Full Spectrum Warrior

"A very interesting game"

In all honesty, it is very difficult to describe Full Spectrum Warrior. It is in a genre that is almost nonexistent on consoles, I guess that could be the reason. That, and the fact that Full Spectrum Warrior does not even play similar to any of the titles in its genre to begin with. Thus, it is one of those games that you have to experience for yourself to truly know what it is. Full Spectrum Warrior is a smooth mix between the strategy and simulation genre, and it is difficult to classify the game as just one of those without saying "Well, it is a simulation game with a little strategy thrown in" or vice versa. So, it is pretty unique, and definite change of pace in the Xbox library. But unique does not always mean it is going to be good. So is Full Spectrum Warrior as good as it is unique?

If you did not already know, Full Spectrum Warrior originally started out as a military simulation. It was meant as a training program courtesy of the US Army. Somewhere down the line, the kind folks at THQ and Pandemic told themselves that this would make an interesting video game. What do you know? After a lengthy wait, we have ourselves Full Spectrum Warrior right here on the Xbox, as well as another great addition to the growing Xbox library. I would also like to add it is one of the most surprisingly enjoyable games this year.

To start with, there really is not much to the story of Full Spectrum Warrior. To describe the story of the game in the shortest way possible, you take a group of eight soldiers (two teams of four; Bravo and Alpha) from training, all the way to the war-torn streets of the Middle East. Each soldier has their own personality and background. This is all described in the opening cutscene. While none of it really matters, nor does it have any impact on the game itself, it was a nice addition to get to know the soldiers that you will be controlling for the rest of the game. Since the soldiers differ from each other, it is very interesting to see their personalities clash as the game moves on. Like said, it does not have an effect on the gameplay, but was more or less added to really get you into the world of these brave soldiers.

Moving on to the gameplay, Full Spectrum Warrior actually does well for itself. Before you ship off to the Middle East, you must go through a very lengthy tutorial/training mission. Yes, I know, you want to go out and kick some butt, but trust me when I say that you will be glad that the game forced you to go through this seemingly boring lecture on how the buttons work, or how to throw a grenade. I cannot compliment the developers enough on how great the training level is, as it covers everything that you need to know, and all the important tactics that will become mandatory to use as you progress through the game. Not one tactic you learn in the training course will be left untouched as you head out into the battlefield. Pay attention, soldier. Failure to follow directions may cost you your life out on the battlefield.

I'll give a brief run-down on the general mechanics of the game, all stated clearly in the tutorial. You use the left thumb stick to control your soldiers (in teams, of course, never will you control one soldier at a time without controlling the rest of your team). When you press the left thumb stick in any direction, a cursor will appear leaving it up to you to decide where to move your soldiers next. The D-Pad controls which soldier you want to highlight, but I did not really find much use to it. The X button brings up a circle that chooses the area of fire. Hold the X button down long enough, and you will bring up the grenade options where you will choose what kind of grenades you will use, ranging from the standard frag grenade to the smoke grenade, or even a friendly air strike. The Y button switches between the two teams, and if there is ever a third team with you, you hold down the Y button for a short amount of time to switch to that third team. The black button brings up your map, and also acts as a radar as to where your enemies are. Finally, the B button cancels all orders. Yes, this may seem like a lot to memorize, but after the first two chapters, the controls actually feel very well organized. One other thing I might add is that there is no button to fire your weapon. You tell your troops where to fire, and they carry out the orders. It is a strategy game, not a shooter.

So you have completed the training level. Now on to bigger and better missions. I can honestly say that Full Spectrum Warrior starts off with a bang. A very loud bang. It does, in all honesty, leave a good impression to start with, and sets the tension that will be apparent for the rest of the game. This is where you will start using your tactics to their fullest extent, in a battlefield situation where one wrong move could cost the lives of your men.

