Phantom Doctrine game Review: Tactical Espionage Action
Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thrillerThe Cold War and its conspiratorial stories have inspired many films, novels, comics, comics ... with the exception of the video game which seems strangely to sulk this historical period. But that was without counting on the Creative Forge Games studio wanting to wash away this affront with Phantom Doctrine, a turn-based strategy game published by Good Shepherd Entertainment and inspired by the myths and legends of 80's espionage. Brush your most beautiful mustache and grease your handgun, you have an appointment with the secrets of history.
PLANET EARTH, NEST OF SPIES
Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thrillerCreative Forge Games draws its inspiration from this confrontation of blocks from East and West to design its new game. Phantom Doctrine is an uchronia, an alternative (or hidden) side of History whose point of divergence takes root during the Cold War. We are in 1983. An international criminal organization with an evocative name - The Conspiracy controls the world by clever manipulations of the sovereign nations of Eurasia. Against this backdrop, the secret agency The Cabal stands proudly in the face of this world-wide threat and is promoting the outright eradication of its troublemakers. This group of renegade agents travels the northern hemisphere to thwart competition plans and impose lasting peace.
Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thriller
The writers' writers take in the fictions born of the unsaid and the secrets surrounding the Cold War. Phantom Doctrine transpires treason, tricks, conspiracy, etc. And the conspirators are already rubbing their hands of it. If Creative Forge Games does not rely on the staging to seduce, the narrative as simplistic as it is does not remain less effective. A handful of cutscenes produced in 2D and introductions-conclusions of missions in 3D punctuate a thrilling thriller with agreed themes, but still mastered. And the generosity of the developers is to be welcomed. Fully subtitled in French, Creative Forge Games provides dozens of hours of game if not more and the difficulty is there.The first decision to make at the start of the adventure and not the least, your affiliation with a government agency. Three destinies then appear before you. CIA, KGB and a mysterious latest to unlock by finishing one of the intrigues revealed, the choice is difficult and decisive for the future. You are responsible for the appearance of your primary agent. Hair cut and color, dress, first and last name, sex, country of origin, face or even morphology ... these purely aesthetic customization choices have no influence on the gameplay and give free rein to your imagination without risking anachronism.
The Polish studio is attached to this particular atmosphere, both suffocating and romantic, which preceded the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Bulky whiskers, kitsch sunglasses, vintage clothes, Phantom Doctrine assumes its love of the 80s with an air of melancholic jazz. Unfortunately, the latter is clearly behind the eyes. The overall correct graphics do not do justice to the atmosphere and this sense of detail. However, the interface and menus full of information remain accessible and above all readable in all circumstances.
KNOWLEDGE IS A WEAPON
Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thriller“If you know your enemies and you know yourself, a thousand battles will not be able to overcome you.” This quote from "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu translates into words the only approach to approach Phantom Doctrine. Information is the lifeblood of this shadow war. Your agents travel around Eurasia in search of rumors and clues necessary to achieve the imposed objectives. The spies are men and women in the field and this could not be more true in the present case. Through a spy network, your troops are spreading in the hopes of flushing out the enemy and, if possible, countering the threat.
Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thriller
Theft, espionage, assassination ... this world map shows your actions and you will spend almost half the time scrutinizing it while waiting to see new points of interest appear and therefore missions synonymous with documents to analyze ... provided pick them up during these. Text, photos and pieces of paper piled up on your desk are a gold mine. And this meticulous reading is not optional, quite the contrary. It reveals keywords that link the clues to each other and leads to reveal the next target of the criminal organization in order to intervene before it is too late.Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thriller
However, traveling the world and rubbing shoulders with opposing agents exposes The Cabal to bloody retaliation. Your headquarters should never be discovered. A “danger” gauge translates this threat in real time. Once it is full, the troops of the Conspiracy land in your lair. Moving in a hurry or fighting with the units present at the risk of condemning the agency to failure and therefore to Game Over, this crucial decision is up to you.Defend The Cabal against all of its enemies from inside and out. This mantra sums up all this ambient suspicion. The risk of having a double agent in its ranks jeopardizes the operation. The existence of its potentially renegade units adds to the pervasive stress. It is therefore customary to think twice before recruiting, recovering a captured soldier, etc. You are not helpless in the face of adversity. The interrogations and brainwashing via the MK Ultra room protect you mainly from these betrayals. And capturing agents opens up a range of opportunities. A simple sentence “trigger” implanted in the brain transforms an enemy into a time bomb once back in the ranks of The Conspiracy. Victory is built on the loyalty of your troops and a healthy paranoia.
