IGN writes: "The ever-popular first-person shooter genre is far from stagnant, as releases like Valve's online co-operative title, Left 4 Dead, so clearly prove. Yet along with titles big and small that remind us there's so much more to the genre than barreling down a corridor spraying bullets, there are just as many that do nothing interesting or novel. The latter is certainly the case with Cauldron's Secret Service; when it's not blatantly ripping off Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, it fails to escape tedium's event horizon.
Perhaps the game's most interesting aspect is its release date. In early November 2008 it hit store shelves, just in time for the Presidential election. Considering it's got a narrative enveloping a potential assassination, a vice-president with a distinctly Cheney-like appearance, and threats from a militant foreign power, perhaps Activision thought it the best window to publish. As it turns out, the release represents pretty bad taste, particularly because the game does not attempt to resolve or present its issues or themes in any sort of elegant manner. Instead it's very much a crude, bumbling mess of a conspiracy plot on a level of ridiculous that occasionally exceeds even the preposterous exploits of Jack Bauer."
We decide the president isn’t worth taking a bullet for in this game.
GamersInfo writes: "When it comes to certain subjects, nothing sets people aflame more than religion and politics. Why? I'm not entirely certain, but it probably has to do with the fact that both are tied to such strong personal beliefs that any disagreement or varying opinion is an affront. So why bring up such a hot topic at the beginning of a videogame review? Well, a few weeks ago, I got Secret Service, which made me think about politics. So, let's dive into my experience with this first-person shooter."
People say don't judge a book by its cover. Well, in this case, you can ignore that. Secret Service takes place on Inauguration Day in Washington DC and start with an attack on the president himself. He's wounded and your job is to protect him.
Which is much easier than it sounds – the AI baddies just keep on running down the barrel of your gun, taking no cover and occasionally breaking into a sprint only to meet their demise sooner.
