When all else fails. Fresh Tactics... (Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox))

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Product:	Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)
Date:	27.09.04 (173 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Decent graphics, Decent squad-based tactical shooter, Co-op play over Xbox Live

Disadvantages: Steep learning curve

Well I haven't written any reviews here on dooyoo for a long time, so here we go...


My Full Spectrum Warrior review.

So what is Full Spectrum Warrior [FSW]. Well it’s a squad-based, tactical-action strategy game.
If you listen to what the developers [Pandemic Studies] say you’ll quickly learn it was initially designed as a training simulator for the U.S. Army as a tool to reinforce Army doctrine and squad tactics amongst troops.

But enough of the marketting spiel.

You’d be basically right in thinking of FSW as a very detailed squad tactics training simulator, which the bright sparks at Pandemic developed into a top-notch Xbox game. Soon to be PC game too.

FSW started life as an army simulator for training purposes and as such it was designed to be very realistic and mimic real-life army combat. The developer has clearly taken the simulator and developed it into an all round entertaining and engrossing realistic army RTS action hybrid. Which when you factor in the built in co-op Xbox live play aspect you’ve got a really top class game.

FSW offers some rather new gameplay innovations and personally it is unlike any other console game I’ve played. In fact if I didn’t know better I’d say it often feels a bit like the kind of game you’d see on the PC first, later appearing on a console, almost like a developer after-thought. But saying that, this does feel right at home on the Xbox.

FSW scores highly in all aspects of game design, graphics, playability and sound. These are cleverly combined to provided a heart pumping tense combat experience, particularly the compelling battle music.

In FSW you’re given commanding control over two squads [teams] of soldiers. Alpha and bravo team, each consisting of 4 men, each man with his own set of skills, weapons and personality. The squads are under your sole command and as such it’s your job to give orders to them to carry out to effectively achieve given objectives. It’s also your job as commander to make sure you keep them safe. Keeping your men safe puts a major focus on using terrain cover to hide. Stealth and speedy unexpected attacks are key to success. Strolling across open terrain to catch the bus is strictly no, no. But if you have no option make sure you order you squad to run while using the other to provide cover.

The basic gaming mechanic is always to move your squads to achieve your given objectives in a safe, logical and tactical manner. When encountering enemies you’re suppose to make use of real-life army tactics and manoeuvres.

I found the learning curve to be quite steep. But that’s speaking as someone who hasn’t played a tactical squad-based action game like this before.

Getting to grips with the controls and movement is one thing, but learning how to quickly engage in combat and succeed is another. I’ll admit that I played through the training twice just to figure out all the buttons, the camera, squad movements, manoeuvres and tactics. It’s during training where you're also introduced to all the combat mechanics, such as making effective use of covering fire, suppressing fire, grenades, speciality weapons and calling in air strikes or mortar attacks.
Giving orders to two squads and consistently having to switch between the two and combine them together to be strategically effective isn’t easy at first either. I'd often progress one team too far and then remember about the other team I’d left at the start point. Eventually however I began to use the teams properly, as you’re supposed to, providing support for each other to progress.

The terrain and locations are very detailed. Animations and lighting effects are handled nicely by the graphics engine.
Particular credit must be given to the fire and weapon effects. Smoke, weapon blasts and fire effects are particularly nice. I was also impressed with chucking grenades and watching the blast chuck everything about realistically, including my intended targets. The physics seem spot-on.

Grenades allow you to flush enemy out from entrenched or enforced positions, but realistically you have a limited supply.

So the control system is decent enough once you get used to it and the camera is fairly well behaved. The on screen interface is cleverly designed to be fairly simple and intuitive.

While on the subject of the control system. I think squad movement on the PC version will be easier to control. The mouse can be used for quick pinpoint squad movement. A miner problem for me was moving the green squad movement circles around objects. However this system also snapped into place on corners and behind objects for quickly moving into decent positions. So I won’t have a go at the movement cursor too much. However sometimes I found myself fighting with the controls to get it to go where I wanted, with the indicators sometimes snapping to a wall, corner or cover point as I moved it. It would also be nice to see more camera options in the PC version, whereby you could perhaps get a top down view. Being able to take the camera up high and look down. Although I suppose this would make the game “unrealistic”. After all the point seems not to be able to know exactly what’s around the next corner, as if you’re there with your men. If you're not at the end of a corner, well you can’t see around it. Although each squad is equipped with a GPS map [useful for planning]. You can also get a helicopter fly-over to detect enemies on the ground.


FSW isn’t the type of game I typically enjoy.
The problem with FSW for me is it’s not really my cup of tea [earl grey, two sugars please]. FSW is more like a big cup of chunky soup with the big chunks representing all the great aspects of the game [the realistic graphics, sound, gameplay and all those bells and whistles in the animation]. But typically it’s difficult for me to swallow because it’s a realistic squad-based tactical strategy game. I’m a quick beverage person and this, unfortunately, is a full-blown meal. I need a bowl and spoon. This ain’t no cuppa soup!
It’s just too chunky and requires too much thinking on my part and its got big chunks of bread in. [erm...am I making any sense? Possibly the worst analogy ever!]

