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Enemy Encounter
By Violet Leigh
Since we wrote about our first encounter with Brute Force, a couple of things have changed. The powers that be delayed the game in order to makeBrute Force the incredible game it has become and to include a few last-minute upgrades. I'm here to give you a second encounter, and this time, it's an Enemy Encounter.
Let's Review
As mentioned in the previous First Encounter article, Brute Force is a third-person shooter, in which you play as one of an elite team of marines. As company commander, you can give orders to all four characters at once or let the A.I. run the ones you choose not to command yourself. When your friends join in, they each take over control of one of these four characters.
All that's fine and dandy, but what the hell good is athird-person shooterwithout something interesting to shoot? Personally, I prefer to shoot cool aliens. Brute Force has cool aliens. Compared to what we saw in the original First Encounter article, the alien contingent in Brute Forcehas grown smarter and more menacing. One of the things thatHalo taught game designers is that players don't want or need to be coddled.
 Our heroes.
It's All About Strategy
Brute Force isn't going to kiss your boo-boos. I died lots—within the first 10 minutes of playing—until I finally figured out a better strategy for my assault on the bad guys. Commanding all four characters simultaneously has both its benefits and its challenges. It's tough, especially when you're surrounded by aliens shooting at you. You have to think in the big picture. You have to plan. You have to strategize. When you're controlling a team, it's not just about saving your own butt, it's about saving everyone else's too, and that raises the ante.
In Brute Force, you can flank your enemies. You can sneak up on them. You can plan and carry out diversions. You can send in your sniper and cover her while she takes out sentinels on the next hill. You can leave one marine behind to guard an entrance. This all spells strategic flexibility, and it's not as easy to do as it sounds! It is, however, as fun as it sounds.
Know Your Enemy
Digital Anvil made the aliens in Brute Force smarter and tougher. Your enemies react to your actions and change their own tactics, based on what has happed before. They take cover and jump away from grenade tosses. They come looking for you. If you stand around too long, thinking or poking around in the bushes, your enemy will find you. It's tempting to explore the nifty environments in the game, just to see what's there, but don't let your guard down. An area that was empty when you last passed through may become hazardous territory when alien soldiers move into it from more distant places.
 A long way from home.
Watch your back. Brute Force allows you to use team strategy to tackle the aliens, but the aliens aren't going to roll over and take it. You need strategy, even if your strategy is to simply plow in and shoot everything that moves. Of course, that won't work every time. You need to consider each situation individually.
The aliens have their own strategies, too, and while they may not always be as sophisticated as you are, they prey on your weaknesses. So, what does that mean? It means, commandos, that we show no weakness!
No weakness!
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