The Middle East
… long has it been the center of instability and chaotic violence that seems
to explode at the drop of a hat. It is there that the occasionally peaceful
streets often become battlefields and where extremist groups terrorize its own
people to push its sadistic ideals. Yes, this is highly unfortunate but it does
make for a good militaristic squad-based first-person shooter. Close Combat:
First to Fight on the Xbox puts US Marines in a very volatile situation ripe
with all the things we like in our first-person shooters. Fall in soldiers, this
a worthwhile conflict worth entering.
Working in
conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps (but not endorsed by them) who have
returned from active duty in the Middle East, First to Fight was developed as a
training simulation tool for American servicemen and women. While there’s no
storyline filled with unique or noteworthy characters, the game revolves around
a violent uprising in the city of Beirut in the year 2006. It seems that a
radical group led by a local religious zealot named Tarik Qadan has convinced
neighboring Arab groups to join his violent movement. When the battles became
much bigger and out of control, U.S. Marines are sent in to preserve the peace
in Lebanon and bring down the leaders of the movement. It isn’t going to be easy
either since you’ll be up against Iranian, Syrian, radicals and Lebanese militia
that have joined the ring of terror.
Assuming the
role of the leader of a fire team of three highly trained US Marines
specialists, you enter the city armed with modern combat firearms. You take
command of your squad much like its done in the Tom Clancy Rainbow Six 3 series
of games as well as SWAT: Global Strike Team and – to some extent – Full
Spectrum Warrior. Your team responds to orders to provide covering or
suppressing fire but they do it in a formation true to Marine standards. They
move about the environment using the Ready-Team-Fire-Assist doctrine that makes
them aware of their surroundings as you order them to move to areas you point at
with the shooting reticule. You won’t have to order them to fight back because
they do a great job of assisting you and drop enemies without waiting for the
order. The best part about giving orders you can also order each squad member
individually.
You will be
placed in several combat situations that take you and your team out in the open
streets of the city and even the interior of various buildings. At one point
you’ll be asked to secure a school and thusly has you searching the various
rooms. Oftentimes you’ll encounter closed doors and here’s where you can order
your men to perform a room take-down (where your men kick the door down and fire
their way into a room) or a frag take-down (where one team member tosses a frag
grenade then enters with the others after it explodes). There are also times
when you’ll see an enemy toss his weapon so you’ll have to secure him by cuffing
him. Yet often you’ll find yourself in situations where you and your squad will
have to shoot your way out of areas filled with armed radicals and even tanks.
Luckily you can order air strikes that come in the form of Cobra gunships and
even order mortar fire strikes.
The game is also
quite challenging thanks to the fact that in order to survive each combat
situation you’ll have keep in mind that tactical strategy is key. Rushing out
into the streets with guns blazing is a good way to get killed quickly in First
to Fight. You also can’t throw your squad out into the open because they’re
smart enough to fear being exposed and will refuse orders that will seem
suicidal in their eyes. You’ll be thankful for the fact that you can heal
members of your squad and replenish your first aid supply. If a man goes down
you can patch him up and order a corpsman to pick up your injured squad mate.
The enemy AI is also intelligent enough to duck for cover and try to outflank
you. Just when you begin to think that they’re really intelligent, you’ll often
find them doing some really idiotic things like ducking for cover with half
their body exposed or rushing into a room and not seeing you.
Yet with all
these interesting features, First to Fight feels pretty linear and you won’t
help but feel as though the game is quickly taking you by the hand and rushing
your to the next mission objective. This doesn’t necessarily make it a bad game,
it just doesn’t offer anything new compared to recent first-person shooters like
Brother in Arms. What the goes does great, however, is the multiplayer mode.
Aside from a decent Xbox Live multiplayer mode, there’s System Link and Split
Screen support found here. The Fire Team Arena mode is great fun but it’s the
Cooperative and Modified Cooperative mode that will have you enthralled. Up to
four players can play through the single-player mode in both Co-op modes but
Modified Co-op allows you and your friends to select your firearms. Online the
game flows rather well but the long load times and the occasional sound stutter
will not fail to annoy.
