IGI 2: Covert Strike

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I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike

Developer(s)	Innerloop Studios
Publisher(s)	Codemasters
Designer(s)	Technical consultant: Chris Ryan
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Xbox, PSone
Release date(s)	March 3, 2003
Genre(s)	Stealth action
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: M17+
Media/distribution	CD-ROM(2)
System requirements 700 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM, 32 MB video card

I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike is a computer game developed by Innerloop Studios and released by Codemasters in 2003. The game is a stealth-based first person shooter. It is the sequel to Innerloop's Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In. The original, published by Eidos Interactive, offered only single-player play. Chris Ryan, a former Special Air Service operative best known for being the lone successful escapee of Bravo Two Zero, served as a consultant to the game. The box art is similar to the poster for GoldenEye.
The game's plot features a rogue Chinese General, "Wu Xing" as the primary antagonist. Xing orchestrates various events (such as armed robbery of advanced prototype technology from the Russian mafia) in order to get Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weaponry on a space rocket that he has launch control over. At the end of the game, the protagonist David Jones is finally able to defeat him and stop the launch.
The game was banned in China, because it "intentionally blackened China and the Chinese army's image".^[1] ^[2]^[3]

Gameplay :

Missions and Storyline

The game is divided into about 20 missions, and the story is presented in cut scenes, shown before and after every mission, with animated characters rendered in real-time and pre-recorded speech. This approach is similar to other games in this genre, which don't rely on video, instead providing a comparable quality of visual and dramatic appeal, reusing the same in-game 3D engine for cut scene rendering.
Missions have objectives that must all be completed before the mission ends.
Straight-forward tactics are not encouraged, with stealthy and covert movement giving the player a better rating, rank and chance of survival, with the highest attainable ranking entitled David Jones.
Multiple paths exist for every mission, with the most obvious and daunting being a noisy gun-fight, because in every mission Jones is outnumbered anywhere from 20-1 up to 50-1. Every mission presents an opportunity for large groups of enemies to be bypassed or sneaked past, undiscovered. Certain missions even require entire operations to be carried out undetected, i.e. without giving enemies a chance to sound the alarm, as the name Covert Strike suggests.
At the start of a new game, a difficulty level can be chosen, changing the number of bullets Jones takes before dying, the intelligence of the enemy and group AI, and the number of save-games available.

Covert operation

The player can use the available Map computer to recon the mission area, remotely viewing a real-time satellite image of the terrain with structures and outdoor enemies clearly visible, which is also necessary to plan strike routes, after monitoring enemy patrol routes and other strategic information. Using the binoculars and thermal goggles, nearby enemies can be located, sometimes even through walls.
Jones is equipped with lock picks, and safe crackers making him capable of forced entry into any locked room or safe, enabling noiseless and stealthy entry into restricted areas and buildings, and obtaining military secrets or private information, and objects. Remote-controlled CR-4 explosives are also available for use on certain ground targets, meaning large structures can be destroyed safely, from a distance, leaving Jones undetected. Air strikes can be called for on certain missions, using the laser designator to pinpoint ground targets for bombing.

Stealthy shooting

During gameplay, the player has access to a large arsenal of real world weapons, including handguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, light machine guns and RPGs. Although these cannot be bought, the weapons available in game levels can be exchanged with carried ones.
Players begin missions with certain fixed or carry-over weapons from earlier missions, although additional weapons can be obtained from killed enemies, the player is required to assess future tasks and equip the most suitable weapons, judging based on the cut scene briefing, and the objectives list.
Like its prequel, realism was intended to be paramount in this game, which features more than 30 accurately modeled real-world weapons which look and behave exactly like they do in real life^[4], including their rate of fire and loading times.

Silenced weapons, completely unavailable in the prequel, such as the G17-SD and SOCOM handguns, the SMG-2 sub-machine gun, and the PSG-1SD sniping rifle, enable silent and stealthy killing even from great distances, leaving the enemy clueless and Jones completely undetected.

Heavy weapons such as the MP5-A3 and MP5-SD3 sub-machine guns, AK-47 and G36 assault rifles, with faster fire and reloading rates, more range or hitting power are needed for all-out gun-battles, where usage is usually at the cost of being discovered by multiple nearby enemies, and therefore giving Jones less chance of survival.

Balanced weapons such as the SVD Dragunov and M82A1-T sniping rifles, the G11 assault rifle, however, provide a balance of both power and stealth. Emitting noise, yet usable from great distances, means that, if used strategically while under cover, Jones can go undetected while effecting a 1-shot, 1-kill hit rate.

Bullets also perform and penetrate differently, based on their speed, weight and caliber, and target material: wood, steel, plastic or flesh, meaning players will be able to kill multiple targets with one shot or hit targets right through cover.^[5] Targets are affected not only by Jones's movement and stance but also the calculated kickback for each weapon.
Only 2 guns can be carried at any given time and the rest have to be left behind, unlike its prequel where Jones could carry any number, promoting critical thinking and weapon understanding, as each weapon has very different strengths and side-effects.^[6] In addition to the two chosen weapons, a Combat Knife is carried at all times and always available for use, enabling noiseless kills and hand-to-hand combat when out of ammunition or without guns.

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