Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn (2000)

This game is one of those overlooked late-generation titles that quietly carved out its own identity, despite its clear Resident Evil inspirations. It combines survival horror, stealth, and action into a tense espionage thriller set almost entirely aboard a hijacked high-speed train carrying a stolen nuclear warhead. This setting may not seem unique for today's standards, but as far as gaming goes back in the day, this kind of plot was exclusive to other types of media live movies and TV series. The confined setting creates a constant sense of urgency, making every encounter and puzzle feel meaningful, while at the same time, not losing its cinematic feel, similar to something like Metal Gear Solid.

Rather than focusing purely on combat, it encourages exploration and resource management. The main character is called Lieutenant Jack Morton, who must rescue hostages, disarm the nuclear threat, and uncover the villains' plans. The game mixes gunfights with environmental puzzles and occasional stealth sequences, while branching story paths and multiple endings add replay value. Take note that the stealth elements are quite soft, especially if you compare this to MGS, or even Syphon Filter, so don't expect much on this regard. Although it borrows ideas from Resident Evil and other espionage franchises, it does enough to establish its own personality. One of its best traits over any other title similar title is the replay value, very few espionage titles are worth playing more than once.

The game's biggest strengths are its atmosphere and pacing, the train serves as a memorable backdrop, with each carriage introducing new hazards, enemies, and objectives that keep the adventure engaging. Despite the classic backtraking, key item hunting and exploration, what makes its gameplay very unique is the game feel and controls. They are incredibly responsive and you have a variety of moves you can perform, such as dashing in 3 directions, jumping and crouching. The OST complements the tension well, very similar to other media with the same theme. A lot of tense and energetic tracks to make you feel the action packed sequences, as well as moody and slower ones for the exploration sections. And despite the PlayStation's technical limitations, the pre-rendered environments and cinematic presentation still hold up very well. This is especially true because the backgrounds are actually a 3D wire-frame, which is painted with the pre-rendered 2D environments, quite a unique and very appealing visual technique.

That said, this game is a product of its era, tank controls, fixed camera angles, uneven voice acting, and occasional backtracking can make it frustrating for modern audiences. But if you are inclined to enjoy this formula to any extent, these are actually what will make you have a good experience while playing this. Though the combat also lacks the polish of its more famous contemporaries, such as Syphon Filter for example, and some puzzles rely on trial and error. These issues prevent it from reaching the same legendary status as the games it was inspired by, but they don't overshadow its ambition. The puzzles are the worst part for me, since the multiple ending mechanics are heavily reliant on your performance on them, and they are not quite intuitive at fist glance. And this can definitely hinder your overall experience when engaging with this mechanic in particular.

One of the its most interesting aspects is how it balances action with decision-making. Certain objectives are optional, and the choices you make throughout the campaign can influence later events, encouraging multiple playthroughs to see every ending. This is both a great strength, but also one of its biggest flaws, simply because you don't truly have multiple different endings, instead, you just have the least optimal ones, and the most optimal ones. Particularly I reached the worst possible ending, and decided to not experience the other ones, you don't have much of a choice or branching paths, you just need to follow a cooking recipe if you want the best ending. Despite that, while these branching paths are relatively modest by modern standards, they added a welcome layer of depth in 2000 and helped distinguish the game from more linear action titles on the PlayStation. So don't be discouraged, it's a game that rewards curiosity, whether you're searching for hidden items or trying to achieve the best possible outcome.

Another aspect that deserves praising is the gameplay variety. You are not just running around on foot, you also engage with helicopters using anti-aerial weapons. Not to mention the sections which you need to navigate the external area of the train, making it really feel like an action movie. There are also several bossfights, and while they silly and pointless when it comes to the overall plot, they are still very fun. While enemy variety is not the best, it still tries to promote some unique challenges, such as some patrolling robots, suicidal explosive drones, proximity mines and also tougher variations of the standard foes. One downside though is that enemies often respawn, and I really don't like this kind of mechanic. It hurts the pacing by a lot, especially because this game has a lot of exploration, Not to mention that resources are very very limited, way more than other similar games. The only thing that mitigates this is that all enemies have an RNG element to dropping some items for you such as medkits and ammunition.

In retrospect, Covert Ops feels like an experiment that arrived just before the PlayStation 2 era transformed the genre. It may never have achieved the popularity of Konami's bigger franchises, but its combination of espionage storytelling, survival mechanics, and a memorable single-location setting has earned it a cult following among retro gaming fans. This title is one of those that gives you the feeling that it would be incredible if it was remade today. It is one of those hidden gems which has incredible potential on its ideas, especially in the context and the time that it was developed. This is a must play if you appreciate discovering forgotten titles, Covert Ops remains a worthwhile experience of the original PlayStation's rich and diverse library.

11th Game Completed In 2024

Alright, lemme start with a click-baity headline so more people give this game a shot.

This is a bone fide PS1 hidden gem.

