with a co-op element. The graphics are above-par with convincing urban environments and some nice set-pieces to break up the city monotony.
The odd bullet passing through enemy skulls without effect is frustrating while the dearth of blood and the tiny variety of death animations will warrant a head-shake. But Bravo Team only really had one mission; to shoot a lot of enemies in VR while flanking the odd time. And in fairness, it did that much.
Review code provided by publisher
