A must for fans of Vietcong.Short and difficult in parts but some great combat action set in the jungles of Vietnam.
All feedback is welcome and should you wish to discuss any component of this review or the game with me please do.
Introduction:
Vietcong Fist Alpha is the ineluctable expansion pack to the much underrated game called Vietcong. Fist Alpha is a prequel to Vietcong and is set from March 1967 to June 1967. It tells the story of a US Special Forces Green Beret team called A-216.
For those of you who have played Vietcong this game is basically much of the same. It involves similar missions, recon patrol, rescue, search & destroy, and defend the base type missions.
If you liked Vietcong then inevitably you will like Fist Alpha. As an expansion pack it is shorter than the original – it includes in the single player campaign five missions as opposed to twenty single player missions in VC. Although mission five Fist Alpha is like one really long mission divided into three parts.
My initial disappointment in this prequel was the lack of a street or urban level which was badly missing from the original. Alas not present here. However in the quick fight element of the game there is a fight called Halong Port which involves skulking around a dockland area. The use of the scenery and port buildings is a welcome change from the lush terra firma of Vietnam.
If one was to recall the Huey ride into Camp Nui Pek Sergeant First Class Hawkins was the replacement to a sergeant who was K.I.A .You will play as the K.I.A. in this prequel SFC Douglas.
As veterans of the first Tour of Duty of Vietcong will remember, the AI and gameplay can be unforgiving and frustrating a lot of the time. One shot one kill Charlie hiding in the wet green of Nam are once again your main enemy. While this element is quite annoying I suppose it is realistic of the conflict which took place. Don't forget those booby traps (faces covered pongee stakes, tripwires)!!
While there are more weapons available to you to use the main problem of using weapons like the Degtyarev DP light machine gun is the problem of recoil. This can really affect your accuracy and more often than not I chose to use the Mosin-Nagent or SKS Simonov as my rifle in the field to avoid recoil and get good long distance shots. The Tokarev SVT1940 is similar to the M-14 and is the best overall weapon to use in the field.
You crew consist of Defort Radioman, Crocker Medic, Bronson Engineer, Nguyen the pointman and Hornster the loud mouth aggressive Heavy Machine gunner. Each has there own special abilities which you will have to call upon at some stage, especially Crocker the Medic!!
The ambient noises with crickets and night sounds are very effective while disappointing is the general soundtrack which could have been bit better compared to some great tracks in Vietcong like Hey Joe and I wanna be your Dog.
Fist Alpha is not a dumb linear jungle warfare game. You will have to use stealth (especially in the last two levels) seek cover, and attack and withdraw as befits your situation.
One thing which bothers me from Vietcong is that Rosenfield Guy. Is he not a bit long in the tooth to be a Captain?
I have discussed briefly as I can some fundamental issues with each mission.
Mission One: Thunder over the Jungle
While out on a two week patrol a Phantom is shot down by VC ground fire. Your mission is to locate the pilot of the downed craft then make you way to the extraction zone.
Sounds straightforward except for one thing CHARLES.
I find that the topography in this level is confusing. It can be very easy to go in circles and the map is only useful for a broad picture. Watch out for the sniper and those hidden tunnels leading to him. This is really a welcome back to Vietcong mission and provides you the opportunity acquaint yourself once again with the terrain of Vietnam.
Mission Two: Golden Gift
While the base camp is being constructed in Nui Pek (on Nui Pek hill in Plei Ku province) you have to make contact with the local village people (village people ha ha!! ) and encourage involvement in the CIDG programme.
The Jarai people and the village add some political element to the game as the village chief discusses the state of play with Douglas. Fist Alpha meets a local hunter guy called Lim who acts as a guide.
It is quite cool watching Nui Pek being constructed while playing Fist Alpha. Another jungle mission with Victor Charlie ambushing you. The rope bridge across the gorge on the back nine of the mission is great to see and attacking the gunposts can be quite a challenge.
Mission Three: Pandora's Box
Without doubt of my favorite missions of the two games and in a great setting, an abandoned Buddhist temples in Ai Op. Prior to your entrance the "flyboys" do their thing.
You fly cinematically over the area in a Huey gunning down as many NVA and VC as you can before proceeding on foot.
Inside the temple complex and underground you have a few objectives to do. Something rather unusual about this mission is the intel!! You do not have to obtain the intel to complete the mission.On mu initial two playings of the game I didn't come across it ,I'm not too sure why now but I just didn't.I f you keep looking around the tunnels a radio message will appear after a short time.Otherwise find the intel and go back to Defort and the boys outside.
This mission is great but it is too short and friendly fire can be a problem as one team goes ahead of you. Also the tunnels here could have been a bit longer as they are very atmospheric inside.
