Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is a rather interesting Modern Warfare shooter, notably manufactured before Call of Duty ever thought of exiting its World War II niche. More tactical shooter than the stop n' pop romps of Shadow Ops' successor, thanks to low health pools, fast time-to-kills, and a wholly necessary leaning mechanic. The lack of regenerating health alongside ZERO checkpoints throughout missions creates a very tense and often frustrating experience. Luckily, the ludicrous and over-the-top cinematic presentation of the story gives the game a small amount of value, but incoming players who are more used to the contemporary innovations of cinematic modern shooters, such as regenerating health and forgiving checkpointing, should shunt the difficulty down to easy.