Brute Force Preview

They say that it's the little things that make up living... If we consider Xbox to be one of those little things, we can safely say that Microsoft made many people happy these days. And today, nearly two months since it appeared, people only seem to be more and more interested in it. The market is obviously hungry for new toys. Of course, a good start for a gaming console requires adequate software support at the very beginning and a large number of developers that plan to design games for the platform in the future. Considering the size and influence of Microsoft, we firmly believe that Xbox shouldn't suffer any problems there.

Posing for an I.D. photo!

I can't see a bloody thing in this helmet!

In the current tide of games announced for the Xbox, it will be hard to distinguish the ones that really stand out. One of the truly promising titles that are supposed to appear on Xbox and that is being developed under Microsoft's strict supervision (Microsoft will actually publish it once it's done) is Digital Anvil's Brute Force. Digital Anvil already developed the highly successful Starlancer on PC, and this is their first go at the Xbox. Brute Force is a tactical squad-based third-person shooter, set in SF surroundings, depicted by ostentatious graphics squeezing the last drops of power from Microsoft's new toy.

In Brute Force, you are cast as one of the four mercenary commandos, under contract to perform various dangerous missions all over known universe and fight enemies on four substantially different worlds... The four member group consists of: Tex, heavy weapon trooper; Flint, cyborg-girl - sniper; Hawk, a coverts expert, also a girl; and Brutus, a bona-fides alien, best avoided in hand to hand combat. This unusual team should provide hours of quality fun. I should also emphasize that your characters gain experience, and improve their characteristics as you advance through the game, which introduces RPG elements into the game. As your characters develop, they will primarily improve their specific characteristics, and each time one of your characters becomes stronger, that will substantially increase the power of the entire team, which is less than a common feature in third-person shooters... this is why you will have to carefully choose your tactics as the loss of any of your party members critically weakens your coterie.

As you progress through the game you will pass four worlds, in all senses of the word; you will find yourself in vast and completely different surroundings. The Volcanic moon of Shadoon, the world of burning magma inhabited by fearless religious fundamentalists, who will practice extreme force against you; The Desert World of Caspian is the only world that looks pretty much like our own, and presents a home to different colonies and outposts; the Feral Homeworld of Ferix, swamp world, a place full of mist and mud, and the Shadow Outpost of Shrike, infertile land with countless catacombs and mostly poisonous air. These utterly different surroundings will improve the overall gameplay and dynamics. It is highly likely that developers would design another world before the game is finished and thus further improve the gameplay.

As this is primarily a shooter, it would be in place to discuss the equipment available to the in-game characters. The developers are still not sure about all weapons, but they are certain that both humans and aliens will have their own specific weapon assortments. You will have a chance to try out sonic cannons, mini-guns, physics blasts, the unavoidable flamethrowers and stat enhancing equipment. Apart from this, there will also be defensive items, like the secret ops suit, infrared glasses, and weapon enhancements. Judging by the arsenal, this game will give your Xbox a blast.

Cool point of view :)

I.D. photo again...

The tactics you decide to choose for a particular assignment will depend on your affinities and will to take a risk, as well as on the map. By choosing a certain tactical approach before the mission even begins, you actually decide whether you go for a full frontal attack and shoot-first-ask-questions-later approach to gameplay, which will probably make the mission end faster (one way or the other) and with a lot of casualties, or the far slower and safer tactical approach. One of the most important features here is the possibility to switch between the characters with a single click; you can lead only one character at a time, while your remaining three teammates are being controlled by the AI. You can also issue commands to your team members without taking direct control of them. We certainly hope that the game will have a good balance between tactics and combat, and a simple and functional interface that would in no way hinder gameplay.

The visual aspect of the game is crucial and will probably be one of the most important elements in forming our overall impression about the game. I must say that the game looks quite impressive even in its early stages of development. The characters and surroundings all have extremely high polygon counts, they are rich in color and textures, and the real-time lighting effects only make all this look even better. Face close-ups are especially effective, as the faces look highly realistic. Still all these high poly, real-time treats should present no problem for the Xbox thanks to the built-in GeForce3 GPU in the Xbox.

Apart from the single-player mode, the game will feature a multiplayer mode that supports up to four players to fight each other. It will most probably feature the standard deathmatch and capture the flag mods. There is still no talk of online multiplayer mode, and considering the fact that Microsoft doesn't have any plans for enabling online gaming on Xbox until spring, it is not much of a drawback.

The high quality graphics will be a typical feature for all Xbox games, and here, they combine the deep storyline with constant action. The multiplayer mode will only further increase the game's replay value. The game should appear by spring 2002, and if Digital Anvil keeps up the good work, Brute Force will be a definite hit.