Pick of the Month: Full Spectrum Warrior
Console: Xbox
Game Type: Strategy
Developer: Pandemic Studios
Publisher: THQ
Rating: M for Mature
TORONTO, Digital Journal — Commissioned by the US Army to teach the grunts MOUT 101 (Military Operations in Urban Terrain), Full Spectrum Warrior makes a fascinating and fun exercise for us civvies too.
Though the graphics make it look like an action game, it’s actually a strategy game. In Full Spectrum Warrior, you’re the commander of two squads of soldiers and success is based on giving them the right orders. Their reaction time can sometimes save your butt, but what it really comes down to is keeping them in position to deal with threats as they venture into hostile territory. If common sense isn’t one of your strongest character traits, I will warn you: Don’t order them out into the open — move them from cover to cover and hug corners to get a better view of a street. Have Alpha team lay down some suppressing fire while Bravo sneaks into position to lob a grenade.
This game is a refreshing take on strategy, and I would give congrats for making the squads more than just cannon fodder, and avoiding pure jingoism.
Quite interestingly, it also provides backgrounds for the men whose lives are in your hands. One of them is a Muslim who joined the army in order to spite his parents (“It worked,” the game informs us).
It’s smart, it’s different, it’s polished and it supports co-op play on Xbox Live, so it’s easily our pick of the month. Look for many Full Spectrum Warrior imitators to follow.
JUST OUT:
- Ground Control II (PC)
- Mega Man Anniversary Collection (GameCube)
- IndyCar Series 2005 (Xbox)
- Sudden Strike Anthology (PC)
- Dark Age of Camelot Platinum Edition (PC)
- Spider-Man 2 (GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC)
- Galactic Wrestling: Featuring Ultimate Muscle (PlayStation 2)
COMING SOON:
- Doom Collector’s Edition (PC) 7/4/2004 (Note: that’s Doom, Doom II and Final Doom, not Doom III)
- Way of the Samurai 2 (PlayStation 2) 7/6/2004
- NCAA Football 2005 (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube) 7/12/2004
- Karaoke Revolution: Volume 2 (PlayStation 2) 7/13/2004
- Bujingai: The Forsaken City (PlayStation 2) 7/13/2004
- Combat Elite: World War II Paratroopers (Xbox, PlayStation 2) 7/13/2004
- Athens 2004 (PlayStation 2) 7/13/2004
- Samurai Warriors (Xbox) 7/13/2004
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (GameCube) 7/6/2004
- Tales of Symphonia (GameCube) 7/13/2004
Note: Release dates subject to change without notice.
