OK, so Full Spectrum Warrior was released yesterday in the UK. I dragged myself out of my pit and into the glaring sunlight to get on a bus and go buy it.
Those of you who want a quick summary of the game, here it is:
I was late for work because of this game.
Now, for the more in-depth review.
Graphics:
Wow. Really, wow. This has to be the most realistic looking war simulations I've ever seen. The character animations are second to none, facial expressions show, they show frustration and fatigue, sometimes hesitance. The way they run is realistic, the way they pick up an injured soldier and crouch behind cover is all very realistic.
There is a downside - the blood. There's next to none. When a teammate has been shot and is laying on the ground you would expect a pool of blood to fill out beneath him right? Nope, not on this game. Sure, when a teammate gets shot into the camera, you get blood splatters on the lens for a few seconds but that's about it.
The environment effects are also excellent, one moment you're in clear daylight, the next moment a sandstorm has taken over and you can only see 20 feet in front of you.
Graphics Score: 9/10 (would have been 10 with realistic blood)
Sound:
The sound is great, I have absolutely no qualms about it at all. If you're blessed with 5.1 surround, you'll hear the bullets whooshing past the camera and impacting in the wall behind you, you'll hear Tangos running, everything. The voice acting is superb, it fits with the style of the game and is occasionally funny, the soldiers banter away while you're not doing much, teasing each other until the team leader steps in.
The soundtrack is also excellent, the music changing to fit the mood of the game - more intense music when you're being shot at and when you need to get a teammate back to the CASEVAC (medic), but a little tense when you're going to peek round a corner. Very fitting for the game, albeit a little loud by default.
Sound Score: 10/10
Gameplay:
The game is pretty slow, so it's not for the type that like to do the Rambo-run-and-gun. This game is for the Splinter Cell and the Rainbow Six 3 players out there, you have to use tactics. There are any number of decisions to make that can and will get your men killed. You are only allowed to lose 1 of your 8 men - lose a second and it's mission over.
Like I said above, tactics are important. Do you approach that .50 calibre machinegun from the front with both teams, using them to cover each other till you're close enough to grenade him, do you use your M203 RPG launcher (which you only get 3 rounds per team with), or do you use alpha team to suppress them with heavy fire while bravo team tries to find a way to sneak round and flank them? Make your decision soldier, you don't have long.
Putting the choices aside, the levels are very linear, like Rainbow Six 3 - there's only 1 or 2 ways to reach where you want to go. You won't be doing urban warfare in a map the scale of GTA: Vice City, you'll have a few blocks with a few set routes you can take your teams. The game does make use of a couple of invisible walls, but aside from those few, there are usually natural or man-made obstacles in the way of where you shouldn't go.
I can't really comment on the length of the game yet, as I'm only up to chapter 7, but it has taken me over 12 hours to get this far. The training alone took an hour. No, don't groan about the training - you need it or you'll die, seriously.
Now, the Live gameplay. It's really a disappointment that you can only have 1 other person in the game with you, and you can only play co-operative through the single-player campaign. There's no deathmatches, no versus matches, only co-operative. Not as good as I was expecting.
Gameplay score: 8/10
Conclusion:
Buy this game, you won't regret it. Good, solid gameplay (apart from Live, but that's just my opinion), great sound and breathtaking graphics.
Overall Score: 9/10
/SilentDragz
Those of you who want a quick summary of the game, here it is:
I was late for work because of this game.
Now, for the more in-depth review.
Graphics:
Wow. Really, wow. This has to be the most realistic looking war simulations I've ever seen. The character animations are second to none, facial expressions show, they show frustration and fatigue, sometimes hesitance. The way they run is realistic, the way they pick up an injured soldier and crouch behind cover is all very realistic.
There is a downside - the blood. There's next to none. When a teammate has been shot and is laying on the ground you would expect a pool of blood to fill out beneath him right? Nope, not on this game. Sure, when a teammate gets shot into the camera, you get blood splatters on the lens for a few seconds but that's about it.
The environment effects are also excellent, one moment you're in clear daylight, the next moment a sandstorm has taken over and you can only see 20 feet in front of you.
Graphics Score: 9/10 (would have been 10 with realistic blood)
Sound:
The sound is great, I have absolutely no qualms about it at all. If you're blessed with 5.1 surround, you'll hear the bullets whooshing past the camera and impacting in the wall behind you, you'll hear Tangos running, everything. The voice acting is superb, it fits with the style of the game and is occasionally funny, the soldiers banter away while you're not doing much, teasing each other until the team leader steps in.
The soundtrack is also excellent, the music changing to fit the mood of the game - more intense music when you're being shot at and when you need to get a teammate back to the CASEVAC (medic), but a little tense when you're going to peek round a corner. Very fitting for the game, albeit a little loud by default.
Sound Score: 10/10
Gameplay:
The game is pretty slow, so it's not for the type that like to do the Rambo-run-and-gun. This game is for the Splinter Cell and the Rainbow Six 3 players out there, you have to use tactics. There are any number of decisions to make that can and will get your men killed. You are only allowed to lose 1 of your 8 men - lose a second and it's mission over.
Like I said above, tactics are important. Do you approach that .50 calibre machinegun from the front with both teams, using them to cover each other till you're close enough to grenade him, do you use your M203 RPG launcher (which you only get 3 rounds per team with), or do you use alpha team to suppress them with heavy fire while bravo team tries to find a way to sneak round and flank them? Make your decision soldier, you don't have long.
Putting the choices aside, the levels are very linear, like Rainbow Six 3 - there's only 1 or 2 ways to reach where you want to go. You won't be doing urban warfare in a map the scale of GTA: Vice City, you'll have a few blocks with a few set routes you can take your teams. The game does make use of a couple of invisible walls, but aside from those few, there are usually natural or man-made obstacles in the way of where you shouldn't go.
I can't really comment on the length of the game yet, as I'm only up to chapter 7, but it has taken me over 12 hours to get this far. The training alone took an hour. No, don't groan about the training - you need it or you'll die, seriously.
Now, the Live gameplay. It's really a disappointment that you can only have 1 other person in the game with you, and you can only play co-operative through the single-player campaign. There's no deathmatches, no versus matches, only co-operative. Not as good as I was expecting.
Gameplay score: 8/10
Conclusion:
Buy this game, you won't regret it. Good, solid gameplay (apart from Live, but that's just my opinion), great sound and breathtaking graphics.
Overall Score: 9/10
/SilentDragz
