Better run through the jungle.
Shellshock: Nam '67 is a third person shooter set during the Vietnam war. You play an "FNG" American soldier fresh off the chopper, and progress to Special Forces throughout the game.
What I like:
*The story. You play a new soldier who is first setting foot in Vietnam. You're placed with a squad who you begin going on missions with. Eventually you take on vital roles in the squad, gain respect and eventually are recruited into Special Forces. Throughout the game, between missions you are able to walk around the base, talking with your squadmates and other soldiers, as well as nurses and the Vietnamese prostitutes that are set up just outside the fence. Your squad-mates are interesting characters, and many of them die off during the game. I actually missed being able to talk with them while at the base.
*The controls. This game is not nearly as realistic as I would have liked, it's definitely more for the run & gun crowd. But what it does, it does pretty well. The game takes place in third person, and you have the option to zoom in to an over the shoulder view for more accuracy. You also have the ability to peek around corners and low crawl.
*The sound. The music in the game is a decent selection of 60's tunes, and it's mostly just heard while you're at the base. There isn't a huge list of songs, however. Your character is silent the whole game, but the voice acting for your allies is really good and the voicework really matches the different attitudes of the soldiers. The lines the VC say while fighting get extremely repetitive, however. You'll hear "you go home in body bag GI" a thousand times.
What I'd change:
*The realism. You basically become Rambo, taking out whole armies of soldiers. The enemies take a ton of hits before they go down, and you take even more. There's not really any strategy involved. I tried sprinting ahead a little bit to get in a strategic position. I ended up at a spawn point for enemies, where they would just materialize out of thin air. Any realism that was left died at that point.
*Shallow gameplay. The game tries to add a little flavor by letting you roam the base on your off time, chatting up nurses, practicing at the range, getting your squadmates thoughts, and even visiting "Mama-San" and her hookers. This really isn't much, and what there is really isn't as fun as it sounds. Going to a hooker does nothing for you, it's fun once just to see what happens. Target practice doesn't do much either. There aren't any stat upgrades or anything like that to worry about.
The opinion:
Shellshock is a competent Vietnam war game, as long as you're looking for a shooter and not something tactical or squad based. Although you are part of a squad, you don't control them, and they won't die unless it's the part of the scrip where they're supposed to die. But the good cast of characters and passionate storyline are enough to make this game playable, even for those who prefer the more realistic war games.