Phantom Doctrine manages with its phases of investigation and its spy network to transcribe this existence always on the go. Structuring the progression around information is essential to do justice to this Cold War and Creative Forge Games succeeds in making it all fun and accessible without truncating in gameplay with complex and tangled mechanics. Analyzing dozens of documents and passing interrogations is not tiresome, quite the contrary. The pleasure of browsing through these uchronic "pieces" of history is felt at every moment and motivates progress.
THE ALL RISK AGENT
Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thrillerAfter polishing the benches on your hideout for weeks, it's time to take action. Phantom Doctrine is a turn-based strategy game and demonstrates it once the tactical missions have started. During these phases, a team of agents is deployed in the field with very specific objectives to fulfill: elimination, rescue, information, etc. But before disembarking, The Cabal has several assets in its pocket. Recognition of places, infiltration of a spy, disguise of an agent, installation of a sniper ... the options are many and varied, and in theory facilitate the success of said mission.
Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thriller
As a good XCOM-like (main representative of the genre), the title of Good Shepherd Entertainment bets on reflection and coordination to design missions with rarely innovative objectives, but at precise level design. The random arrangement of certain major elements in the levels could confuse more than one, but preserves their interest even after several unsuccessful attempts. And Phantom Doctrine easily juggles between infiltration and armed confrontation. Completion of the objectives and evacuation of the agents in all discretion are your priority under penalty of engaging the combat vis-a-vis an enemy superior in number. And if unfortunately an agent is killed, evacuating him remains the best solution or praying that he will be dead so as not to fall into the hands of The Conspiracy.Phantom Doctrine: An intractable and relevant tactical thriller
To do this, The Cabal attacks the security network, deactivates the cameras and neutralizes the guards, carefully avoiding the walkways. Despite their talent, a plan rarely goes off without a hitch. Once the alarm is triggered, the combat phase begins, the bullets rain and with them the main defect of the game ... the lines of fire. It is not uncommon to be attacked by a guard firing through multiple windows and / or walls and touch you. In Phantom Doctrine, nobody is safe because the covers are only partial and only reduce the damage. The distance and the types of materials crossed add to the equation. This quest for realism comes at the expense of the fun aspect. These recalcitrant lines of fire and the partially random calculation of the damage are simply sources of frustration.Over-trained and always ready to respond, the agents of The Cabal - if they survive - become more efficient as the adventure progresses. An under-equipped soldier, without special skills or under pressure struggles to fulfill his role during tactical missions. It is your duty as coordinator to ensure their well-being, to use them wisely and to provide them with the appropriate equipment to fulfill their objectives while ensuring their unwavering loyalty. The death or disappearance of one of them means wasting the time and money invested in this particular character. And yet, you have to know how to cut the cord and prioritize the mission.
The headquarters centralizes all the activities of The Cabal. The latter is gaining interest over the days by building new rooms and equipping them: the infirmary to care for the wounded, the workshop to improve the hideout or make equipment, the counterfeiter to create currency, the barracks for train officers, the interrogation room to glean information, etc. The safe house determines in the long term the direction taken by the agency and its probabilities of success. This shared management of agents and benchmarks fits perfectly into dense gameplay without weighing it down excessively and offers strategists dozens of opportunities to counter The Conspiracy.
The notes
+ Positive points
The Cold War for theater of operations
An exciting 80's uchronic thriller against a backdrop of conspiracy ...
Academic and effective tactical missions ...
Investigation phases and a relevant spy network
Meticulous management of agents and headquarters
-Negative points
A dilapidated creation and graphics
… Despite a minimalist staging and an underused universe
... sometimes compromised by lines of fire and randomness
Phantom Doctrine strikes hard and with surgical precision. Creative Forge Games' newborn baby swears love for the Tactical and Cold War studios in Poland. This clever mix aims just and is perfectly imbued with snapshots of espionage to design a thrilling, albeit under-exploited, universe and put rich gameplay into orbit. The investigation phases and the tactical missions seduce by their accuracy and their complexity, despite lines of fire and a sometimes recalcitrant randomness. If you've always dreamed of becoming an agent serving the common good (or not), get involved!
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