I have told nearly everyone I know that I can hardly wait for the much anticipated first-person-shooter sequel Halo 2 for XBOX. Let's not forget the squad-based action game Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. But as far as Brute Force is concerned, I'm probably not the first to say that it is not the equivalent to either one of those upcoming releases mentioned above. It could have been comparable to them if Digital Anvil had not announced this title nearly two years ago, being that this game was considered a launch title, and over hyped it. In any case, Brute Force could be your temporary fix for either one of your hard up addictions to Microsoft‘s future candy. I feel more thought was put into the following by the developers: the storyline, characters, and multiplayer modes.

First off, the campaign takes place in the year 2340. The Confederation of Worlds clone a special group of intergalactic mercenaries, called "Brute Force". They are to dispose of alien invasions among the colonies and worlds. This elite group is made up of four playable characters; Tex, the main character, can be described as having that "Han Solo" cowboy attitude that has a problem trusting authority; Brutus, a feral alien that is compassionate to his home planet's cause, best aides the squad with infrared vision in those hard to see campaigns; Hawk, with invisibility, is your stealth assassin that can conduct reconnaissance and eliminate any immediate enemies unseen with a slash of her power blade; and Flint, a cyborg, becomes a useful asset in long range objectives as your designated sniper. Each with their special abilities can also carry certain custom weapons (limit 2). And for the mercenary angle, the scoring is set in monetary form. In the multiplayer mode you can chose up to thirty characters when you unlock their hidden DNA samples within each level of the campaign. The magnitude of the development of these particular items in the game may have left the graphics on the back burner after initial creation, but you still have good CG cut scenes and detailed areas and enemies within each level that remind you that even though seemingly dated, the graphics department was not sacrificed.

Character movement is one of those pertinent areas that could have been tweaked a bit more. The controlling of the characters will beg the best ambidextrous to pay much attention to what they are doing. Although your characters movements are swift, shooting at enemies and taking evasive measures at the same time moving along the terrain with the rest of the squad will be very challenging if it's not perfected after the first few missions. Count on usually being perfect, because the developers modified the AI which allows more of a challenge. Enemies will submerge in water then surface in a surprise attack literally before you step on them. Also adding insult to injury, is not having the option to remove friendly fire.

Brute Force delivers what one would expect in this type of game. It's got the XBOX standard Dolby Digital sound with tons of well defined explosions and above average voice acting. I do, however, enjoy having this game running through a 5 speaker home theater set up because you can hear the realism with birds, crickets and enemies surrounding all around you in different areas of the game.

Whether you're the "run in and shoot ‘em up" player or the "hang back, stealth and snipe" player, be warned that there are setbacks to either one of these strategic gaming styles. For instance, your character shares ammunition, grenades and medical kits with the other squad members and they in turn will use the supplies. But what's great about this squad-based game, whether in single player or co-op (up to four players), are infinite continues (granted they cost $3000 in the game). But if one or all your buddies need to quit cause their mamas are calling them home, they can exit the game while you continue playing without the hitting the big round reset button, and subsequently they can also join you at any time. Each character has a different amount of damage they can take which can hinder the "run and gun" or the "shoot first, ask questions later" route. One option given in this game is to switch within your squad to strategically play in the different campaigns.

After a couple of campaigns in co-op mode, I thought of not playing Brute Force anymore but once I played multi-player death match on system link, I was drawn back in to continue the story knowing that there are "Easter eggs" within the game and at the end as well if completed at 100% with no deaths. Do not fret for it is possible. Just hone your skills in multi-player mode and go thru the campaigns a couple of times. With so many layers in this game you can definitely get your money's worth.

Jun 17, 2003 | 5 comments
Cathy Torres