Classified Intel

Full Spectrum Warrior™: Ten Hammers, the latest joint venture between Pandemic Studios and THQ®, furthers the legacy of its best-selling predecessor, Full Spectrum Warrior™, by offering you a new perspective on modern-day military engagements.

Rather than sitting back and commanding troops from a broad-level standpoint as in typical strategy titles, or manning the machine gun per standard third-person shooters, you instead get to do both. Sit in the general's chair as you fight through the streets of Zekistan, a fictional Middle-Eastern territory besieged by warring factions. Oh, and the general is right down in the trenches with his men.

Control the battlefield by commanding multiple squads.

No fooling around—one glimpse at your surroundings (viewed from an up-close, over-the-shoulder angle), and you feel like you're the one striding sun-baked courtyards and parched alleyways in steel-toed combat boots. What's more, you direct GIs to lay down covering fire and lob grenades into enemy safe houses firsthand. Ten Hammers literally gives you that much control over battle outcomes … set strategies, dynamically mix and match formations, and even indicate the precise vectors for gunners to unload upon.

More excitement-oriented and faster-paced than its forerunner, Ten Hammers is a subtly nuanced affair that should appeal to loose cannons and armchair crusaders alike. Small wonder then, that so many people confuse the adventure at a glance with a pure-action game or first-person shooter. Graphically, it's on par with games like The Suffering®: Ties That Bind™ and BLACK™. In truth, the game—spread across 12 blisteringly difficult levels of hostile urban environments and multiple Xbox Live®-ready online multiplayer modes (head-to-head, team play, etc.)—has an identity all its own.

Having trouble telling the game apart from, oh, say, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™ or Close Combat®: First to Fight™? Behold several of the more unique elements that make this one a winner in its own right …

Proceed with caution, using real-world tactics.

Extreme Authenticity
Based on a simulation originally developed for use by the U.S. Army, Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers features a staggering array of real-world weaponry and tactics.

With units ranging from U.S. Light Infantry and Rangers to Bradley tanks and armored humvees, you stomp out the opposition using true-to-life flanking maneuvers, suppression techniques and search and seizure strategies. Whether moving from room to room in bombed-out buildings chasing after snipers, or exchanging bullets with wailing madmen in the middle of thriving residential areas, there's never a dull moment.

Total Control
Yes, it's true … you can pinpoint the exact spot a grenadier aims for or tell troops where to concentrate a hail of gunfire. But most of the time, your influence on the in-game action is limited to movement commands (issued via cursor) and general marching orders.

This, therefore, is one game that's going to test your grey matter more than your reflexes; plotting strategies, not plugging opponents, is the real challenge here. Take the most direct approach through any given encounter, and you watch larger and better-equipped forces get cut down by small pockets of resistance.

Always plan ahead—you never know who's lurking around each corner, not to mention how desperate or well-armed they are.

Intelligent Allies
You know those games where you're accompanied by a bunch of brain-dead wingmen? This isn't one of them. Soldiers here are smart enough to duck behind barriers; crouch and/or hug the wall before creeping around corners; and take up defensive positions upon entering buildings or stairways. They also assume different stances depending on whether you've got them stationed at a window overlooking a nearby plaza or marching down a seemingly deserted street.

Capable as these guys are, don't hang them out to dry, though; if you proceed recklessly through a scenario, even the most stalwart grunts will get cut down by enemy fire.

Swappable Squads
Stay in control of a single, four-man group or split your forces into multiple buddy teams. Jump between each grouping and issue individual movement and attack commands, or order allies to proceed to any given spot without swapping specified units.

An improved user interface lets you wrangle as many as four troop battalions, designated as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. Using each in conjunction—to cut off multiple routes of escape or provide covering fire while allies approach, for example—is crucial to your success in single- and multiplayer campaigns.

Party time … stay frosty, soldier.

Got the facts straight, leatherneck? Excellent—armed with this information, you're ready to jump right into Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers and fight the good fight. Stay sharp, soldier.

Article by Chris Zimmerman