Operation Thunderstorm
- July 13, 2018
- City Interactive S.A.
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Operation Thunderstorm" is a first-person shooter set in World War II, where you play as an MI6 agent tasked with eliminating top Nazi leaders. Utilizing the Covert Fire system, you'll navigate through French, Bavarian, and Polish locations, battling enemies with intelligent AI. Your mission's success depends on your ability to exploit your surroundings and strategically shoot from cover.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Fun and engaging gameplay reminiscent of classic WWII shooters, particularly for fans of the F.E.A.R. engine.
- Great value for the price, especially when on sale, providing a decent amount of entertainment in a short playtime.
- Decent graphics and sound design for a budget title, with enjoyable gunplay and responsive enemy interactions.
- Extremely short campaign, often completed in under two hours, leading to a lack of replay value.
- Poor enemy AI and simplistic level design result in a repetitive and linear gameplay experience.
- Censorship of blood and Nazi iconography detracts from the authenticity and immersion of the WWII setting.
- story27 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story is generally considered basic and lacking depth, revolving around a soldier tasked with assassinating three high-ranking Nazi officials during World War II. While some players appreciate the premise and find the voice acting entertaining, many criticize the minimal plot development, repetitive missions, and lack of engaging cutscenes, leading to an overall impression of a thin narrative framework. Despite its shortcomings, a few players express interest in the broader context of the series it belongs to.
“The story and voice acting are also delightfully unhinged.”
“The story is pretty good, if basic; you are tasked with hunting down three prominent members of the German high command in World War II.”
“In this story, you play the role of a secret agent on a mission to assassinate some high-ranking Nazi officials.”
“The story is surprisingly lacking quite a lot, but I'm fine with it.”
“Story: you're a soldier sent on three disjointed missions to assassinate three top Nazi officials: Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, and Hermann Goering. There's very little plot development beyond that, with a few basic cutscenes and a text-only ending sequence.”
“While marketed and sold as a fanciful historical WWII FPS, Operation Thunderstorm is in fact no more than a digital shooting range with light walking simulator elements and the framework for a story tacked on.”
- gameplay23 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as a mixed experience, with a short campaign lasting only 70-80 minutes and lacking notable mechanics or moments. While some players found the shooting mechanics reminiscent of the Fear series and enjoyable, others criticized the controls, AI, and overall sluggishness, leading to a perception of the game as a simplistic and glitchy FPS. Despite its flaws, some users noted that it can provide decent mindless fun, especially for casual WWII FPS fans.
“Yet despite that weird over-ambition, the excess mechanics never get in the way and it adds to the appeal.”
“But look, the gameplay was actually fun, and that's what actually counts.”
“It runs on the Jupiter EX engine, also known from the FEAR games, meaning the combat is actually fun in this game because the shooting mechanics are similar to that of FEAR.”
“The campaign was only 70-80 minutes long and there's really no notable moments or mechanics.”
“Game is decent for casual WWII FPS fans, but overall gameplay is on the slower side and in some places movement is pretty sluggish.”
“Gameplay: it's an FPS and it's a glitch-filled mess.”
- graphics19 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally viewed as decent for its time, with some users appreciating the old-school aesthetic and effects, while others criticize them as poor or underwhelming, especially in comparison to modern standards. Performance issues arise when shadow quality is maximized, leading to significant frame rate drops in certain scenes. Overall, opinions vary widely, with some praising the creative design and graphical options, while others find the visuals lacking even for the year of release.
“Creative missions, functional gunplay, pretty cool effects, variety, controls you can remap, good graphical options.”
“+ great graphics (love the Jupiter EX engine)”
“Fast game with modern day graphics with easy controls that moves from location A to B to C and so on.”
“Finished in 3 hours, graphics are poor even for its year of development, I may say.”
“The graphics are bad even when you consider the fact that this game came out in 2011.”
“The bad level design, the underwhelming graphics, and the short length of the campaign mean that there is little point in purchasing this.”
- humor11 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its intentionally dinky one-liners and cut-rate dialogue, which some players find amusing despite their lack of originality. The broken physics add to the comedic experience, with exaggerated animations causing characters to bounce around in a way that elicits genuine laughter. Overall, while the humor may be hit-or-miss, many players appreciate its absurdity and find it entertaining.
“We never really learn much about the protagonist, but all of his one-liners are hilariously dinky.”
“I love it for how laughable it just is, and it's hilarious that this is better than COD Vanguard.”
“You can shoot an enemy and they just bounce around the room before laying dead, and I had to pause the game because of how much I was laughing.”
- music5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's music is minimal, with users noting that it is nearly non-existent and the sound design, including voice acting, feels unmotivated and cheesy. However, some players appreciate the atmospheric elements created by the soundtracks in darker areas, which enhance the overall experience. Overall, while the music may not be a standout feature, it contributes to the game's atmosphere.
“Atmosphere and soundtrack are surprisingly good.”
“The game has some dark areas in which creepy music plays.”
“There is almost no music and the sound design of the weapons and voices is very unmotivated.”
“Sound design: voice acting was cheesy, music was nearly non-existent, and sound effects are just adequate, not as bad as Enemy Front's MP40 but nearly there.”
“The shader, gritty textures, and soundtracks make the game feel atmospheric more than it is.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is mixed; while it performs better at lower resolutions like 4x3, users experience constant loading and checkpoint stuttering. Adjusting shadow quality can significantly impact performance, but the variety of settings available allows players to mitigate some issues, although minor stuttering remains.
“Runs better in 4x3; run it in 1920x1440 or 1440x1080 for the best performance without stretching.”
“If you set the shadow quality to maximum with DX8 graphics on, your game's performance will significantly reduce. However, if you turn them off, you don't sacrifice a lot of graphics, likely due to the age of the game.”
“Luckily, there are quite a lot of settings to play with, which allows you to minimize performance issues.”
“Constant loading and checkpoint stuttering severely impacts the gameplay experience.”
“If you set the shadow quality to maximum with DX8 graphics on, your game's performance will significantly reduce. Turning them off doesn't sacrifice much in terms of graphics, likely due to the age of the game.”
“Other than that, I had no major issues apart from a little stuttering, which I think occurred when my character got caught on some debris, and sometimes enemy corpses would spin and disappear.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by its gritty textures, effective shader use, and a compelling soundtrack, particularly in the nighttime levels. However, some players feel that the overall quality of the atmosphere varies, with certain areas lacking the same immersive experience.
“The shaders, gritty textures, and soundtracks make the game feel atmospheric more than it is.”
“The lighting engine they borrowed makes for some great atmosphere, particularly in the sleepy nighttime levels that open the game.”
“Atmosphere and soundtrack are surprisingly good.”
“Unfortunately, it does not have the same quality or atmosphere.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has low replayability, with users noting that once completed, there is little incentive to play again due to its linear design and limited environments. Ratings reflect this sentiment, averaging around 3/10 for replay value.
“Once you've played it, there isn't much replay value.”
“Since you are seldom in any space larger than a narrow corridor, this also means that there is very little replay value, because the game does not really allow for any different approaches.”
“Replay value: 3/10”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches and erratic screen behavior, particularly when moving. Players also note that the combat mechanics are overly simplistic on the easiest setting, further detracting from the overall experience.
“On the easiest setting, the enemies go down in a hit, there is no stealth, and you can't walk in this game without the screen going completely bonkers due to glitches galore.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress without losing progress.”
“I experienced constant frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the overall gameplay experience.”