I’ll be the first to admit the superb missions combined with the intense music provide a tense, atmospheric and compelling feeling of being there amongst the thick of it all. At the end of the day this is a realistic urban warfare simulator. Get with the program or you won’t survive for longer than 10 minutes in this game soldier. It’s just that FSW needed a lot of persistance on my part because this isn’t my kind of game and the playing style seemed alien to me.

Playing the first “proper” mission after the training missions still felt to me like being chucked in at the deep end [but then again playing Pro Evolution Soccer for the first time felt like drowning too].

In the first “proper” mission squad alpha were spotted by an enemy solider, as they crossed an open space [first mistake – did I not learn anything in training]. Perhaps forgetting all I’d been taught. I quickly ordered squad alpha to take cover behind some crates, which quickly started to take damage and degrade as bullets pelted them. Basically loosing cover again. I ordered the squad to run to a corner point for cover. Think. Think. What now, he’s shooting at us. Point fire! No. He's covered. Point fire anyway. No. No. The shield icon above his head shows he’s covered [where’s that cuppa tea!]. My squad has similar icons to indicate they are now in a covered position. Grenade then? Bang [lovely graphics – see the smoke on that grenade] Yeah that’s a smoke grenade though. Hmm..wrong type. Proper grenade please [selects right one this time]. Fire in the hole. Bang. Missed. He runs for cover. Point fire. Still running. He makes it. Switching to Bravo team. I send bravo team around the back. A few smoke grenades later and we had him. While he was busy worrying about alpha team hitting him with suppressing fire, bravo team hit him from the side. Pity that in the confusion I missed the other group of hiding enemies. Goodnight team Bravo [Hits restart]

In the words of David Brent on the subject of his Boss Neil “stay out of it, this is big boy s***. But cheers”. Something similar should have been plastered all over the Full Spectrum Warrior cover. US army urban warfare simulator “stay out, this is big boy s***, but thanks for your interest noob!”

If we are being honest I am a light-weight, I’d much rather be controlling one character and not always having to worry about tactics, strategy, flaking, manoeuvres and switching between squads to combine tactics! Being able to split the squads and control individuals, using their individual skills would have been nice, but probably would have made it even more complicated.

I can see FSW appealing to someone whose got the time, patience and appropiate thinking cap to play this kind of real-time strategy squad-based action game that FSW clearly is. Enter co-op multiplayer mode and it gets a whole lot better.

FSW relies on your ability and skill to think tactically and strategically to plot safe, effective routes through the eastern urban environments to your objectives. Also attacking and defending against multiple, often cunning, enemies while keeping your own men safe. Special mention must be give to the excellent and realistic way computer controlled enemies behave, the AI seems decent enough.
FSW offers multiple routes and ways to reach objectives and complete missions. However watching squads of men carrying out your orders and thinking tactical isn’t everyone’s cuppa tea [hey this earl grey is cold!]. Sorry, but I like to get my gaming fix quickly. Burnout 3 anyone? I just haven't got the time or patience this requires.

FSW will suit most squad-based shooter fans, but you’ll need to perhaps look beyond the sometimes repetitive nature of the gameplay.
Whereby you move squad Alpha, then Bravo, then Alpha, the Bravo, slowly moving up to your objectives.

In FSW you also feel restricted to playing in a certain way. The proper way, using stealth and tactics. Playing any other way is the quickest way to a virtual body bag.

The game does have some welcomed saving graces to compensate for the difficulty. Soldiers can take a certain amount of injury [as in real life], but you’ll need to get them to a medic site. It’s very forgiving of the developers to have included save points / checkpoints around the terrain too. Being able to restart at your last checkpoint is a real saving grace.

The game is full of surprises and very exciting. I remember calling in air strikes and mortar attacks on tanks for the first time with the GPS and watching seconds later as the whole area was carpet bombed. Just amazed, watching the tank burst into smithereens with the gamepad rumbling in hand.

To conclude I remember telling one forum poster not to get this, but that was really wrong of me. It’s just that it’s not my type of game, but recently I’ve wondered what is my type of game. I’ve been getting a little jaded by the vast number of sequels appearing [however decent] and here comes an original and innovative title that would be welcome in anybody’s collection.

A brilliant strategic, tactical, urban warfare simulator with all the charisma and graphics of a top-notch first person shooter.
It is abit controversial in its subject matter, but you'll have to look beyond that.

Anybody looking for a realistic, compelling, thinking mans war game, with decent graphics, missions and co-op play you’ve just found what you're looking for.

Full Spectrum Warrior is top-notch third person chess and some of you will love it. But not me.

For fans of the genre, roll on FSW 2

My score: 7/10



\Walks off to make coffee.
On entering the kitchen [peeks left. peeks right. All clear]

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