The point of my little diatribe is that Smuggler's Run: Warzones continues the fine tradition of the 'to hell with the law' sentiment found in so many of their other games.
The graphics in Warzones are fantastic and really show off the power of the GC - especially the terrain. Until now, gamers have had to settle for small, lifeless lands that looked good but got old very quickly. This is not the case in Warzones; each of the game's giant environments feels like a living area. Bamboo stalks, marshes, life-like fog, patches of dead leaves; the game does such a great job of immersing players into their surroundings, sometimes you wonder if they went on a few 'fact finding' trips (read: paid vacations) just to scope things out. Things only get better once the excellent weather and daytime cycle effects are thrown into play. Although most of the missions take place in more or less the same areas, seeing these areas in rain, in day light or at night really helps to keep them fresh - plus, the night vision is really, really sweet.
Rounding out the game's presentation are some cheesy FMVs meant to tell the game's story. While some of the lines and acting are stiffer than anything Hayden Christensen could have done in Attack of the Clones, they fit the feel of the game so well that I would not change a thing.
I was not as fond of the game's soundtrack as I was its graphics. Most gamers have no problem with the game's high-energy techno music, but to me some of it felt a little out of the place. The music works with the game, but this is more of a personal issue of taste than a game flaw. I really would have liked some ambient sounds in the game, things like leaves/branches hitting the sides of vehicles, animals, even some insect noises would have gone a long way.
