Brute Force Review

For months now we witnessed a real overflow of various multiplatform games. Most of these games often wound up short of the mark on account of hardware deficiencies of certain console systems. Due to visual restrictions, several promising console game franchises out there never achieved recognition, which is a damn shame. Brute Force, on the other hand, doesn't suffer any such losses, because it was primarily developed for the Xbox - which, shoot me for saying it, has several technological advantages over other next-generation consoles. Next to the excellent visuals, Brute Force also offers squad-based action and various options in terms of combat tactics. But is that enough? And, does the game live up to its hype? Well, read on and find out...

At the beginning of the game, players are treated to a nicely rendered intro movie that sets the stage for what is to come - it starts with a dual chain gun wielding warrior, who is left behind on a planet as his comrades escape in their drop ship. Yeah, it's going be one of those days. Before the ship is out of sight, the walking arsenal is overwhelmed by something with tentacles and we cut to a space station interior. Evidently the warrior we saw die in the opening scene, named Tex (Manly, beefy name!!) had been cloned six times before, so leaving him behind to die was really not that big of a deal - at least not in the year 2340. Just retrieve his 'memory chip' and brew up a new Tex. All in all, cloning couldn't have come in a better time, since the Confederation, a regime that rules humanity in the 24th century, has to find a way to maintain piece throughout the galaxy by keeping aggressive alien forces at bay. Your group of four elite soldiers has that very goal - to protect the united federation of races and preserve peace throughout the universe.

Brute Force is a squad-based shooter that gives you a chance to control four characters throughout the game; Hawk, Flint, Brutus, and Tex. So tactics are the very essence of gameplay and you'll have the possibility of positioning your characters and choosing the best way to surround and overcome your opponents. All characters have a set of individual skills and a variety of weaponry at their disposal. Hawk is equipped with a single light rifle and a side arm, he possesses invisibility skills, and although he's a character with the smallest amount of health, he can use a sharp blade as an efficient melee attack. Combining his skills proves very useful for surprise attacks. Flint (a cute female character) has a light sniper rifle and can use an auto-targeting special ability - players will have less trouble handling a group of enemies when they use Flint's targeting mode. For a support in strength and heavy firepower, players can rely on Tex, who can deactivate and pick up mines (so he may utilize them later on) and he also possesses a berserker special ability, thanks to which, he can operate two weapons simultaneously. And last but not least, you'll be accompanied by Brutus - a slick and resilient soldier that has the skill to regenerate his health and can use thermal vision and a powerful charge attack (he's equipped with a heavy weapon and a light rifle).

The first few levels introduce you to the crew and ease you into using their abilities as you disarm mines, lob grenades, and pick up weapons and ammo off of the fallen enemy. You control your toon in third-person. When you have more than one person in your group, the AI controls them for you. You can take control of your teammates at any time during the mission so you can make use of their special abilities to help you out of a tight spot. If a friend stops by while you are playing he can take control of one of your teammates right in the middle of a mission just by hitting start on his controller. This feature makes Brute Force more of a strategy shooter than anything else.

Anyway, controlling all these characters at the same time sounds challenging and complex, right? Well, to be honest, it's quite the contrary. It's very simple and intuitive, so gamers will just stream into action as if they were playing HALO. Then again, the game isn't nearly as intricate and engaging as HALO. To cut a long story short, it's very easy to get carried away in constant combat and simply dash through the whole game without switching characters at all. Such a feature refocuses the gameplay on pure action and makes the whole team-based combat seem a bit futile. If you're persistent enough to test the advantages of each and every character, the tactical squad-based combat can be fun and engaging... but not for very long. After a while, the somewhat repetitive mission structure might easily draw players away and decrease the game's addictiveness. Well okay, things aren't so bad thanks to some of your weapons. In fact, the variety of weapons comes as a slight boost to the strategic aspect of gameplay in Brute Force. For example, using different types of mines and grenades offers numerous possibilities in terms of tactical maneuvers during combat.

As you'd expect it, another very important part of the game is the AI, which was, as it turns out, tuned to perfection. Enemy behavior and intelligence were brilliantly balanced by the programming team, making the game more than a decent challenge. Bad guys tend to use many tactics; they can dive to get away from grenades and scream to buddies when they are under fire. Furthermore, the environment is complex and therefore gives your opponents a chance to use objects as cover when they are outnumbered or cornered. Occasionally, a few bosses will come your way - although it's not particularly hard to defeat them, since all you have to do is focus all of your firepower in one direction and then start shooting like crazy. Of course, the friendly AI is also a crucial element in the game. At any time you may rely on other characters to execute various orders you dished out on the battlefield.

The multiplayer can be very fun indeed, especially with the game's System Link option. Unfortunately, the lack of online support significantly degrades the multiplayer aspect of the game. Granted, an incorporation of an online functionality requires additional work and that would've prolonged the game's launch even further (we all know how long it took Digital Anvil to complete the game ever since it was initially announced). Still, this turned out as a rather unfortunate omission.

Visually, Brute Force stands as one of the most beautiful games I've ever seen on the Xbox. In ads, Brute Force has been heralded as the next HALO. Graphically it can compete with HALO. Throughout the entire game, players venture across six different planets, all of which are presented in huge and highly detailed outdoor environments. There are lots of nice environmental effects like bubbling pits of lava, drifting pollen particles in a lush field or a tree-based city akin to the Ewok village, make for a nice set of differing locals and nice eye candy. All character models were supplied with enough details and have smooth animations, which makes their appearance quite impressive on screen. Once the action begins you'll be able to observe great-looking explosions, excellent particle effects, and well presented rag-doll physics. Yep, there are several unique death animations in the game that occur in accordance with the weapon you use on your enemies.

The sounds are nothing spectacular, but they appear to do the trick. All the noises caused by weapons and various stuff in the background were done professionally and skillfully. The music is great and it keeps up a good pace with the intense on-screen action. A great disappointment though, came with the puny voiceovers - something I honestly did not expect from a high-profile title like this.

In the end, it's safe to say that you'll be drawn deep into Brute Force until the conclusion of the game. Sadly, the abovementioned deficiencies throw the squad based gameplay slightly off balance and can turn the game into an average single-character oriented shooter - Marketing at MS should be spanked for saying it's the next big thing since HALO. Nonetheless, the game's graphics are superior in every way, which certainly deserves your attention...