Now let’s look at the skill trees in general since they all share the same qualities. Each character has fifteen specific skills as well as fifteen general skills. It was surprising to see just two skill trees, but that could also make character building much more simplistic. Fewer chances to spend skill points in the wrong places can be a good thing. However, for some strange reason, Restricted Area forces you to choose skills that may not be worthwhile for your character. For instance, you cannot take the First Aid skills without first taking an upgrade in handgun damage. There are many examples of this scenario throughout each tree on every character.

There are many skills that are very useful however. Kenji and Victoria in particular have an excellent array of skills and abilities. But it is nearly impossible to use them. The keymap says there are "Skill Shortcut Keys" but I never could get them to work or figure out a way to map a skill to a key. So the only way to use a skill is to map it to a mouse button. Nice, but if one mouse button is for movement and one is for your weapon, that leaves only one for a skill and that is only if you have a three button mouse.

As a public service, let me just state that I while I did have some fun playing Restricted Area, it is really not worth spending decent money on. For the same price you could get Painkiller Black, Doom 3, Bard’s Tale or Brother’s in Arms. If you have an interest in Restricted Area, wait until it hits the bargain bin.