Last year's Conflict Desert Storm was perfectly timed and despite a few control problems it was a great romp into the heart of Iraq. Now, the appropriately named sequel, Back to Baghdad will be building upon the original and fixing some of the complaints. Gotham Games is obviously pushing this one strongly with even better timing than last year - there was a gigantic billboard for the game across Figueroa St. from the Convention Center.

Although the first person camera will be exactly the same (meaning that it is only useful as an aiming mode) Gotham Games has concentrated on making this one much more of an urban warfare experience than the last one. In the original much of the game was fought in the desert, in remote installations and in mountain passes. This time, the better percentage will be played in towns and large cities around Iraq with many more enemies attacking at once and in tighter spaces. The playable demo in the Take 2 booth at E3 showed a gritty desert city with intense shoot-outs and many explorable buildings with windows for sniping enemies.

As for the game's improvements, enemy and teammate A.I should be greatly improved. No more watching your teammate run past his assigned spot and getting chopped to ribbons. Troops will follow you closer and follow orders more precisely. A bunch of new weapons and vehicles will populate the game and stealth missions will be added to mix. Hopefully this will actually mean stealth rather than the inevitable gunfights stealth battles in the first game turned into.

Expect CDS: Back to Baghdad in Fall 2003 for all systems