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CT Special Forces: Back to Hell

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CT Special Forces: Back to Hell
Developer(s)Light and Shadow Productions
Wizarbox (PS)
Publisher(s)Hip Interactive
Composer(s)Martin Schioeler
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance, PlayStation
ReleaseGame Boy Advance
PlayStation
Genre(s)Run and gun
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

CT Special Forces: Back to Hell (known in North America as CT Special Forces 2: Back in the Trenches) is a run and gun video game developed by French developer Light and Shadow Productions for the Game Boy Advance and by Wizarbox for the PlayStation. It was published by Hip Interactive, and is a sequel to CT Special Forces. The Game Boy Advance version was released on August 15, 2003 in Europe, and on June 29, 2004 in North America, while the PlayStation version was released on October 12, 2003 in Europe.

In Back to Hell, the player controls a commando who is tasked with fighting an army of terrorists. The player shoots enemies with a variety of weapons and through a number of different missions and minigames as they attempt to reach the end of the levels. Reception was generally positive and noted improvements compared to its predecessor in the series.

Gameplay

Each mission contains different minigame tasks, like the depicted one which shows the character staying on a vehicle while also fighting enemies.

CT Special Forces: Back to Hell is a side-scrolling run and gun game that is seemingly inspired by the Metal Slug video game series.[4][5] The player controls an operative acting as an "army of one" fighting an army of terrorists by themselves.[4][5] As players move forward in missions, enemies will appear from the environment and the side of the screen to attack the player.[5] The game controls using the D-pad, allowing the player to move in 6 different directions and to crouch and jump as well.[5] The game contains a number of platform game elements like ladders and ledges that the player must climb or jump to.[4][5]

The game contains 21 missions total, which the player completes by shooting through an army of enemies as they act as an "army of one" and use a variety of weapons to make it through.[5] Each mission contains a minigame task, including opening your character's parachute when the game indicates it and a sequence where the player must stay on the back of a moving jeep for a few minutes while fighting off enemies.[5] The game also includes Silent Scope-inspired levels where the player must shoot enemies from the perspective of being behind the crosshairs of a sniper rifle in a first person perspective.[4] A multiplayer mode allows for two players in the Game Boy Advance version to connect with a Game Link Cable to play a time attack mode together to attempt to get a high score.[6]

The game includes a number of gameplay enhancements over its predecessor, CT Special Forces.[4][5] These include a larger amount of levels, a wider variety of weapon choices, and more enemies per level.[5] The game added to the controls of the game as well, allowing the player to roll to enter tight areas.[5] The game includes tank combat, knife attacking, and a wider inventory of weapons available to the player at all times, features that were missing in the original title.[4][5]

Development and release

French video game publisher Light and Shadow Productions (L.S.P.), which had a history of publishing games in the European market, wanted to create an in-house development studio and decided that the Game Boy Advance's requirement for a small development team would be ideal for its foray into developing.[7] The team originally received a Game Boy Advance software development kit in mid-2001, and then developed the first game in the series, CT Special Forces, in 3 months.[7] It took the team a further almost 6 months to develop the sequel, Back to Hell.[7] The team was inspired by the Metal Slug series, Green Beret, 1943, and other "old-school" games that they found lacking in the Game Boy Advance's library.[7]

In order to respond to criticisms of the original CT Special Forces game, L.S.P. held focus groups with players to determine what to improve.[7] After the first game was criticized for its password-save system that insufficiently granular, the development team decided to have Back to Hell's save system to use a more detailed password save system that brought players back to individual levels.[7][8] The developers increased the number of animations in the game, and the largest improvement they were focused on was lengthening the experience because of criticism of the first game's short length.[7]

While L.S.P. published the European version of the Game Boy Advance game, there was no North American release.[9] The game initially did not have a US publisher, and video game coverage was from imported cartridges.[9] It was announced at E3 2003 that L.S.P. had entered into an exclusive deal with North American publisher Hip Interactive to co-publish 16 L.S.P. developed games, and IGN highlighted Back to Hell as an anticipated release from the deal.[10]

Reception

The Game Boy Advance version of CT Special Forces: Back to Hell received a 76/100 aggregate score from Metacritic, indicating generally favorable reviews.[11] Critics generally agreed that the game was a marked improvement over its predecessor.[4][5][6] GameSpot's Frank Provo said that Back to Hell was a "spectacular follow-up to the original game" but noted that it "doesn't really bring anything new to the genre."[5] Nintendojo's William Jacques gave the game a positive review overall, but noted possible improvements that they hoped to see in a sequel.[6] IGN's Craig Harris said that the game was an "overall more fun experience" than its predecessor, but felt that the game was too short and that it did not incentivize replayability.[4] GameZone commented on improvements from the previous game, saying that there was a "nice diversity within the game’s levels that makes this sequel superior to the original."[12]

The game's graphics and feel were compared to the Metal Slug series by numerous reviewers because of its style of gameplay and its visual style.[4][5][12] Provo noted that the comparisons to the Metal Slug series the previous game received, and felt that "the same comparisons hold true for the sequel" with a note that the graphics had improved further.[5] Harris commented that the plethora of minigames made the game feel more like a Metal Slug game because of its increased variety.[4] GameZone commented that "You'll know exactly why" the game is compared extensively to Metal Slug if you were a fan of the game as the look and feel felt extremely similar (in a positive note).[12] Jacques felt that the game's "bubbly and animated stylization" was "like Metal Slug and unlike Contra."[6]

Both Harris and GameZone highlighted the weakness of the game's password save system. Harris noted that the system was a weak holdover from the original, calling the mechanic "awkward."[4] GameZone went further, noting that although passwords are given after each mission that you complete, old passwords do not bring you back to previous levels if you want to replay them.[12] Jacques, Harris, and GameZone all highlighted limitations of the mobility for the on-foot sequences as well.[4][6][12] Harris called the new roll mechanic introduced "pretty useless" and noted that it made it impossible to jump down from platforms.[4] Jacques hoped that a sequel would fix the "limited maneuverability" of the game.[6] GameZone wrote that the enemies were often not "smart enough to figure out they're being shot at" and felt it was a weakness i the game's AI.[12]

Jeuxvideo's review of the PlayStation version noted that the game was exactly the same as the one released for the Game Boy Advance, except it lacked the multiplayer mode that came with that system's Game Link Cable.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Upcoming Releases". The Honolulu Advertiser. 2004-06-25. p. 130. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  2. ^ "CT Special Forces : Back to Hell sur Gameboy Advance". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  3. ^ "CT Special Forces : Back to Hell sur PSone". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harris, Craig (2004-08-01). "CT Special Forces 2: Back in the Trenches". IGN. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Provo, Frank (2006-05-17). "CT Special Forces 2 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Jacques, William. "CT Special Forces 2: Back In The Trenches". Nintendojo. Archived from the original on 2004-08-14. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Interview de Christian Votava". Puissance Nintendo (in French). Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  8. ^ Harris, Craig (2004-01-15). "CT Special Forces". IGN. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  9. ^ a b Harris, Craig (2003-01-23). "CT Special Forces: Back to Hell". IGN. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  10. ^ IGN Staff (2003-05-09). "E3 2003: LSP and HIP Enter US Publishing Deal". IGN. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  11. ^ a b "CT Special Forces 2: Back in the Trenches". Metacritic. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "CT Special Forces 2 Back in the Trenches - GBA - Review". GameZone. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  13. ^ "Test du jeu CT Special Forces : Back to Hell sur PS1". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). 2003-12-29. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
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