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| | Title:
Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
Action/Strategy
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Publisher:
THQ
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Developer:
Pandemic Studios
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Release:
3/22/2006
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
Mature (M)
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Full Spectrum Warrior was a unique game, because it wasn't the average military first person shooter. Instead, you took control over a military squad and you got to control their every move. Actually aiming and firing a weapon didn’t happen, instead you tell different members on the team where to shoot and when to shoot, and they follow through with the orders. You play a role more like a military general than a standalone marine. You control their every move and their lives rest in your ability to lead them.
In Full Spectrum Warrior, a squad consists of four members. There is the team leader (which you control most often), and three others with varying weapon types. As the team leader you control exactly where each member in the squad moves with a curser. By pointing and clicking the curser in a certain area, your entire squad will move to that exact location. Simply moving around requires a great deal of planning and skill because you have to be under good cover all the time. Running like a maniac to the next objective area will only get your team shot down. After getting where you need to be, you can take control of different members on the team, tell them to fire in different areas, throw a grenade, or a number of other commands. Throughout the game you may also have control over more than one squad and controlling both squads at the same time takes additional skill.
Now, several months later, the sequel Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers is getting ready to smash onto the Xbox console with a number of new features and improvements. You can now control US Light Infantry, US Special Forces, Multi-National Coalition, and a few other types of squads. The use of vehicles and air strikes play a major role in the game. There are tons of new ways to control squads and plenty of new weapons to take down enemy forces.
Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers isn't a complete overhaul of the entire game, but offers enough new features to make the game worth purchasing. The game will include about 12 action packed levels to play through. The graphics are also much more detailed, but keep in mind that this is still just an Xbox game, so comparing them to an Xbox 360 title wouldn't be fair.
One downfall that we did notice on the demo we got to play through was the camera. The camera was hard to control at times and even seemed to move on its own at some points. Hopefully this issue will be fixed in the final version of the game.
Multiplayer has been expanded in a big way for Ten Hammers. Gamers can play over Xbox Live in a number of different game types and settings. Co-operative play over Xbox Live looks to be one of the best aspects of online play. You can play through the entire game online with other people. If you happen to get tired of that, you can square off in head-to-head combat, or play team objective missions. This amount of online play offers loads of replay value and gives gamers a lot to play around with. The multiplayer seems to be, without a doubt, the most improved feature between Ten Hammers and its predecessor.
Ten Hammers is scheduled to come out later this month. March is going to be a huge month for Xbox 360 and Xbox, so it is very likely that this game will slip by unnoticed. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is due out on the 7th for both the Xbox and the 360. The Outfit, Godfather, Oblivion (which is shaping up to be a gigantic hit), Rainbow Six Critical Hour, Dynasty Warriors, Painkiller, the new Far Cry titles, and a few others are all coming out this month. With this many great titles coming out in one month, it's hard to imagine an Xbox only title will get much attention.
In the end, Ten Hammers looks like it is going to be a great game and a nice improvement over its predecessor. On the other hand, unless you are still without an Xbox 360, there are a plethora of other titles coming out right now that seem to be stealing the spot light. On top of that, it isn't likely that Ten Hammers will be backwards compatible with the Xbox 360 considering the lack of updates to the backwards compatible list. If you are still playing Xbox and enjoyed the first Full Spectrum Warrior, you are going to want to pick this one up. If you aren't into the leadership role and would rather play as a more independent soldier, check out Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.
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