Handheld
C.O.R.E.
By George Damidas
Sep 23, 2009, 7 :52 am

Somehow it’s 1996 in 2048. In C.O.R.E., NoWay Studio’s latest sci-fi first-person shooter, you are a member of an elite squad pitted against a compound full of lunatics. It’s been 20 years since a meteor slammed into the Mojave Desert and a research facility erected to look into the effects of the alien materials on the environment. After communication with the lab becomes sporadic, your squad is called in to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the recent troubles. What you’ll end up finding are crazy scientists, violent security guards, a killer chef, dozens of security drones, and a pretty dull way to pass a couple of hours.

To say that C.O.R.E. is dated would be an understatement. Instead of taking the Serious Sam approach to utilizing an older design, updating where appropriate with a personal touch, NoWay just made a dated first-person shooter – warts and all. While Serious Sam offered crazy firefights with lush visuals, clever levels, and wild enemies, C.O.R.E. is happy to toss you touchscreen support and a few pixilated guards to ambush you while you search for yet another key card.

Everything about C.O.R.E. is reminiscent of a generic first-person shooter from the 1990s. The blocky graphics are straight from the time when you were still waiting for voodoo cards to drop in price, complete with limited character animations; clipping; objects spammed all over the place, regardless of appropriateness (e.g. about a thousand slot machines); and monotonous corridors. The design isn’t much better, which consists of you undertaking the time-honored task of tracking keycards to progress; admittedly, it is pretty cool using the stylus to punch in codes and swipe the cards. After finding the omnipresent red key card and reaching the end of an area, you’re then treated to a bunch of blocky soldiers awkwardly running about and barking out orders. As one gray corridor or room leads to another, it doesn’t really matter where you go, because it never feels any different. The addition of objects and different room types – half-destroyed labs, infirmaries, etc. – as you progress does add a bit of variety, just not enough to make it seem like you weren’t in the same room five minutes earlier. Don’t know how to get back to a particular gray room through all of the gray hallways? Good luck - you don’t have a map.

Some of the shortcomings could have been overlooked if the C.O.R.E. picked up a bit of steam, but it never does. While things get slightly better as you progress, with the introduction of new weapons and enemies, it just never does what it needs to do all that well. In addition to coming across like a lifeless tech demo – a dull world sparsely populated by bland enemies with poor AI - it can also be downright painful to play. Movement and firing are both done with the left hand, the directional pad and shoulder button, respectively, the stylus aims (or jumps), and the buttons are used to both crouch and jump – pretty basic stuff. The problem is that movement is slow, especially when turning, and strafing only compensates up to a point. Considering that enemies are strategically placed in your blind spots, often behind you when you enter a room, it’s all but guaranteed that you’re taking damage when there’s a firefight. The lack of a quick-turn option requires you to drag and drag and drag the stylus to confront bushwhackers, but by then you’ve either already been hit several times or died. Most deaths were the result of unfair circumstances and little else.

There are a number of strange design decisions as well. Aside from the lack of a map, you also face some extremely resilient enemies that very rarely drop ammo, which forces you to rely on sporadic ammo caches to rearm. The result is a constant lack of ammo and the frequent tossing aside of strong weapons, such as the shotgun or shock rifle, in favor of the weapon that you actually have rounds for, the weak pistol. Your body and shield also receive damage at the same time, as opposed to the shield first and then the body, which makes it tough to determine just how much damage that can be sustained before dying. It’s a wise move to take advantage of any health packs, healing machines, and shield rechargers you run across, even if things aren’t looking bad, because it only takes a few rounds to drain both your shield and health. The combination of tough enemies, limited ammo, and confusing health is too much in a game that offers so little in return.

Overall: 3.5/10

Mediocre when at its very best, C.O.R.E. is a game whose time has come and gone. There’s no denying that someone wanting a barebones first-person shooter, or one-cart multiplayer deathmatch, will certainly get that here, but that isn't saying much. From the repetitive level design to the boring enemies placed in the cheapest of spots, C.O.R.E. has a long way to go before being a contender for your money.

(This review is based on a retail copy provided by the publisher.)