Third-Person Shooter with a Broad Range
By Carlson
In the realm of the first-person shooters for Xbox, Halo is the undisputed heavyweight champion. In the third-person genre, there has not been a clear and decisive king… yet. Brute Force may change that.
Combine squad-based combat with a third-person perspective. Add a healthy dose of Special Operations and a dash of Xbox-flavored graphical magic. The result is what may well be the best third-person shooter title seen on the Xbox so far.
The squad consists of four unique soldiers, each with his or her own distinct personalities, strengths and weaknesses: Flint is a cyborg whose skill as a Sniper is without equal. Her advanced targeting system makes her exceedingly deadly at any range. Hawk, a young woman with a specialty in reconnaissance and stealth, can eliminate a threat silently and without warning if necessary. Brutus, the only non-human member of the squad, is the best combination of agility and power, combining the strength, speed, and reflexes of his Feral race along with his preference for heavy weapons. And then there's Tex, a one-man wrecking crew with a penchant for big guns… Lots of them.
Now that we've got all this firepower, what do we do with it? Well, Special Operations assignments can vary extensively: Reconnaissance, assassination, hostage rescue, espionage, and of course the ever popular seek-and-destroy missions. Different missions require different tactics skills, and weapons. While some missions lend themselves to a discreet and cautious approach, others require sheer—well, brute force.
In this game you have direct control over one of the members of your squad, while the other squadmates are controlled by a combination of AI, and your commands. You can switch freely between squadmates at any point with the push of a button. Since each one has its own personality, they don't all react the same way to situations. For example, unless you order them to do otherwise, Tex and Brutus tend to go charging straight in with guns afire, while Hawk and Flint will look for a less direct approach. The control layout is familiar enough that gameplay is intuitive and easy to learn. You handle movement and aim with the thumbsticks, along with the familiar Right trigger to shoot (very similar toHalo).
This gamehas all the hallmarks of a great shooter, with a definite chance of being an instant classic.
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