went into developing the new combat system is unbelievable. These guys took
the genre (squad-based combat) and said to themselves, "What can we do that
would make the genre more fun?" The answer was to re-invent the genre by more
or less creating an entirely new one. Years later they gave birth to a game
that could be summed up as the lovechild of squad-based combat and real-time
strategy. Further inspection of this spectrum reveals that it is so much
more.
The best part
of playing a new kind of game is learning how to play them. Full Spectrum
Warrior doesn’t apply the typical third-person shooter controls, nor does it
use the standard run-shoot-strafe-style gameplay we’re all used to. This made
the learning process difficult, but it also made it a joy. I hadn’t had that
much fun with a military-based game in a long time. I was surprised to find
that, after spending many months away from the Xbox version, I had to re-learn
many of the game’s mechanics. I couldn’t take action without stopping for a
minute to think about what needed to be done and how it had to be
accomplished.
That’s because there are
so many little details and such a great difference between the way that Full
Spectrum Warrior and all other squad-based combat games play.
Using a corner for cover.
As the player, you
control the team, the cursor, the camera – everything but individual units.
This isn’t a third-person shooter. You don’t maneuver in and out of
corridors, shooting everything in sight. Attacks must be executed with lots
of pre-planning. Most of the time you can’t pre-plan without trial and
error. You’ll re-do missions a lot. You’ll cancel actions and give up
frequently just because you believe you can perform better the second, third
or forth time around. While this could become tedious in almost any other
game, Full Spectrum Warrior is fun, engaging, and extremely challenging at all
times.
As commander of the
cursor, players will guide their troops in a very unique way. Everything is
done via menus (and menus within menus). The brilliant part is how the cursor
acts as a 3D guide that will send your troops to any location and tell them to
form any position. Have them run to the nearest building and duck as they
arrive. Tell them to peak over the corner of the wall and fire suppression
bullets, making it safer (though still dangerous) for one or more of your
troops to cross an area.
This is the joy of Full
Spectrum Warrior: strategic options. There are several different ways to
tackle every mission. Most of the ways will lead you to your demise, though
there are times when a less perfect strategy can get you through to the end.
Figuring out when and how to strike; learning the layout of each environment;
mastering the enemy’s techniques; discovering the best way to take down the
most difficult weapons – all of these moments will take you to a far off place
that is rewarding in a way you could have never imagined.
Get your men out of there!
If you have the option to
get the Xbox version (or even if you don’t), you should know that there are a
few significant differences between it and the PlayStation 2 version. The
most obvious is the graphics, which took a small beating when being
transferred to PS2. The animations are there, showcasing some of the most
fluid movements I’ve seen in a strategy game. What’s lacking are the
backgrounds and character models, which don’t look as realistic or as polished
as they do on the Xbox. This is to be expected, though you might think
otherwise after seeing what the developers did with Splinter Cell. This can
also be forgiven, since it is only an aesthetical downgrade.
What else is missing?
Downloadable content and other Xbox Live-exclusive features. That’s not too
disappointing when you consider the PS2’s two additional levels (available via
Xbox Live for the Xbox version) and its exclusive level, which cannot be found
in any other version of the game.
There are also control
differences – I’m used to playing the game with the Xbox controller so I like
that version better. Xbox is also a faster system (loads faster, has fewer
frame rate problems, etc.), so overall the Xbox version is the better game to
get.
Shooting is fun, even when there doesn’t appear to be a target.
"What if I don’t have an
Xbox? Should I pass on Full Spectrum Warrior?" At $19.99, you’d be fool to
ignore one of the best strategy games ever made. It’s got so much content, so
many challenging missions, and so many innovations that you won’t know what to
do at first. It’s the only kind of overwhelmed feeling that’s welcome, one
that rarely comes from a game that wasn’t designed by Hideo Kojima, Shinji
Mikami, Hironobu Sakaguchi, or Shigeru Miyamoto. Buy this masterpiece as soon
as you can. It’s worth more than the $20 price tag and will keep you
entertained for more than 20 hours.
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Gameplay: 8.5
First-person
squad-based real-time strategy!? That doesn’t sound like something a
marketing guy would use to promote a game, but that’s just what this is. Full
Spectrum Warrior is full of intense missions and has a wide spectrum of
strategic elements. Completing them will make you feel like a warrior.
Graphics: 7.5
Sound: 8.5
Still impressive,
still awe-inspiring. Still jam-packed with quality voice-acting and realistic
dialogue. Worth cranking your speakers for.
Difficulty: Hard
Whoever said war
was easy? Plenty of video games have created the illusion that it’s nothing
more than running and shooting. Full Spectrum Warrior was originally designed
as a training aid for the U.S. Army. That alone should give you an idea of
how difficult – and how realistic – this game is.
Concept: 7.5
Aside from the
bonus levels (one of which is exclusive to PS2), Full Spectrum Warrior is a
PS2 port of an Xbox game. That means less beauty, less power, more loading,
and a save file that will take up nearly 1/4 of your memory card’s space.
Multiplayer: 7.5
Two-player co-op
with the Network Adaptor and broadband Internet access.
Overall: 8.1
A must-buy for
anyone who loves unique games. A must-buy for anyone who loves strategy or
squad-based combat games. A must-buy for anyone who’s tired of the same old
thing. Basically, this is a must-buy for everyone. I couldn’t praise it
enough on Xbox, and even though it’s not a Game of the Year contender like it
was on Microsoft’s console, Full Spectrum Warrior is still an unforgettable
classic.
