Intensity

[Huwajux]

Most (If not all) of you have played the game Goldeneye on the N64. You remember the artic level? What made you feel so, alone and make you realise you have to depend on yourself? It was the atmosphere. This is where Zone sadly fails. Making an artic level with techno music pumping away doesn't help make it feel like a serious game.
Take for example, in reality there would be a cold wind going by. You could here how quiet it was, if you heard a gunshot you would jump off your seat. Now, we don't want to make a stealthy shoot-em-up. What we need is the feeling of seriousness. The planet I will be picking on is Iricia.
First off, the scenery looks a bit too clean and new to think this is a war Zone. The buildings should have massive chunks taken out of them due to past mortaring etc. The walls should be riddiled with bullet holes, here and there. To take it more serious try adding a bit of blood streamed across the walls. With corpses that don't look like fish fossils. Also make it a bit darker?
Secondly, what makes Zone feel so different? Well one things for sure and that's the amount of ammo. Ammo is ludicrously high, even if you manage to run out of that you still have energy guns. Now this makes you wonder "What is the purpose of this frickin' combat knife?". People don't think about the posibilities and fun this little thing can do. We need more gory attacks than poking someone with a knife or shooting plasma into their face and hearing a wimpy little "Eh...". With the knife you could hold grab someone from behind and use them as a human shield. I know to GFX this it will be hard by using little midgets, but give it a shot. (Geddit? Shot? Bah! ~Again~)
Lastly, it just needs to have a better sound variation. When you shoot someone with bullets, it just makes a reaction as though it hit a wall. What about blood coming out, this blood then falls onto the floor and stays there. Now "ALL" the guns needed to be made stronger! People don't really care about getting the odd shot here and there due to weapons being underpowered. If you made them stronger, it would help make people stick in groups. Also, when crouching can't it be a toggle command instead of hold? When I want to take a base with stealth I have to crawl, get to the base, stand up (Appearing on the radar) to give orders to my crew, then get mauled to death by a syringe.
That was just "Some" advice to help make Zone be taken more serious, instead of all this techno music, "Eh" noises, weird gani's, spotless buildings and bright sky.
Ah one more thing! Try to make bases a little harder to get, because you can just jetpack over 3, 4 and 5. It's ludicrously easy. Also somebody make more serious looking heads, with big manly stubble. >=D
Hoped this sparked a few ideas to what a war zone really is.
*Edit
Also bullet shots need to be made louder and have a different sound fx. Like in ap pirces it sounds too weak and pathetic. More aggressive sounds please.
Thanks for reading - Huwajux