Time for another tasty review from MINER!

Full Spectrum Warrior on the XBox. First off, let me say. FUCKIN A!
This game is very well done, and is LOTS of fun. Now, here’s the basics:

The setting is a random middle eastern nation and you are engaging in that most pleasant of combat types, urban warfare. You play 2 fire teams in a squad, Alpha and Bravo. Each fire team is made up of 4 people, but you generally control them as a group. The game play is generally as follows: Use your two teams to work their way through a dense terrain (buildings, cars, garbage, rubble) and to achieve objectives (take out a machine gun nest… liberate airport..etc).

Why is this game good?

Realism
The game is VERY real. The camera feels like you are seeing the point of view of some hand held camera always centered on the fire team leader. The visuals are top notch, and the sounds are immersive.

Even cooler, the PLAY is realistic. When you encounter an enemy, if your in the open, your dead. That simple. So you must slink your way forward cautiously, from cover to cover. And when you encounter an enemy, from your cover, you try to pin them down, and then have your second team find a way to outflank them. The game was originally made as a training simulator for team leaders in the field, and to be honest.. it still works. You learn how to get two teams to interact with each other to tackle difficuly objectives. Should I waste one of my precious rifle grenades on an entrenched target, or should I pin them down, and use a smoke grenade to have my other team risk getting closer and get an anlge on the enemy to take them out? Very cool.

Oh.. and the first time an RPG goes sailing past your position, you sure do stop to take notice.

XBOX Live
The game would have gotten a great review from me already even with its single player. But the game is a whole new level of awesome with XBox live.

First, Dave and I decided to play this in the multiplayer co-op mode. We both avoided the single player short of going through the training missions. This was a nice move, as everything we encounter is new to us still.

To begin with, Dave added my user to his friends list (stealthbaz). Then I went into the game, connected to live, and allowed him to add me to his friends (and added Dave in the process). Next I start a private game. Invite Dave to join. He gets the invite, and POW.. we are in the game together.

Live comes with headsets, and it immerses you even more. With bitta in one ear, and the game’s other sounds coming through the main speakers of my entertainment system, I feel like I’m in the action with communication gear on.

Dave controls one group (Bravo) and I control the other (Alpha). Its that simple. I can hear his group as they go around corners and call out targets, AND i can hear Dave tell me that he’s got a machine gunner behind a dumpster. We communicate with each other and work through the game. For example:

me - “Hey man.. i have a guy up here behind cover. If you can flank him over by that wrecked car, we cna get him”
dave- “Ok.. put supressing fire on him to keep him down.. then ill run over to the car”
me - “Ok… Go for it”
dave- “moving now… … There hes dead”
me - “so i see. and ouch.”

And so on the game progresses. It really is a very fun and challenging game that emphasizes strategy.

Why is this game not so good?

Long Save
My only complaint, is that when you save the game, it takes a good 2-3 minutes. There are plenty of save points, and they are well placed, but having to wait for each one is pretty annoying. If only they had a quicker save, it would be perfect.

Repetitive?
We’re only about 3-4 missions in. And so far its not too repetitive. I can smell hoever, that it may become so. I mean how many different types of encounters can there be. On the other hand, we’re stuck at a machine gun nest that is up high in a broken building, and its the first time we’ve faced that.. so who knows.

So… whats the final deal?

Conclusion
In the end, I think this game is GREAT if your into squad strategy. It is the best squad based strategy game I’ve seen, and its delivered with all the awesomeness of an action title. It also is the best XBox Live game I’ve seen to date (ESPN NFL2K5 hasnt arrived yet ;p). That alone makes this game the next level of sweet. It really showcases xbox live’s capabilities. It also just works. Dave and I were in a co-op game in like 5 min. Can’t beat that.

This game has very few drawbacks that I see, and it really is an amazing title. I highly reccommend it.

p.s. I sincerely hope, Halo 2 will have this kind of co-op over Live. That will make my millenium.

Gamespot
Gamespy