Experience and Improvise
RE:ORC's game AI is quite shallow in terms of strategy, but what it lacks is made up by the sheer number of enemies that are being spawned everywhere. What makes the gameplay hard is not a more efficient and deadly AI but in the large quantities of enemies that are thrown at you. It doesn't help that the zombies can take more hits when the difficulty bar is raised.
Your AI partner on the other hand, known to be equally as efficient, may get stuck at certain points of the game and will only be able to move after they have been killed and revived, or be recalled to your character when you reached a new checkpoint.
These shortcomings do not make RE:ORC a bad game. Far from it, the game's shortfalls will make you treat it seriously, especially when you have a zombie horde to fend off and micro-manage a team at the same time. There may be even firefights that can turn into a three-way battle. Sounds fun? Somewhat for sure and the excitement is amped up with the added realism. The anxiety rises when you realise that you have to be totally prepared for moments when the ammo runs out. Many such moments occurred during my time with the game and I had to improvise.
This means managing your ammo, materials, and medicine ratio, the critical timings in using them, making use of your character's skills, knowing where the items and enemies are, and where you should be going. Swishing your combat knife will get you killed quicker than taking cover.
Multiplayer isn't just a gimmick either as you will be forced to rely on your partners - both player-based or AI-operated. Indeed, the presence of your AI buddies, while not top notch, will help ease the tension.
Collectibles are not spared as well in this age of game rewards. There is a fair share of goodies to look for to help you gain more experience points but the data materials - littered and hidden throughout each chapter's map - are limited during each play-through, so sharing evenly between friends is essential for everyone to get the most out of the rewards given.
By the end of it the reward you gain for playing efficiently is well worth the effort as you can power-up your characters as well as attain newer and more powerful arsenals that can assist you in your next foray.
Score: 7/10
Verdict: If you love to kill zombies, are into first-person shooters and looking for some no nonsense strategy gameplay then don't let RE:ORCs shortcomings stop you from experiencing the game.
It is unfortunate that while RE:ORC is fun, addictive - if I haven't said it enough times - and innovative, it suffers greatly in presentation. This alone can turn away many who had considered playing the game.
Combat and team work takes centre stage here and the game is immensely unforgiving to reckless gaming. On the plus side, it is a satisfyingly rewarding process when you come out of a chapter with that feel-good-feeling that you were an amazing teammate.