I first heard of this game from a really exhaustive list of "Resident Evil clones", and it kinda is in a lot of ways. In fact, I could categorize it as a bit of a hybrid of Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil - "Survival Thriller" was the genre I came up with as I was playing. The title is... Terrible. "Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn" makes it sound like a Spec Ops of Syphon Filter game, and it's absolutely not trying to be that. The delightfully Ingrish title used in Japan and Europe, "Chase The Express" is also not great, but it better relays what kind of game this is. (Personally, I would have called it BULLET TRAIN, like the pun is right fuckin there guys!)

The premise of this game is both simple, and brilliant. You're a UN soldier on a train, a mustache-twirling terrorist hijacks said train and takes the French Ambassador and his family hostage, and you are the sole survivor tasked with saving the Ambassador, stopping a nuclear incident, and navigating a train with plenty of locked doors and cars that have simply been blowed-up.

But in terms of actual gameplay, it's pretty much Resident Evil. You have tank controls, the nature of your mission means health and ammo are limited (kind of - we'll get to that), and the first half of the game is genuinely tense and terrifying. You have no backup, no resources, and you barely survived the initial assault on the roof of a speeding train. The way that this game's story barrels through at such a rapid pace and never really gives you a moment to breathe is, honestly, freaking brilliant, and probably the best thing about this game. It's one I'd genuinely love to see a remake of, because the premise is freaking excellent, and something that hasn't really been done since.

The way you wind up navigating the train is surprising too. Of course you have the standard "you need X key card for Y door" stuff, but they find really clever ways of sending you back and forth on the train. Some passages are blocked, so you have to get on the train's roof to access the next car. One car is completely obliterated, so you get treated to this gorgeous view of passing scenery while passing between cars. One car is a straight-up rocket launcher, and getting through it is not the same as getting through a passenger car. I kept being continually surprised how they kept the train setting interesting despite being limited to only 16 cars, but they manage to pull it off. One thing contemporary reviews complained about was backtracking, but having actually played the game, I honestly think they're talking shit. There ARE a few segments where you have to hoof it from one train to another, but these are usually between boss fights, and after enemy soldiers have been flown in the replace the ones you killed. Because enemies drop health and ammo as RNG, this is your only opportunity to restock after a tough boss fight. They make sense both in the story, and in the context of the game.

So that story... It's not amazing, but it does what it needs to do. It's very much a 90s action movie in every way you expect, but it's elevated by some truly amazing voicework. This is a game set in Europe, with primarily European characters, with what sound like European actors doing American accents. It is absolutely stunning. Pair that with some truly ghoulish CGI work in the cutscenes, and it's just an absolute joy to experience. It transcends funny-bad and almost becomes good because you know every cutscene is going to be a fucking joy to watch. Plus the character models are clearly speaking Japanese or another language, so it gives the game this "late-night dubbed foreign movie" vibe. Ya love to see it.

I do have a couple tiny complaints though. The load times are... Annoying. Every time you load a new room, it takes 5-10 seconds, and because the rooms are quite small, this will happen often. And unlike Resident Evil games, the game will hang for a second or two during screen transitions. Definitely not a deal-breaker, but something I feel a PS1 game from 2000 probably shouldn't have as much of. The other big issue is the aiming system... It has this kinda auto-aim system that's really finicky, and no way of snap-locking aim to your enemy. So you kinda rotate your guy until the little crosshairs appears, and since most of the enemies don't really move, it's not a huge deal - but you will eat a few bullets. Where this DOES become annoying is the final boss on the canon route, because it moves all over the damn place and your window to land a shot is a few frames. If you fire when the reticule is not there, your shot will not land. I was able to brute force it though, so again. Not a deal breaker for me.

Fair warning as well... This game has multiple endings, depending on what items you collect and if you use them correctly. It's a lot like the first Silent Hill too, where it's really not clear what is supposed to be used where, and some of these items are extremely easy to miss. Definitely recommend a guide for that reason.

If you do get the Good End though, you unlock what I think is one of the more interesting completion rewards I've ever seen in a game... Scenario S. In this version of the game, new segments are spliced into the existing story, including a few interludes where you are removed from the speeding train and have to find a way back. The ending is still ultimately the same, but adding entirely new segments to the game for an alternative version of the story is really damned cool if you ask me!

Overall, like I said, this game is a true hidden gem. Nobody ever talks about this thing, but I think it's a really special little game with ideas no one else has really riffed on. It's not terribly expensive, I got a used copy on mint condition for $30. But it's also one well worth emulating if that's your only means. It's pretty short, maybe 4-5 hours, so it's definitely worth a go.

Unfortunately gotta put this one on pause, since I've hit a wall of fatigue and I'm gonna be out of town all week.

But I wanted to shout out once again that this game is a bona fide hidden gem. It's really, really good. I don't think the story is as interesting as Metal Gear Solid or Resident Evil, which are clear influences, but as a game, I'd say it's absolutely on that level. I'm not even joking. I don't think it's one that will wind up making my Top 100 - though that's overdue for a redux, so who knows! - but it's really one people ought to check out.

I wanna call it a "Survival Thriller". And it has some amazing voice acting from people who are very obviously European trying to do American accents. Despite the characters largely being Europeans. Chef's kiss