So what about the tactics? This is where I am a tad conflicted. To describe the general gameplay, as a whole, is a bit confusing. I will try and clue you in to what I mean. The gameplay in Full Spectrum Warrior is generally like a comedy that relies on a one joke premise that is actually funny. Yeah, it is entertaining, and there are a lot of moments that essentially seem to expand on that one idea, but isn't it basically the same joke over and over again? See where I am going with this? If not, I will explain myself. Full Spectrum Warrior only has a handful of tactics to use at your disposal. The real strategy in this is finding out which tactic to use for a certain situation. In theory, you are essentially performing the same tasks again, and again, and again:

"Move Bravo to the left wall for cover. Move Alpha in to cover Bravo as Bravo advances. While the enemy is focused on Alpha and/or pinned down by the suppressive fire, move Bravo in position to take out the hostile. If all else fails, and you cannot reach the hostile safely, throw/launch a grenade at them. Backtrack to the CASEVAC to heal your soldiers, or restock on ammunition"

Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Basically that is all there is to it. In its simplicity, though, it is actually quite enjoyable, no matter how repetitive it seems. After you get the controls down, you will find a game that is rather easy to pick up and play. Whether or not this will come off as a complaint from you is up to you, but it might make the game seem a tad repetitive when you are only using the same tactics throughout the course of the game.

The AI was a tad disappointing. The AI in this game is completely scripted. Scripted AI is where it does not act on its own, but acts as it is told to do so. This means that if you got ambushed the minute you turned that corner or entered that courtyard, that same ambush will be there the next time you restart the game from the checkpoint before that ambush. But why is this a bad thing? Like Medal of Honor and Splinter Cell before it, it makes the game more of a test in trial and error. This can reduce the replay value quite a bit, since there are really no surprise ambushes once you know where they all are, and where to position yourself to deal with them.

From a technical standpoint, the audio and visuals are superb in Full Spectrum Warrior. First off, the graphics. The graphics are excellent. The textures on the soldiers are of top quality, and the soldiers really do look alive. Everything from the way their faces are structured, right down to their clothing, everything just stands out. The way they move is also very realistic, as they run around like they are carrying around heavy gear (which they are). They all cast shadows, and that is always a fantastic feature to have to show off the lighting in the game.

But I have not even started to mention the truly superb level design. While the game is fairly linear in design, the architecture of the city and the variation of the towns you lead your soldiers through is truly a sight to behold. In one chapter, you must make your way through a town that is being covered in sand through a heavy sand storm. You can actually see the wind, and the sand pass by the camera (your troops even cough, too). These small touches really get you involved in the game. Overall, the fantastic level design saves the game from being too repetitive.

The audio is actually fairly well done. Probably the biggest surprise is how well the voice acting is done. As mentioned earlier, each soldier has his own personality, and the voice acting for each one of your troops really gives them life. They act the way they should in certain situations, whether it be really excited after taking out a hostile, or scared when they are are up against a large ambush putting their life in danger. Again, very well done, and surprisingly a high point of a game that really does not rely too much on voice acting.

The music that plays in the background generally gets the job done, and that is about it. It is usually a mix between a light electric guitar, or an orchestra. It does not do anything special, but when moments get tense, the music tends to pick up to make for a more climatic or epic feel to the situation that you are going through on screen. Standard war-movie kind of soundtrack, if that helps describe it any better. The main bang (no pun intended) in the audio department has to go to the voice acting for sure.

The lasting appeal of Full Spectrum Warrior is disappointingly low, especially if you do not have Xbox Live to play cooperatively online. What drags it down is the scripted AI that makes the game more of a one-time-play-through. Yes, there are several difficulties to play through, and you can even unlock the actual Army version of the game, but that might not keep you coming back for more. Full Spectrum Warrior is on the short side. Not counting the training mission at the beginning, there are only eleven chapters. Full Spectrum Warrior can be completed in a matter of days, as most of the chapters do not take that long to complete. I say there is a good eleven or twelve hours of gameplay. It makes for a good rent if you want to try this out just for the single player campaign, and have no interest in the Live online play.

Overall:

I might have made a lot of negative comments about this game in this review, but this is by no means a bad game. It is a rather unique game, that is for sure. It is worthwhile if you want a change of pace from all the shooters, and want to try out a strategy game on a console (which we should all agree is an almost nonexistent genre on the consoles). Overall, it is a surprisingly enjoyable experience. Definitely worth at least a rent if you have not already tried it yet. I say rent it first before running out and buying it.

Final Score: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/22/04