Another consequence of the game’s genesis as a trainer is that there is not a
lot of variety to the gameplay. There are no vehicles in the game because, well,
there’s probably a different trainer out there for that. You can’t enter
buildings in the game because more than likely room to room fighting is taught
in another course. Use cover, suppressing fire, and flanking moves and then
repeat at the next engagement.
 |
| Cover, advance, cover, advance, ... |
As you might imagine for a game developed for military use, FSW has a very
realistic feel to it. Although it is set in a mythical Middle Eastern country,
the environment and strategic situation are dead ringers for Iraq and you’ll
fight your way through realistically modeled towns. There are plenty of touches
of realism in the game. Each soldier in your two squads is given his own look
and personality which helps to bring them to life. Some of them tend to make
liberal use of profanity, but I have a pretty strong feeling that that’s the way
it is in real combat situations. They also carry out your orders realistically –
there’s always a slight delay before an order is executed as the men ready
themselves and they move as individuals working as a team rather than a single
computer-controlled entity. The explosions and other effects are also designed
to be realistic rather than dramatic, so grenades explode with a staccato thud
instead of a fiery flash and boom.
Since the enemy encounters are heavily scripted and there’s not much leeway
in how you approach each one, there’s not a lot of replay value in the game.
There is a multiplayer option over Xbox Live, but it is a two player version of
the regular game in which each player controls one of the squads. It can be fun
when played with a friend, but I don’t think many people will spend a lot of
time replaying the same missions and providing covering fire for strangers.
Over all Full Spectrum Warrior is a well made game. Its greatest shortcoming
is that it is shackled by its training aid roots, which puts a large constraint
on variety in the gameplay. Its novelty and the fact that it is probably the
most realistic military game available to civilians alone are strong enough
reasons to give the game a look. If you are just looking for a military-style
shooter, though, Full Spectrum Warrior is not for you.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
82%. An interesting simulator of
small unit urban tactics, but a lot of gamers will find the gameplay too slow
and constraining.
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