"one of the most authentic and
realistic combat experiences "
realistic combat experiences "
Game Play
The series is unique in that from the screenshots you’d be mistaken into thinking this was just another first\third person shooter. The game is built upon you actually commanding a variety of squads through a mission rather than you actually doing the shooting all the time. Essentially though, you do get to get in the thick of the action and take out some bad guys yourself by choosing where to lob a grenade or momentarily controlling the targeting\dispatch of the target.The control system is such that you order your squad to move to set locations, always making sure they have cover to avoid being shot. This usually means sending them to a corner of a building and asking them to open fire on targets around the corner. The whole game is based upon you choosing the correct location for cover and what type of weapon and firing solution you use against your target. Using grenades helps to get targets hiding under cover themselves. Most of the levels have just one path through them and the enemy while more intelligent than before, still seem scripted rather than living breathing targets. They try and out menovour you, and run for cover when you hurl a grenade their way but it often just makes them an easier target to shoot. Your squad can be just as useless. Order them to open fire and they can take a while to dispatch the enemy even if they are almost out in the open. If this was a FPS they would have been dead a long time ago.
"realistic urban combat"
The 12 levels are designed in such a way as to recreate very realistic urban combat scenarios. Whilst well designed, each level plays out in a very similar way to the last. While the objective may be different, it often means hiding around corners and making sure your men are positioned correctly. Once in the correct place the levels become a piece of cake and are easily completed. That said the actual learning curve for this game is high since finding the correct play to cover behind is difficult. Get it wrong and you find your enemy finding an angle to be able to shoot at your squad. Some of the levels require you to control more than one squad at the same time. You can use one squad to draw fire from another squad which can sneak by, or plant a detonator for example. The whole combat system is very well though of and is implemented very well. However the game can get insanely frustrating as you have to reload from your last saved position as you find you didn’t pick the right spot to take cover.
"call in air strikes on enemy positions"
A new feature to Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers is having the ability to control mechanized units or call in air strikes on enemy positions. This can be essential to completing your objectives, but you have to be careful to make sure your own squad doesn’t get caught in the attack. As your team get wounded, you can pick them up and carry them to casevacs. On occasions your wounded are replaced by new squad members, other times you have to live with a man short. If you loose two members of your squad the game is over, your deemed unfit to continue the mission, which means a reload of the level. Luckily the levels have points which kick in an automatic save so you don’t have to do the entire level again. Essential when some of the levels take quite some time to complete.
The game does have a multiplayer mode with 8 missions to test out your combat skills on real players worldwide. However the game was really designed for single player in mind and the combat system just seems more awkward and frustrating in multiplayer.
"Ten Hammers does look really pretty"
Graphics
Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers does look really pretty, and the graphics certainly look better than in the previous game. The streets look really quite realistic, littered with nice delicate but detailed touches that make the streets look semi organic. That said, the overall graphical effects and textures all look a just a tad dated. The frame rates never seem to suffer, even on a relatively old spec NVIDIA 6800."frustrating and awkward"
Sound
Again sound always lets these games down. The developers always concentrate on the important and most obvious sound effects, like the accurate sounded guns, and the enemy shooting etc. Games like this need more ambient and atmospheric sound. The missions are set in an urban street environment but you don’t hear background noises from people, or cars etc. The towns might as well be ghost towns for the lack of sound coming from around them.Overall
Building upon the success of Full Spectrum Warrior, Ten Hammers does indeed expand on the unique and tactical nature of the game. The combat system has both good and bad aspects making this game a mixed bag affair. While it’s unique and challenging, it’s also frustrating and awkward. This takes away the fun of what is and should be a game. The levels while well designed are too linear, and the enemy too scripted. All that said, it’s still a good game and well worth playing if you’ve not picked up the original. It’ll keep you entertained for sometime, and is probably one of the best games to be released this month.