Full Spectrum Warrior First Look

Various regions throughout the globe are being torn apart by war even as we speak. Even so, numerous publishers and developers continue to distribute games based on that very same phenomenon - war. This once again leads us to the ever-present and rather disconcerting paradox that war is a bad thing, but war games sell well. Because of that, most publishers tend to steer away from games that emphasize realistic warfare. This time, however, we're witnessing a slightly different approach. Coming from Pandemic Studios, and backed up by well-known publisher THQ, Full Spectrum Warrior takes players through all the excitement that comes with real life combat. Full Spectrum Warrior is a tactical team-based combat simulation, which was, believe it or not, commissioned by the U.S. Army about three years ago. The project was designed as a training tool for the Light Infantry, which is why diverse U.S. Army doctrines were incorporated into the gameplay. So, brace yourselves, this time it's for real.

Unlike the majority of games out there, Full Spectrum Warrior has more to offer than your average action-packed gameplay. Tactics are of the essence here. You take on the role of the commander, or rather Army sergeant, issuing orders to Alpha and Bravo units. Marching throughout various authentically constructed urban combat zones, you'll have to complete a number of mission assignments, simultaneously looking after each and every one of your soldiers. While you're doing this, you must also carefully coordinate the tactical maneuvers and movement of the members of your team. The basics of the game are intuitive and very easy to learn, allowing you get a grip on things very quickly. You can switch between squads swiftly at any time during the game. You will disperse your units throughout various points across the map to achieve mission goals. Throughout the game you'll be viewing both of your squads from third-person perspective. Although, if you wish, you can always see what the situation looks like from the eyes of an individual soldier (i.e. first-person view) - which comes in handy when you want to keep an eye on a particular target. This, in practice, turned out to be the best way for the players to supervise the maneuvers of their squads.

There are several things a player will need to keep in mind as he engages the enemy. One of the most important things, for example, is how you place your troops around the area. Your teams consist of grenadier, medic, rifleman, machine gunner, etc. Each one of your soldiers has his own purpose in the squad and that's something you definitely have to take into account as you play. Similarly to real-life combat, a sergeant must cautiously assess any situation and then carry out mission goals as best he can. Carrying out an action successfully may sometimes call for direct orders - like instructing a single soldier to keep firing at a particular spot repeatedly. This soldier will, consequentially, shoot down any target that paces in his line of fire.

Set in accordance with authentic military warfare, all of your troops are fully equipped to deal with all sorts of situations on the battlefield. For example, a grenadier has a rifle as well as an always welcomed grenade launcher; so essentially, you can rely on his fire-power when things get rough. Another good choice for providing suppressive fire would be the machine gunner who always carries the squad automatic weapon (which is known as the SAW). Additional weapons, items, and miscellaneous military hardware have also been included in the game, such as Advanced Night Vision Devices, Chemical Sniffers, Distance-effective Heartbeat Monitors, Ground Penetrating Radar, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and the new Objective Infantry Combat Weapon (OICW). (Ed.- No BFG? What about the BFG!?!?)

In order to correspond with the streamlined gameplay, the development team has devised a very effective context-sensitive control system, making it simple for players to command their units. This means your soldiers can easily adapt to the environment ... like the city streets, for example. If they should encounter a wall, or any similar obstacle, they will immediately assemble and stand against it, thereby gaining suitable tactical advantage. By the way, basic movement is very simple - you just point in a certain direction where you wish your teams to go and they will obey without any delays. Overall, the whole effect is pretty neat and commendably straightforward.

Handling your squads in combat will often depend on the AI, as well as your ability to cope with the situation. Naturally, your orders will always be executed exactly the way you want, without any exceptions. But, in certain tight spots it is usually good to rely on the intelligence of the soldiers. In mid combat, troops are going to seek the best possible way to achieve their goal. This is where the intricate AI routine comes in. For instance, every fighter in your unit can change his position if it offers him a clear shot at oncoming adversaries. At the first sign of danger, your squad will go prone at once or search for cover close at hand, therefore minimizing the chances of injuries. What's more, if you happen to lose a comrade in action, the AI will act on the spot and remove the ammo and equipment from bodies that lie on the ground. Now this doesn't mean you can point out a target, sit back, and watch your squad do all the dirty work. Quite the contrary, it is all up to you. Your soldiers can defend themselves and help each other if need be, but when things get really heavy, everyone will look up to their commander - you! Just imagine, if both Alpha and Bravo squads are suddenly overwhelmed by enemy fire, it will be your duty to displace them or go for another line of attack.

On top of its well-balanced team-oriented gameplay mechanics, Full Spectrum Warrior is reported to have some of the most advanced graphics ever seen in a tactical simulation game. Aiming to achieve maximum in-game realism, the developers created very complex and detailed character models, all of which possess unique personalities. The basic idea was to create a sense of camaraderie among the squads, so that when you play as a sergeant, you may regret losing the soldiers under your command. That portion of the game is particularly interesting since that is indeed a sensation that's missing in a lot of games nowadays. Other visual aspects include complex level design, as well as rich texture work and realistic middle-eastern architecture. Fundamentally, all environments were designed to enhance the strategic aspect of gameplay. This is quite an important element of the entire game. It means that you can use practically any object in the nearby area to gain tactical advantage over your foe - be it house, doorway, wall, or street car. If all of that is not enough for ya, you should at least be happy to know that the game features a variety of vivid character animations. The developers also claim that the motions for in-game characters were modeled after a real combat veteran, an active-duty Sergeant in the U.S. Army Rangers! Also, from the footage we've seen, the game boasts some fabulous-looking dynamic shadows as well as meticulously presented particle effects (observed in the highly realistic explosions).

Naturally, a great deal of information about the game remains undisclosed as of now, but keep your eyes peeled for additional details in the coming months. We still don't know what features can be expected in the multiplayer mode. The only thing we know for certain is that there will be an Xbox version of the game and the Xbox version will be LIVE-ready.

As you may have gathered, this is far from your average action game. The U.S. Army was definitely on to something good when they "recruited" the boys over at Pandemic. On various occasions, the game was hailed as the most advanced squad-level simulation of tactical command on the market. This latest Army training aid also won Best Original Game and Best Simulation Game at the E3 2003.

Full Spectrum Warrior is in development for Xbox and PC. We expect the Xbox version to hit stores some time around April 2004. PC owners can look forward to playing the game soon after that.