BRUTE FORCE (XBOX)


Squad-based TPS comes to Xbox

By WILL BARKER

While Microsoft's in house games aren't to be sneered at, the company needs to string together a number of utterly mind-numbingly brilliant games to cement themselves permanently in the minds of gamers.

And let's face it, we're cynical bastards, aren't we? [Ed - Nope]

Halo was a brilliant start, and there have been a few others - but Brute Force has been pushed by the Microsoft PR spin merchants as the game to tide us over until Halo 2 arrives in 2004.

In a nutshell, Brute Force is a third-person shooter (TPS) with an emphasis on squad-based tactics, though as most will find out after playing through perhaps a third of the game, you may as well throw the squad-based aspect out the window and spit on it, because it's neither useful nor fun.

That's not to say this is a bad game - far from it. Brute Force is a true third generation Xbox title, with graphics that'll really impress, nice controls (think Halo), in-depth gameplay and an extensive shelf-life to boot, with more multiplayer modes than most games of this type (including co-op via system link - take that Halo!).

The story is your typically generic sci-fi fluff: You've been cloned a few times because "you're the best dammit", and now the world needs you to wield mini-guns akimbo in your search for truth and justice.

You'll scoot across the galaxy in your über-cruiser of triumph, saving planets from a fate worse than death (Scientology?), and as you pass levels you'll also unlock more characters in your squad in order tackle tougher and more difficult scenarios.

From the get-go, it's obvious where this game's inspiration came from: Halo. To start with, the controls are almost exactly the same, with right trigger firing your main weapon, left lobbing grenades.

This is a very smart move, as Halo's one of the highest selling games on Xbox, meaning that many gamers will instantly feel comfy with the control scheme, though default sensitivities on both X and Y axis needed to be increased significantly for my arguably eclectic tastes.

There's also a 'quick-heal' button that instantly uses your accumulated med-packs. Another similar trait is the co-op mode. Sure, you get your screen squeezed, but it's so much fun going the tonk with mates. Really, it is…no, seriously.

Moreover, you can even play the game with three or four players in co-op mode, meaning you won't have to put up with understandably average AI. The only drawback is that as the game's viewed from the third-person perspective, you get precious screen space taken up by your chosen character. Easy come, easy go.

Anyway, the controls are tip-top and it takes about 10 seconds before you're blasting several shades of hurt through your foes, and the gameplay is pretty good too. It's certainly not in Halo's league (but what is?), yet it offers some very exciting gameplay moments, for example where you're storming a ramshackle fort peppered with mutant freaks of the green-blood variety. Ah, the sweet, sweet green blood that won't upset concerned parents whose kids are already watching soft-porn…

Where was I? Ah, the crude fort. Of course!! If you charge the gates and run through, you're more than likely to perish, even with two other comrades on your six. However, take a little time to survey what's around you, find a nice vantage point and take down the 25-odd enemy force with superior cunning.

Arc a trio of gas grenades over the fort's walls from that cliff top conveniently placed nearby, followed by semi-sniperage (the sniper character isn't available until part-way through the game) and then why not pull out both your shotgun and your chain gun to finally charge the dilapidated fort, mopping up the heavily injured half-dozen goons who survived your clever tactics.

Indeed, the way the levels are designed allows you to really flex your strategic muscle, though using your squad mates to bolster such well-thought out approaches is very hit-and-miss.

There are sections where you can position your sniper for maximum effectiveness or use your stealther to flank enemy positions, but in general it's best to make them stay put so that you can use them if and when your current character cops a cap in the cods for not giving props to his Oaktown posse. Or something.

There are four (well, five if you count the generic soldiers who aid you on the first stages of the campaign) characters to choose from, though in the campaign mode you'll gain access to them over time.

Each character has individually sized health bars - some are big, others are not - and has preferred weapons and a special ability of sorts.

