Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9632 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Take 2
• Released on: 2004-10-22
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: PlayStation2
• Number of items: 1

Manufacturer's Description
Vietcong: Purple Haze is a cinematic narrative-based first-person Shooter set during the Vietnam conflict. Players will experience the war from the perspective of a soldier assigned to join a squad of U.S. Special Forces running reconnaissance missions deep into the jungles of Northern Vietnam.

Utilizing any means necessary, patrol various tactical regions gathering intelligence, calling in air strikes or ambushing enemy patrols. Fight in a 19-mission single player campaign, featuring 17 of the best from the PC version and 2 new missions unique to consoles. Strike from the shadows choosing from more than 30 unlockable weapons including an M16, M79 grenade launcher, Mosin-Nagent, Sten MKII and the M60--or throw a grenade or utilize handheld attacks with a knife. Stay alert or your next step could trigger a trip wire, spring a Punji whip trap or drop down into a spiked pit.

Authentic 1960s soundtrack includes music from Iggy and the Stooges, Deep Purple, the Standells and more.

Customer Reviews

Hmmm
I don't know about this one. The gameplay is fairly hard, but not too hard, and there IS A LOT OF SWEARING (someone else complained about this, but just to tell them that this is meant to be set in 60's/70's Vietnam war, and you are in the army, not shooting cardboard cut-outs in a nice sunny field. Army captains and other high-ranked soldiers are usually very cruel to their soldiers they are meant to be helping. The profound, disgusting language gives it a sense of realism, showing that not all soldiers are nice).
Overall though, the game is quite fun. The weapons you get are good, and there are loads. But one problem is that is doesn't show Vietnam realistically. The jungles are NOT dense, like Vietnam, there aren't many VC' to actually fight, mostly you will be fighting either lots of traps, or the urge to sell it.
Make your own decision on this game, because I am really unsure on whether it is good or not.

I'm sorry to say...
that this is possibly one of the worst first person shooters that I have ever played.

Bear in mind that I only received the game this morning, and have only got as far as the third mission, but as I am rather irritated, I felt compelled to write a review now.

I am a big fan of first and third person shooters, and have quite a few on the PS2 format, some great, some not so great. Unfortunately, this one seems to be falling into the latter category.

Firstly, a previous reviewer made the complaint about bad language. True, there is a lot of bad language in the game, but I am pretty broad minded, and can live with that. Hey, this is war. However, I too find it puzzling that the icons were not included anywhere on the packaging, warning of this, but maybe I can see why. The game has been given a '15' rating, this is clearly marked, so I would say Take 2 never felt the need, although many of the games I own, do include the appropriate icons, regardless of the age limit. Not a problem so far.

Then we get on to the gameplay. Where do I begin?

The scenario is that you are in command of a reconnaissance squad of US Special Forces during the Vietnam War.

The first mission involves rescuing a downed USAF pilot from the hands of the Viet Cong. I have to say, it's way too simple. Alright, this is only the first level. Put your ARVN/LLDB guide on point, and let him lead you to the VC encampment. Shoot three VC, rescue the pilot and call in the Huey's. Just before they arrive, you get ambushed, by what appear to be another three VC. I know jungles are dense, and in that type of firefight environment, it's hard to see exactly where the enemy is, but this is impossible. There are no muzzle flashes to speak of, so pinpointing where hostile fire is coming from, is extremely difficult. You tend to find yourself blindly firing into the undergrowth, where you think he (the enemy) may be. The only indication that you have of enemy's position, is your compass, which indicates his general direction, and where the fire is coming from. I would prefer muzzle flashes in conjunction with this though. Aiming is very difficult, due to the way the weapon is rendered. The sight is too way off. Also, the controls are not sensitive enough, especially when you are trying to aim, or disarm a booby trap. You may find yourself, constantly having to 'fine tune' the right analogue stick, to allow the cursor to locate, and the task to be carried out. In a fire fight, by the time that happens you may be dead.

You have the option of being able to use an enemy's weapon, once he's been killed or disabled. This is fine. However, when the weapon is dropped, it is so badly rendered, as to be very difficult to see it against the ground. What is there, is merely the hint of the weapon, add to that, the corpse of the guy you've just 'killed' disappears within a few seconds. The weapon he's dropped follows suit a few seconds later! So you've got to be quick, a real pain if you're low on ammunition.

Movement is annoying. When carrying anything larger than a pistol or combat knife, your running ability drops off, and you slow down. The heavier the weapon, the slower you run. The 'hints' section recommends that when running, you switch to your knife or pistol to increase your speed. Sorry, but when I am in a firefight, I do not want to be switching from rifle/sub-machine gun to pistol, to increase my speed, and then back again to engage more enemies, as the switching control is not the easiest to manipulate quickly.

This leads me on to the characters. As I mentioned, you've got your squad members. These are specialists in their own particular field, and can carry out certain assignments, such as medical, point, radio coms and supply. The problem that I found is they tend, at times, to get 'stuck' in the scenery, or keep walking into trees and rocks. Whilst it looks comical to start with, it results, in you having to double back, to 'release' the offending character...I was getting wound up by this stage . When crawling in a prone position, I found that when confronted by a rock or obstacle, instead of stopping, my character would crawl up the bloody thing, and I'd end up looking at the sky, trying to orientate myself. Needless to say, I'm not impressed with the graphics either. They are rather too early PS2 era for my taste.

The loading is slow...it took well over a minute to load one of the 'Quickfight' missions.

Maybe I've been too harsh, considering I've only got to level three, and maybe I haven't given it a chance yet. On this performance though, I can't see myself going past level five, before I trade the damn thing in.

There is one bright point to all this however...a good selection of weapons (which is why I gave it two stars), although I am even a little dubious about some of these. I mean, the VC option of a double barrel shotgun? Maybe, but I felt a bit like I was out on a grouse shoot. Why no RPG though? That was a favoured weapon of the VC/NVA.

For: Large variety of weapons.

Against: Hard to pinpoint enemy, slow running speed, odd movement (yours and your comrades), slow loading time, not so impressive (not terrible, but not brilliant either) graphics, no RPG (or any rocket launcher. The M79 is about your lot, and that's a grenade launcher).

Sorry Take 2, but this could have been a lot better. Only my opinion, but I've calmed down now!

This game impressed a feeling of ecstasy upon me
When i opened this game i had high hopes for it and wasn't let down with the gameplay. he graphics were amazing quality and the apparent use of bad language only increased the realism of the simulation. The expansive weaponry was impressive and i enjoyed hitting people.