Full Spectrum Warrior
Published by: TheModGod on 2004-06-06
Page Views: 3506
Rating: 8/10
There's no denying that in the post-September 11 United States, the videogame landscape has, like it or not, embraced military games. The Tom Clancy series has had a lot to do with the general growth of squad-based first-person shooters, but let's just say that that fateful day in our history was the straw that broke the camel's back. Pandemic Studios, known for its earlier work with Activision on Battlezone II and Dark Reign and more recently, on games such as Army Men RTS and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is now creating its unique insignia in the military arena with the ingenious and entirely original Full Spectrum Warrior.
Full Spectrum Warrior is not a realtime strategy game, but it's like one. It's not a first- or third-person shooter, but it's like one, and it's not a straight action game, but it's certainly, well, very much like one. The fact is, Pandemic's original strategy-based, tactical military simulator comprises components of all these things and is genuinely a bird of a different color.
THQ's game is a rich, Oh-My-God experience thanks to its innovative game design, its beautiful graphics and excellent technology, and because it's one of those genre-bending games that does something few have imagined before. The team-based combat is incredibly engaging because it demands you to think strategically, to use your limited resources, and outthink the opponent. It's thoroughly deep when it comes to tactical strategy, and it's a demanding game, but it's not perfect.
While the combat is intense and the tactics are amazing by design, the multiplayer should include more than just a cooperative mode, and the game opens up many unanswered questions, such as, why can't I drive a tank, why isn't the replay better, why can't I snipe in more levels, or why am I always on the ground, instead of up in buildings? If the answer is, "But this is a realistic military simulator," Or, "It's designed to do one thing well." My answer is, then why am I playing it on my Xbox? It's a game, and as one, it satisfies many of my combat urges, but not all of them.
The first and most important thing about Full Spectrum Warrior is you have to figure out what the hell you're doing. The game looks complex, and it is, but the smart guys at Pandemic have whittled down the game's mechanics to just a few buttons, and to educate you so that it all makes sense in terms of analog sticks and letter buttons, Pandemic's mandatory, long-ass tutorial puts things in perspective for you. It's essentially Full Spectrum Warrior boot camp, and you'd going to need the 45-minute training, soldier. Of course, if you think you've got the nards to jump right in, then you can connect to Xbox Live with a teammate without the training. But seriously, you're just going to piss people off because it will be clear right from the get-go you're clueless.
Originally commissioned by the U.S. Army to train light Infantry troops in urban combat situations, Full Spectrum Warrior gives you a real sense of what urban combat is like from a tactical standpoint without ever actually suiting up. Using an innovative camera system that follows two, sometimes three combat teams from a flexible third-person perspective, you thrust teams into combat issuing commands to find cover, use suppressing fire, and tactically eliminate the enemy. You don't actually shoot the trigger, you command your troops to do so. That's the thing about Full Spectrum Warrior, in many ways it functions like a realtime strategy game. The single-player game is moderately long, ranging from 11-14 hours (depending on your skill level) over 11 consuming levels, and there are two difficulty levels, plus a cooperative Xbox Live mode enabling players to play the same levels again.
Unlike a top-down RTS, like say, Warcraft III, the camera perspectives are on the ground level, right in the action. The game's mechanics are essentially flawless, starting with the dynamic camera. When controlling a team, the camera sits on the team leader's head, and you can manually swivel the camera around him, looking up, down and in any direction. He can see as far as an ordinary soldier would. Fog of war blurs out areas either not useable of too far in the distance. Making things more flexible is the ability to switch to any particular member of the squad using the Dpad, indicated by the symbol on screen (TL -- team leader, R -- rifleman, G - grenadier, AR -- automatic riflemen). The team works as a unit, always keeping formation, covering all sides, and lining up together to fight or what have you.
The entire game is all about finding the most strategic cover, outflanking, and defeating your enemy. By using a floating cursor comprising four connected circles (each representing a soldier), Pandemic gives players the ability to find cover, sometimes even beyond where they could actually see. A simple library of icons show you what kind of cover you have selected, be it on a corner, bunched behind a vehicle, or lined up against a wall. When covered using a corner, the camera once again comes in beautifully, swiveling around the corner and providing you with ample view of the environment and/or enemies in it. If you mess up big time, you can always press B for cover, which commands your team to find cover ASAP.
If you've played Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3, then outflanking your enemies in Full Spectrum Warrior will be relatively old hat. You control both Alpha and Bravo teams and sometimes a third team, and alternate between them to clear out the streets of Zekistan, a fictitious Middle-Eastern city rife with terrorists. The game is designed for you to alternate between them (using Y) at any time, and by setting each up in smart locations, you can outflank, outsmart or surprise your enemy. Your two four-man teams are equipped each with a rifle, your grenadier with smoke grenades, frag grenades, an M203 grenade launcher, the ability to call in air strikes, and to call in your positioning; and your team leader handles the radio, communicating with HQ. Though players control the team itself always in a group, using the Dpad, you can call out any particular individual to aim at individual enemies.
The soldiers respond to you relatively quickly, but not as fast as I'd like. It's not like there is a technology delay, but they have to listen to your command, pause, and then react. This period of time gets you in a lot of trouble, and even if it's realistic, I wish the squads reacted faster. If I command cover, then they should hit the deck immediately. If I tell them to shoot, it feels like it takes too long. Also, the AI doesn't always follow the best or safest path to its destination.
The level design is excellent; it ranges from forcing you to slog through tough narrow areas, to wide-open freeform terrain. And peppering the many urban areas, be they sandstorm thrashed commercial streets, decadent palaces, or the charred remains of a burnout out plane, the AI enemy can be challenging. The majority of the time you fight little pockets of enemies, but every so often you'll face enemies with RPGs, snipers, mobile techs, and tanks. Sometimes the AI simply be forced to move by flanking into his territory, but most times, they are entrenched behind cover, and you'll have to figure out whether an RPG or a change of cover is best. Later on, when grenades come flying at you, and multiple snipers appear from nowhere, its gets incredibly fun. Then, you're more likely to bound (to shoot while moving), and pay attention to the direction of the wind when using a smoke grenade.
Graphics, sound, AI, and pretty much every aspect of this game is awesome. Though I have a few gripes here and there, ultimately this game is the most incredible sim I have ever laid controller on. The learning curve is great. Don't expect to just jump in and play. You may even not initially enjoy the fact that you can't aim and shoot on your own, that you only initialize a fire sector. However, there is still plenty enough things to worry about. Eliminating aiming and shooting is a plus no matter how you look at it.
Not all will fall in love with this game. But, love or hate you have to admit that a lot went into the design of this game. It demands resect regardless of anything negative said.
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