As most of you are aware, Barking Dog Studios of Counter-Strike 5 fame has been working on their own tactical shooter, Global Operations, for a while now. The game recently started a 1000 player beta test and I was fortunate enough to get in on it. Following are some screenshots from the game and the interface and some brief first impressions.

I haven't really played the game enough yet to be entirely sure what I think of it, but it seems to be a mixed bag. It has the Counter-Strike - like gameplay going for it (though it's different in that you can be brought back by a medic after dying like in RTCW, and you can rejoin the current round without having to wait for everyone to die first), player models and weapon models are mostly good, but level design and textures, ick.

There are 2 levels included with the beta, and its either nice design with average to poor textures, or bad design with average textures. It's not just the Lithtech engine, the art is just not up to pro standards. As it is, it's barely above Counter-Strike levels. For a 2001 game to not be able to compete with a game running on an engine from 1998 is just..bad. The GUI could use some work but I don't really have much to complain about when it comes to that and there certainly isn't anything that can't be fixed before release next year.

What is fortunate is that the netcode doesn't seem to be that bad at all. Since there aren't many European servers, and the few that are up are mostly empty, I ended up playing on the Crave and other servers in the US. Even with a 180-200 ping it is acceptable and I'm getting my kills in.

What's also good is that even though this beta is just starting, I haven't noticed many bugs at all. The only thing I really noticed is that it takes the game 5 minutes to realize that I timed out from a server, and I think it crashed on exit perhaps once, but aside from that things look good and judging from the posts on the GO beta forum, the issues that have popped up are mostly minor.

So all things considered, it has potential, but the levels and textures are really keeping me from fully enjoying the game. I should have a longer preview in about a week hopefully where I'll touch on the weapons, player classes and all that.

The Global Operations forum has this post announcing that Global Operations has reached beta status and is ready for testing. Emails with download instructions and game keys are going out now to the lucky few who have been selected to test the game. Thanks Shalini Chand.

The official Global Operations site has received a new design, and now offers more info about the game in the online FAQ. The site also has word of an IRC chat this Friday at 4PM PST in #globalops on the GamesNet network. Here are 16 new screenshots from the game

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Some new Global Operations screenshots were released today, showing more from Barking Dog's upcoming tactical shooter. There are eight shots total. Thanks redef.

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On Gamespot you'll find a preview of Global Operations, the upcoming tactical shooter by Barking Dog Studios. It offers some impressions from the game as they saw it at Electronic Arts. There are new screenshots included.

At the bottom of the screenshots section of Global-Op World are eight new screenshots from the upcoming FPS Global Operations. Thanks Blues News.

Australian multiplayer site Pantheon has posted an interview with Dan McBride of Barking Dog Studios, they who are working on Global Operations. There are questions about the Lithtech 2.5 engine and why it's used, player to player voice communication, what sets GO apart from the rest, if there's going to be a Linux dedicated server and more. Saw that on Stomped.

If you want to see what Global Operations looks like when it's edited, there are six shots on Global-Op World which show the game in it's Lithtech editor.

Over at SquadNews are two new screenshots from Barking Dog's upcoming Global Operations game. Thanks Blues News for the reminder.

The official Global Operations website was finally updated with some new screenshots again, showing more from Barking Dog's upcoming tactical shooter. The shots show a variety of smoke and gas effects.

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Electronic Arts just sent out word that they are looking for testers of Global Operations. 500 testers in total to try out their entry in to the "realistic tactical team-based-first-person shooter" market as they call it.

Global Operations is looking to sign up 500 players to for a public beta test of the game which will be occuring shortly. Simply log on to the game's web site at www.globalopsgame.com and follow the directions. Global Ops is a realistic tactical team-based first-person action title that will feature over 10 real world locations as well as more than 30 real life weapons. The game will be available on the PC in early 2002. Attached is a fact sheet for the game. [screenshots]

Gamespy has a Global Operations Beta signup page, which people can fill out until the 11th of November, as Barking Dog is looking for about 500 people to test their game.

The Global Operations website has been updated with two [one, two] new screenshots from this upcoming Lithtech shooter.

There is a Global Operations Q&A on German game site 3D Wars. Producer Mike Arkin answers some questions about the game, on things like weapons, the engine, cheating and more. Thanks Blues News.

Voodoo Extreme has posted a brief Global Operations update written by Crave's Mike Arkin, who talks about polishing up the game. There are 6 new screenshots included.

Shalini pointed us to this forum post on the Global Ops website, where one of the team members is asking for people around LA who are interested in playtesting Global Operations.

Saw on Stomped that the Global Operations site has been updated with more weapons pictures. They've unveiled the Beretta 92F, HK MP5PDW, Colt M4 Carbine, M240G and AW50 as well as 2 speciality items.

Also on PC.IGN are some movies from Global Operations. Like the Medal of Honor videos (see below), its handheld footage in Quicktime format.

The official Global Operations website has been updated with seven new screenshots from this team based FPS which should be out in a few months. The shots shows scenes from the Chechnya, Quebec, and Uganda missions.

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Gamespot has 4 new screenshots and a few character renders from the Barking Dog Studios game Global Operations.