Brute Force is a squad-based
third-person shooter that successfully combines intense combat and team-based tactical
maneuvers with intuitive control and multiplayer gameplay. Built from the ground up
exclusively for the Xbox by developer Digital Anvil, this is a title you will want to keep
your eye on.
Set in the future, the story involves exotic planet locales,
hostile alien aggressors, and a shadowy government federation. Players control a squad of
four specialized clone operatives. Hawk, a slight, redheaded female, specializes in
stealth tactics. In stealth mode she blends with the environment (think Predator),
makes no noise, and leaves no footprints. She can bypass detection by alarms and motion
detectors. She is quick on her feet, and makes an excellent scout, but is also lightly
armored and cannot use some of the heavier weaponry. Flint, the sniper, has greater range
than the other characters, locks onto targets faster, and misses less often. Her primary
weapons are long-range rifles. Tex, the Schwarzenegger of the group, provides the brute
force. He is slow, but has the strongest armor, is armed to the teeth with the biggest
weapons, and can go into berzerker mode, using two weapons at once to lay out a
devastating barrage of ground-fire. The last member of the team is Brutus, a Gorn-like
lizard alien who strikes a balance between speed and strength.
Characters can be switched on the fly at any point during the game in order to
utilize each members strengths, and balance their weaknesses. In a single-player
game, the computer controls the actions of your teammates and carries out commands that
you give them. The AI is top-notchcharacters follow orders, improvise, defend
themselves, and, most importantly, rarely get in your way. Gone are the days of
frustrating computer-controlled allies who trip you up, interfere with melee combat, or
engage the enemy while you are in their line of fire. Also, each character has a profile
and back story that plays prominently in the game. Brutus, for example, comes from a
somewhat primitive, highly ritualistic, and suspicious race. He is deliberate and
cautious, and is often afraid to enter large, high-tech installations. Flint prefers to
take cover, stick close to walls, and take well-placed shots at the most powerful foes.
This makes for a unique team play experience, and must be factored into your strategy.
The control set-up is extremely user friendly. The issues I have had with most
squad-based console games in the past, especially PC ports, were often due to miserable
control schemes. Brute Force, however, manages to use every button on the Xbox controller
efficiently and intuitively. The left and right analog sticks move your character and the
camera. The right trigger fires your weapon, the left uses the item you have chosen from
your inventory, which includes grenades for gunnin and chuckin. The Y-button
switches weapons, white initiates your characters special move, and you can use the
D-pad or black button to change characters. The D-pad is also used in conjunction with the
four colored buttons to give team members their orders in the command menu. First you
select one or more of the characters using the D-pad. Then you use the one of the colored
buttons that has been assigned a command. Commands include Engage, Follow, Move, and
Defend.
Brute Force features both cooperative and deathmatch gameplay that supports up
to four players. People can join in and leave at any time, with no changes or penalties to
the game. This above anything else demonstrates that Digital Anvil knows what console
gamers want. We are social creatures, partaking in a split-screen, pass the chips and slam
your friends party atmosphere. So what if the PC gamer who sits alone in nothing but his
underwear and a stained T-shirt, playing an MMORPG with a group of people he has never met
doesnt understand us. So what if he has his own screen. Thats what big screen
TVs are for. With Brute Force, if your buddy, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, or all
three (figure that one out for yourself) stop by, they can all just grab a controller and
play. All of the characters are already there, anyway.
While playing Brute Force at E3 2002, I asked one of the developers if Digital
Anvil was hoping to slide in and capture the HALO audience now that they have about
punched themselves out on that game. He gave a rather wicked grin and said, politely,
something to the effect of "we would never presume that our game is better or will
sell anywhere near as many copies as that game, but
yes." Nice answer. I
dont think the people at Digital Anvil need be presumptuous or pompous. It looks
like they have a great title on their hands and they know it. Brute Force has everything
that a fan of great sci-fi adventure could wish for in a video game.
Brute Force is due out in Fall 2002, only for the Xbox.