Hawk is a clever assassin who has the ability to power up a chameleon suit, essentially making her invisible. Sadly, she can often be seen while invisible, so it's usefulness is dubious at best. She does have a cool plasma blade melee weapon, which is very powerful and fell tougher opponents with ease. She also has the smallest health bar and can only use pistol-based weapons.

Next up is Brutus, a lizard-man with a bad temper and the special ability to see heat (a la Predator) and also replenish his health. He can use one heavy weapon and one pistol at any time and has the second largest health bar. Oh, and he also has a fairly powerful, though haphazard charge attack.

Next up is Flint, a sassy femme-bot who's a crack shot with her rifle and a dab-hand in the kitchen. This cyborg bad-girl's special ability is auto-aim and steady hands while using the sniper rifle, making her very useful - she can often target enemies before you even get a visual on them. Her health bar is the second smallest.

Lastly is Tex, who likes his meat red raw, sleeps on a bed of nails and drives around in a pickup with customised plates reading: "RednexTex". His health bar is the biggest of the bunch and he can carry only heavy weapons - pistols are too weak for his tastes. His special ability is to wield two guns at once, which can be very useful in situations where cover is minimal and enemies are in abundance.

Brutus and Tex are great at waltzing in and tearing the place up, thanks to their medium/heavy firepower capabilities and extensive health reserves, while the other two are more proficient at less direct attacks.

At any time (assuming you're playing a level with all four characters) you can switch between characters and give the remaining three rudimentary orders, such as walk here, stand ground, attack, cover me, etcetera.

Sadly, the AI scripting isn't brilliant. Sure, it's better than most games, but for this sort of squad-based gameplay to be viable you need watertight AI coding, and sadly it's quite hard to get your team mates to do what you want.

Still, enemy AI isn't too bad, and in the later levels you'll often be faced with a resilient army of bad-asses keen to tear you a new one. Sometimes they'll retreat when injured (which is where Flint comes in to snipe the cowardly soldiers) and other times they'll regroup.

Of course, Brute Force isn't immune to the dreaded AI bungles, and sometimes your foes will appear to go completely bonkers. Thankfully this doesn't happen too much, and is quite funny - perhaps developers Digital Anvil planned this as a joke?

For the most part, level design and placement of enemies and so forth is really quite good, some of the stages looking very cinematic with rolling hills, waterfalls, valleys and of course ominously abandoned outposts. There are only a few levels that grate, and though sucky, they help reinforce just how good a lot of the other levels are.

Visually, this game is as good as they get. There's lots of tall grass and oh-so-lovely trees that add oodles of atmosphere, and for the most part, it's a very sexy game indeed. While not as geographically cool as Halo, the attention to detail and texture quality is better and there are plenty of areas in the game where you'll stop and just have to take a quick 360 degree look at your surroundings, while picking your jaw up off the drool-covered carpet.

Bump-mapping is used to great effect on many surfaces and there's eye candy galore in terms of volumetric/dynamic lighting when you release grenades and fire weapons, for instance. And the icing on the cake? You foes bleed - a lot.

Sonically, Brute Force comes up trumps, taking advantage of Dolby 5.1 Surround sound to deliver some very crisp and classy weapons fire samples. I also liked the ambient sounds in certain environs, and while the music is clear and well modulated, it didn't really strike a chord with this reviewer (bada-bum!).

Brute Force is another solid title from one of Microsoft's best in-house development teams, Digital Anvil.

It takes many of the best aspects of Halo and incorporates team-based ideas that, while ill-fitting at times, extend the game's scope and give a good deal of replayability. There's downloadable content, a wealth of multiplayer modes including co-op, deathmatch and plenty more.

The graphics will blow you away and the gameplay, whilst not of the same lofty standards, is still well above the norm, and will have fans of action shooters slavering for more. And perhaps that was the ploy all along - Halo 2 can't arrive soon enough…

ORIGINALITY 60%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 90%
PLAYABILITY 80%
ENJOYMENT 85%
OVERALL 80%