Mission Four: Night Guard
At the opening sequence to this operation two Special Forces guys are having a jamming session using a guitar and harmonica. I have to admit that the tune they play is quite catchy. I think that the inclusion of this scene creates a sense of loneliness due to the melody the boys play. This mission gives you a chance to walk the outside of the Special Forces camp which I had always wanted to see. Douglas and Nguyen are placed on Night Duty and Hornster is annoyed at Douglas for being late. It seems that night duty from watching films and movies about Nam is not a desirable task. There seems to be tention among the team and Douglas announces that he is thinking of leaving the army. At the start in Douglas's bunker if you look at his bed you see a girly mag. When Douglas arrives at the lookout he refers to how he left this mag back at his room.
Anyway part one involves defending the base from NVA and VC attack, in response to the success of the previous mission. You get the opportunity to use a lot of different weapons including at last the M-79. I recommend using the sniper rifle and later changing to the blooper gun.
Part two involves yourself and Bronson flanking the enemy by walking through Bronson/s mine field and taking out the mortars which threaten the base.
This is probably the hardest part and involves some medium to long range shooting of Charlie.
Upon arrival back to base you find that Nguyen has died. I felt that perhaps this could have been more poignant as he was a member of an elite team. His death introduces a new character Khnut. Your new pointman.
A howitzer shell explodes and sets up the next mission.
Mission Five: Fist Alpha Part One Preventative Strike
May 1967.The briefing for this mission is very informative especially as this is off the books. Rosenfield explains how the "brass" in Saigon are very worried as this mission brings you into Cambodia.
The "flyboys" are involved with the Phantoms guiding in the B-52's although you don't see them in action.
The Huey ride into the drop-off point provides a great view of the terrain.
The initial part of this mission is not stealth. Put away the S&W silenced pistol. You won't last five minutes out here with that. Of all the missions in Vietcong this is the most frustrating and confusing. Charlie attacks you from the front and your flank even though you have cleared the rear. Endless hordes of NVA infest this particular difficult terrain. The foliage blocks your line of sight and you end up shooting through jungle. It is also difficult to keep your team together. Use your quicksaves wisely.
Once again the map doesn't help. You have to pass north in order to go west. The camo of the NVA blends in ridiculously well with the jungle and makes for difficult shooting. Also due to the inordinate amount of shooting ammo and weapon choice become integral to your survival. Lock and load after every firefight. Check dead enemy for ammo and I would recommend the AK-47 as soon as it becomes available to use.
Part Two Field Gun Battery;
The first stealth part of the mission. There are some good guides on how to complete this part. Leave you squad behind once Khnut holds you up. Crouch or crawl from now on. Silenced pistol only. It will take numerous goes and deaths in order to kill the first three guards. Once that is done the rest is manageable. Definitely the most annoying, face reddening, sweaty palm piece of gameplay in the whole series. Even on easy it is quite tricky.
Once the radio is dealt with a major firefight will erupt. Clear up the remaining NVA, destroy the canons and Khnut you lead you to the climax.
Trial and error and use of good sniping with the silenced pistol plus patience is required to overcome this particular set of objectives.
Part Three: Burn The Jungle
This is difficult as you have to complete each objective in the game designer's order to successfully follow through on your mission.
The Map again. The AA guns are marked out but not the position of the machine gun posts clearly enough for me.The red x's are actually the location of them and have to be taken out before you can enter the facility to complete the remaining objectives.
It took me a number of hours yes hours before I finally admitted defeat and sought a game guide to help me with this omission. On retrospect it seams obvious now but not at the time of playing.
Once I actually managed to blow up the fuel tank, kill the NVA commander and pocket the documents but I couldn't progress any further. Weird I know. That radio message from Rosenfield (Hotel 6) just wouldn't get through to Defort.
The largest red x marks out a group of NVA guards which can actually be killed before going into the base with a silencer. Do not do that though as there is no point.
Apart from this scripted element the mission overall is a good one and involves an actual Green Beret type assassination of a high ranking NVA officer.
The military speak at the end is great and the sense of satisfying of getting onto the chopper at the finale is worth the long grueling slog.
The ending is somewhat muted as it explains how Douglas was killed .I suppose we knew this but still it leaves you feeling almost sorry for Douglas. A silver star for his effort in Fist Alpha and only to die two weeks later.
A-216 is resurrected for two more outings. Vietcong Red Dawn an official free add on created by the Pterodon team.
Red Dawn; A lone wolf sniper level for Hawkins. Great for anyone who loves Vietcong and wants more. It features those water buffalo type creatures also.
Vietcong Rising Sun: An unofficial release but definitely worth checking out.
In conclusion a definite for anyone who likes Vietcong and is hungry for more. Could have been better in places and the lack of street fighting and vehicles for combat detracts a bit from the overall package.
Thanks for reading.