PS2: X-SQUAD (COMPLETE)

In X-Squad, you play a character named John G. Ash. He was at the top of his class at West Point, where he excelled in both marksmanship and urban-combat simulation. Feeling the need to be rebellious, Ash went off on his own and formed a team of problem-solvers, X-Squad.



While it's possible to snap off some curt little orders to your squad mates, their intelligence is a bit too artificial to be of much use to you. Luckily for you (although not for the game), you don't actually have to depend on them to finish any particular level of the game. If you were dependent on their assistance, you'd probably never live to see the sun rise on the game's final level.



X-Squad does make good use of the PS2 controller's two analog joysticks. The left stick controls the general movement of the character, while the right stick is used for turning the character and aiming the weapon.



You'll have fun shooting up enemies, unlocking puzzles, and fragging level bosses, but the game won't provide much challenge. Setting the game's difficulty to "expert" might cause you to break a sweat.



In all, X-Squad is a decent game, but it would have been better, had its story and characters been allowed to percolate a bit longer. In some ways, it's amazing that Sony actually allowed EA/Square to proceed with a concept that must have seemed, at one time, to be rice-paper-thin. But, if you're in the mood for a simple arcade shooter, a fun time definitely can be had here. --Todd Mowatt