When thinking about Burut’s latest first person shooter, I can’t help but feel a little sorry for it. Ubersoldier II is a game that has to cope with a quite a PR problem thanks to the less-than-stellar grades its predecessor received, and the relative lack of marketing punch. In fact, I hate to say it, but I had all-but forgotten the original game even existed until now – it just never really stood out from the avalanche of other “me-too” FPS games from that era.

Which is all the more reason for my sympathy with this sequel, because it actually isn’t that bad. Even without knowing the full extent of the original game’s plot (something to do with the Nazis working on an undead-super-soldier program in WW2, resulting in a pissed-off protagonist who joins the good guys to help put a stop to their shenanigans), I had little trouble settling into the returning role of Karl Stolz to go kick some German SS ass. After blowing up the source of the Nazi super-soldier program in a massive explosion, the surviving generals have banded together to try and carry on their master plan. Karl and his group of German resistance fighters learn of a mysterious drug shipment linked to a possible revival of the German’s original dark project, and set out to save the world once more.

Despite initially looking and playing like a generic run-and-gun shooter, Karl’s special talents as a so-called “Ubersoldier” lend a surprising tactical slant to the game’s pacing. The crux of Karl’s ability to survive is based on a shield he can create for himself, on-demand. This shield will absorb any bullets sent its way and suspend them in mid-air. Then, depending on Karl’s remaining stamina, the bullets will either reflect back or dramatically drop to the ground when the shield is turned off. The trick is that Karl will lose health very quickly in an open fight if the shield isn’t on to absorb the blows, and he also can’t shoot outside the shield while it’s active (though grenades aren’t affected).

This interesting arrangement makes for challenging gameplay; you can stand out in the open soaking up fire with impunity, but may find your stamina starts going down really fast. On the other hand, seeking cover means you wouldn’t be able to easily return fire without placing yourself at risk. As a personal tip, I find the best balance involves finding a spot where you can line up a headshot from behind the shield, and then quickly toggle it long enough to get a bullet through – but timing this between enemy salvoes can be difficult. A funny thing you can also do is rack up a whole bunch of suspended bullets and then run into enemies with your shield on – the suspended bullets will deal damage and usually end up killing them.

Another nifty feature is the pseudo-RPG system, which provides “experience points” any time you land three knife kills or headshots in a short frame of time. This process not only provides the ability to go into a kind of “rage” mode (where time slows down temporarily and Karl becomes invulnerable), but also adds to a pool of points that are tallied at the end of each level. This pool can be spent into a number of stats, such as health or stamina, or even for increasing weapon accuracy or the effectiveness of Karl’s shield. This system really encourages you to play carefully and try to kill enemies in the best way possible, or risk missing out on extra points.