First to Fight
is also a somewhat decent-looking game that – at times – goes from Ok to not bad
at all. The game excellently portrays the Middle Eastern territory quite
spectacularly, but there’s a dullness to the surroundings that keep you from
admiring the edifices and charming streets. The level of environmental detail
isn’t as high as, say, Full Spectrum Warrior but at least you’ll get to move
from exterior to interior locations. As for the character models, your squad
mates look good … until you move close enough to their expressionless faces.
This, though, isn’t bad compared to when your men start to rush down the
streets. You’ll watch as they attempt to push past each another, often to the
point that you’ll watch as an elbow will clip right through the chest of your
team’s sniper. Yet when it comes to explosions and muzzle flash, the game looks
great.
The biggest
disappoint – in my book, anyway – is the sound that just does not push the
realism factor the way it should have seeing that this game is filled with
intense gunfire. In this game you won’t be able to distinguish where that sniper
shot came from until you’re killed and the location of your killer is revealed.
The only thing on the battlefield that does sound great is the explosions, air
strikes and mortar fire. At least the voice acting is decent enough and you’ll
hear from your squad mates often throughout the game as well as the voices of
the enemy. As for the game’s soundtrack, it’s a military march complete with a
snare drum cadence. In other words, it’s fitting of the military theme.
Close Combat:
First to Fight is, in essence, a first-person shooter that covers all the usual
genre basics but does it rather well. It might not propel the squad-based
military-action genre to new heights, but with intense missions that showcase
some truly entertaining combat scenarios, and an excellent multiplayer mode,
it’s fun enough to keeps shooter fans more than pleased. This is certainly a
game worth your time and money for the hardcore, and the perfect rental for
those casual fans of military shoot ‘em ups.
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Gameplay: 8.7
The
straightforward controls allow gamers to easily place your squad where you think
you need them the most and that’s a very good thing. While your fire team is
able to handle themselves rather nicely, you’ve still got the freedom to come up
with your own tactics depending on the situation. The mission scenarios are also
quite interesting.
Graphics: 7.5
It’s not the
prettiest Xbox game but the graphics are decent enough to bring the locale and
action to life. Firefights look fierce and the rag-doll effects (although
sometimes exaggerated) makes bringing down enemies enjoyable. Too bad the level
of environmental detail is very limited, and the facial expressions and
character movement are not as natural as they should be.
Sound: 7.2
The sound is
rather disappointing, and while there’s plenty of gunfire you won’t feel as
though you’re in the thick of a war-torn area. As for the voice work, it’s Ok,
and the soundtrack possesses the usual militaristic rhythms. At least the
explosions and air strikes sound great.
Difficulty:
Medium
At times the
enemy AI is quick-witted and able to pull back when they’re being overwhelmed or
look for cover while providing covering fire for their comrades. Then again
they’re eager to rush out into the open after having seen you or duck for cover
behind a glass window thinking you can’t see them.
Concept: 8.0
Issuing orders
to an intelligent group of soldiers and ordering air strikes is handled well in
this game. The mission objectives are also nicely challenging but it’s the
game’s multiplayer mode that will have you playing this game long after you’ve
finished the single-player campaign.
Multiplayer:
9.5
Not only does
this game support Xbox Live multiplayer action but System Link and split-screen
fun using a single Xbox. While the online multiplayer offers the same fun modes,
the long load times are murder but at least it runs at a decent framerate. Co-op
mode in this game alone is worth the purchase price.
Overall: 8.0
While the game
doesn’t redefine the squad-based military first-person shooter, First to Fight
just has enough to keep action fans truly pleased. With easy-to-get-into
controls, fun mission scenarios and a highly addictive multiplayer mode this is
a game that should not be ignored by those who have worn out their copy of Full
Spectrum Warrior or Rainbow Six 3.
