Pandemic is a very impressive development team. They’ve proven this over the past year or so with some amazing titles such as; Star Wars: Battlefront, Mercenaries, and Full Spectrum Warrior. Pandemic is planning sequels for each of these titles, one of which is Full Spectrum Warriors: Ten Hammers .
According to an executive at Pandemic, the most important issue they are trying to deal out is replayability. Some things they’ve done to fix this is adding a Versus mode online, so now players can play competitively over Xbox Live in addition to playing cooperatively. They have also stopped scripting the enemy AI, which happened throughout all of the first Full Spectrum Warrior. Apparently those two things changed the game in ways they hadn’t even thought of before.
The story follows the brave actions of the military’s Alpha and Bravo teams, with returning familiar soldiers from the first. Based around 12 levels; three missions in each of four chapters. Gamers start their “journey†into the mountainous region of Khardiman, a hilly region north of the fictitious Zekistan. The color scheme is no longer the sandy, orange, and yellow palette from the first game. There are more greens, browns, and blues to ease the eye. In each chapter, the game tells the same story from a different angle using military squads from different countries. So, you’ll know the outcome of the story in the beginning, but you won’t know how it all played out unless you beat the game.
Ten Hammer’s uses a very similar control scheme to what we have seen before in the original title (still having you control groups, and not actually being able to shoot. You‘ll get it if you play it). Considering the AI is no longer scripted, enemies will be in different parts of the levels each time you play it. Enemies will flank you, and in different positions each time. They will also track your position, so if you stay in one spot for a long amount of time they will ambush you using anything they can, whether it be grenades or rocket launchers. In addition to the more intelligent AI, players will no longer control two groups, they’ll control four. You will be able to send out a scout, who will run to a building corner, check the area for gunners, and respond accordingly. If a corner is plum full of enemies, he’ll automatically run back without taking a beating. If it’s clear, he’ll wave you over automatically. This, in addition to quicker controls and faster commands, means you can cover more ground more efficiently.
Height will also become a big issue in this sequel. You’ll encounter enemy snipers high up in 2-3 story buildings. You will also be able to go up yourself and have your team snipe enemies. Be careful however, because enemies can kill using a sniper in only one shot. Finding cover is a must.
