In this game, t is necessary to develop your own tactics for the different types of soldiers on offer. As is my want, I go for the sniper option. Getting close to any level of soldier is rather painful whether you are fully armoured and healthy or not. Much of the game can be made much easier via the use of stealth and sneak attacks, rather than charging forward. Stealth pays off in ammunition usage as well. It is more useful to use one shot than many. In addition to the deadliness for being shot, a major factor in the different skill levels of the game is the supply of ammo. Facing Himmler's finest with a 45 automatic is not a healthy move. In most areas, it is possible to get to higher ground and/or cover in which to operate. This is a welcome change for an ID game and makes this game enjoyable for FPS players who prefer the sniping of Deus Ex & Red Faction rather than blasting of UT and Quake 3.

While it would have been nice to be able to drive vehicles as in Red Faction, this game is still fun. RTCW is definitely not as sophisticated as either DX or RF. At times, it shows its limitations. Still, there is enough there to keep most occupied for at least two full play-throughs. As usual, my second time through I spent more time exploring to find all the secrets and generally seeing what could be done with the game.

Graphically, the game is stunning at every level of detail. The highly tweaked Quake 3 engine works well even on the lowliest of machines. I completed the game twice on a machine (B&W 350/320 RAM) that is below spec for the game. The only "sacrifice" is the inability to use the "Snooper" uber-sniper rifle. But this is nothing special. There is so little ammo for this weapon, it is almost an irrelevance. Other than this small drawback,, the game was entirely playable on my old machine and winnable. The cut-scenes are impressive, again even on the lowliest of graphics cards. It is worth noting that the game seems to load much faster on a G3 than on a G4 titanium. The game is very stable, only crashing a few times when your reviewer forgot to close his other RAM hungry applications. RTCW, an OSX only game, certain takes advantage of OSX's reliability. Why can't all OSX games (Giants, Baldur's Gate II et al) can't be as stable as this?