Lackluster production values aside, Modern Combat: Domination doesn't feel like a budget shooter. The tinny weapons offer little kick and the music is as forgettable as the last bit of Muzak you heard while on hold with customer support. There are some rough edges like the pixel effects created by smoke grenades and a number of shadowy spots on the maps that are absolutely pitch-black. Visuals are mostly just bland, with the maps and soldier models seemingly recycled from a dozen other, older shooters. Presentation values are a bit of a drawback. Always making progress keeps you playing and helps to flatten the learning curve in the early stages when you're typically getting mowed down by more experienced players who know the maps. You gain enough experience for kills and wins to earn the initial handful of levels and unlock a bunch of new gear in a few hours of play in something like Domination. The experience system also works extremely well, with advancement moving at an accelerated pace, particularly in the beginning. You're never stuck with so little cash that you can't be competitive because even the wimpiest weapons provide enough firepower for you to be a threat to even higher-level opponents with superior weapons and armor. If you stay alive, though, you earn the coin needed to load up with additional gear. If you get killed, you lose everything, which forces you back to the shop with just enough money for something basic like an MP5 or a combat shotgun. Cash is used between rounds and during spawns to purchase gear like submachine guns, pistols, grenades, and body armor. Money and experience are awarded for accomplishments, such as kills, headshots, and level victories. The only way you get your hands on a gun like this one early on is if someone else drops it. Unless you have the patience of Job, it's best to jump into something longer lasting, like a Domination match. Rounds tend to end in no more than a minute because of the cramped maps and the fact that single kills send players to the sidelines, so you spend as much time staring at loading screens as you do shooting bad guys. While Domination and Deathmatch are superb renditions of old faves, the more specialized modes are hampered by really short rounds and really long loads. Familiar modes of play are the most entertaining. There are six game types, ranging from run-of-the-mill Deathmatch and Domination to more specialized endeavors, such as Escort, where you have to either kill or safeguard a boss player trying to escape the level, and Boom and Bust, where your goal is to set off or stop a missile launch. Two factions are included here in the Special Forces and Mercenaries, who use the same hardware and look so much alike that you need the assistance of red-and-blue chevrons floating in the air to separate friend from foe. That's a good thing because the offline mode is deadly dull due to poor bot intelligence that doesn't seem to have a clue, whether attacking or defending. Lots of players are online right now, too, so you can always get into a match. Support is provided for up to 16 players, which is the perfect number of soldiers to fight over the generally small maps because they are loaded with tight, dark corridors that see you bumping heads with enemies just seconds into a round. Sticking to the traditional dual-stick gamepad is likely preferable, unless you're a real Move expert or desperate for a different twist on shooter controls. It's rather touchy, though, and tough to use without careening all over the place. The most unusual element is optional support for Sony's Move motion controller. Navy SEALs Confrontation, particularly the gamepad controls and five grungy maps that take in the usual suspects, like a dusty Middle Eastern town dotted with Arabic all over its crumbling walls, as well as various urban wastelands and wrecked factories. You might also note similarities to the likes of Modern Warfare and SOCOM: U.S. It's all fast and brutal, with kills coming quickly and the tension palpable from the moment you spawn into a match. If you ever played the PC classic, you'll experience a lot of Counter-Strike deja vu. This is a traditional multiplayer shooter in both form and fashion, featuring pretty much nothing but industry-standard game modes, weapons, and maps. As enjoyable as Modern Combat: Domination is, don't expect any innovations here.
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