Codename Eagle (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.7 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Erik Wolpaw
• Reviewed on: 04/17/2000
• Updated on: 05/01/2000
• Released on: 03/31/2000
• Originally published on GameSpot: Codename Eagle (PC) Review

Codename Eagle is a 3D action game in which you conduct espionage through huge outdoor environments. You start on foot, but you can commandeer any vehicle you find, from motorcycles, to tanks, to biplanes. It sounds like a great idea in theory and suggests that developer Refraction has created an evolutionary advancement of the first-person shooter. But in practice, Codename Eagle is a short, linear, and really goofy game that's much more frustrating than it is interesting.

The first level serves as a microcosm of the entire game. The goal of the mission is to sneak into an enemy base and steal some secret documents. To accomplish the task, you're supposed to find an enemy uniform, disguise yourself as an enemy soldier, trade a bottle of vodka for a truck, load a crate onto the truck, drive the truck several miles through a few checkpoints, lift some identification out of another crate, and use the identification to gain access to the base. The thing is, it's much easier to simply skip the busywork and march straight through the level like a Terminator, killing everything in your path. So much for espionage.

The main reason you can kill every living thing within two square miles of enemy territory is that the enemies are both predictable and dumb. Rather than using buildings and trees tactically for advancing cover, or doing anything that might take advantage of Codename Eagle's outdoor environments, the computer opponents rely on the oldest behavior patterns in the book: standing in place or feinting to the side before running straight at you. What's more, most of your enemies can't actually shoot while moving, which makes them especially vulnerable as they're jogging toward you. And enemy vehicles tend to drive in preset patterns. They'll fire at you if you cross their path, but they won't give chase.

The game's many chain-link fences are often your trickiest adversaries. The fences are electrified and are damaging if you brush against them, even if you're sitting in a tank. Although you can see quite clearly through the fences, you can't shoot through them nor can enemies sense you through them. It may seem like a minor complaint, but it's indicative of Codename Eagle's many persistent and mood-breaking glitches.

Another odd design choice is that virtually every gun in the game uses the same ammunition. The revolver, the shotgun, and the Russian armored car all draw from the same reserve of bullets.

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