Global Storm is part of the Conflict Series, which also includes Desert Storm 1 & 2, Vietnam and Denied Ops. It is also known as Conflict: Global Terror. The game is graphically somewhat better than Desert Storm 2, as is the physics engine. Overall however, the movement has been improved by the ability to climb over obstacles or into windows, shortcut keys for inventory, and a heat-vision device. But the interface is still quite similar to DS2. The characters are practically the same, with the exception of Foley, who was replaced by Cherman (a female character). The missions feature a variety of themes, from hostage rescue to search & destroy to preventing the melt down of a nuclear reactor. Varried terrain and detailed textures skillfully round off the atmosphere. In comparison, DS2 is almost monotonous and boring. You won't find the relatively widespread graphic bugs in DS2 anymore, with the exception of a problem that weapons shine in squeaky bright colors. The problem can be solved by switching off the “Per Pixel Lighting” in the graphics options.

The most interesting thing part is the campaign coop mode, which is handled via LAN (Internet games via GameSpy are no longer possible). You can play the missions again with human players, which brings a whole new feeling, because team play has to be very important here. So you have to be able to rely on the team and its own abilities instead of blaming the AI for its mistakes. The only big problem: network bugs. Sometimes it happens that the artillery of one player has been finished for a long time, while for the other it is still shelling cheerfully. This for example leads to a situation where you run off joyfully and then (from your own point of view) suddenly collapse dead for no apparent reason. When passing on inventory items like ammunition or weapons it can happen that you send them into the void. So it's better to take some empty weapon, if possible to throw it away. The opponent can then (mostly) take it up without problems. Sometimes you see weapons where the others won't see them and you still can take them.

The DVD has the copy protection SecuROM 7, which is however no problem with a crack. Therefore as usual: Install and crack. Eidos didn't release any patches (as always).

For completeness only, the correct ports for forwarding are: 4658, 6500, 10010, 13139, 27900 (UDP), 4658, 6667, 28910, 29900, 29901, 29920 (TCP). But they won't do any good because the lobby servers have been turned off, leaving only LAN play anyways.

• Conflict Series

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