The Mark Demo

Terrorism has gained a lot of attention in the last few years, due to recent events that raised the awareness regarding such extreme groups. Video games have also taken advantage of this, by coming up with scenario after scenario involving terrorist attacks on various cities around the world and a small team responsible for stopping them and avoiding a potential disaster.

The Mark comes up with a slightly more particular situation, in which a terrorist plot aims one of Europe's biggest capitals, namely London. To achieve this, they plan on using nuclear missiles, which should ensure the total annihilation of everyone inside the metropolis at the time of the explosions. They do need, however, a way to guide them long-distance, which is quickly solved by hiring a Russian billionare as an accomplice.

Beside the slightly overused story, the game manages to throw together quite a few gameplay elements to make it stand out from the rest of the crowd, although it does remain rather plain and unpolished in some aspects. Hence, as seen in every action film throughout the 90's, two men must single-handedly save Europe from the terrorists, using their own arsenal to clear out massive numbers of enemies at a time.

Despite that, the fast-paced action keeps on your toe during the entire game, especially since the difficulty level is rather high and you quickly fall under a spray of enemy bullets. The AI is also quite skilled in ambushing you and it also constantly tries to flank you, if the environment allows it, making it more difficult for you to advance through the levels.

As far as the technical part is involved, The Mark kind of abuses blur and depth-of-field in order to hide its rough edges, but it still manages to look pretty well, thanks to the nice textures and carefully designed models. The sound may disappoint a little, since it lacks depth and originality, but it goes in the background after a few minutes of intense shootouts with the bad guys.

In the end, The Mark may not revolutionize the genre or win any prizes for originality, but it does feature a refined and fast-paced gameplay that can keep you entertained for a few hours. The AI can prove to be quite the challenge, especially in greater numbers, which is also a plus when it comes to entertainment.