Genre: Action
Developer: Digital Anvil
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Released On: May 27, 2003
# of Players: 1-4 Players
Memory: N/A
ERSB: Mature
Supports: Dolby Surround, Progressive Scan, System Link
MSRP: $49.99
Also On: None
Website: Brute Force.com
Should be called: Brutus Force!
Brute Force is a futuristic squad based, tactical shooter, played from a third person perspective. During gameplay, you can switch between four of what Microsoft claims are "the biggest bad-asses in the Universe." Play simultaneously as the heavy assault trooper, Tex, the cyborg-enhanced sniper, Flint, the stealthy scout, Hawk, and the powerful feral alien, Brutus.
"He’s by far the cutest of the group, being a giant lizard man has its advantages"
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You get to command this team of elite mercenaries as they take on shadowy assignments, all of which have plenty of wonton and graphic violence involved. As the tag line reads you get to, "Employ cunning, stealth and tactics to save your squad... or when all else fails just use Brute Force." And after delay after delay I used my Brute Force to take down the best Action game 2003 has to offer so far.
Presentation
Ok sit back relax and get to know the cast.
Tex - The heavy gunner of the team, Tex is the slowest character, but has the best armor and weaponry of the team. When in beserker mode, Tex has the ability to grab both available guns for some double-fisted gun-blasting action. Tex can also disable land mines found on the ground.
Flint - Being a cyborg, Flint has the steadiest aim of the group, hence her position as the team sniper. Her beserker ability allows her to lock-on to enemies for even more accuracy. Deadly from a distance, Flint knows how to bring it.
Brutus - Brutus has the best balance of stealth, speed, and power, and like Tex, prefers to use bigger weapons. He’s by far the cutest of the group, being a giant lizard man has its advantages. For example, when running on all fours, Brutus can charge into enemies for a direct kill. Also, when activating beserker mode, Brutus’ vision will change. A type of thermal vision, Brutus can see enemies clear as day in the night, or through dense fog. And this will come in handy on more than a few occasions.
Hawk - The scout for the team, Hawk is the quickest and most silent. Her beserker mode allows her to become invisible Predator-style so she can either scout ahead or sneak up on enemies for silent kills. Also, while in stealth mode, Hawk’s energy will regenerate, but if she makes any offensive moves while invisible, her beserker meter will drain quicker and she will become more visible. Being quick and light has a downside too: Hawk cannot carry many of the heavy guns and cannons found in the game.
Graphics
Brute Force is so far the best showcase of the graphical possibilities capable on the Xbox. Going through a laundry list of special effects and features, one would be hard-pressed to leave a checkbox unmarked. You want high-res bump mapped textures on the characters and environments? How about character models that seem to have more polygons and animate better than you do? And what about a bunch hypnotic particle affects that are infinitely more fascinating to watch than the latest reality television show? You’ll get all this and more when playing Brute Force.
An absolute work of art. Level colors are so vibrant and lush, and the design is terrific. I have to go on and say again that Brute Force sports the best graphics on the Xbox. Occasionally I ran into some framerate problems, and that makes character motions sometimes look unsmooth, but no game is perfect graphically. Brute Force comes awfully close though. Every bang, boom, pow hits you with the realism it’s supposed to. And it goes along perfectly with the sound effects…
The true face of GamersMark Xbox Manager Kyle Johnson
Audio
The music in Brute Force isn’t much to brag about, some are pretty good some plain boring. Custom soundtrack support would have been an A+. But the sound effects are top notch. Bullets flying around really sound like you’re really in the middle of World War II. How do I know you ask? Well last night when my grandfather came over for a visit he said the game sounds like I’m in WWII. Was he in the war? I don’t know I didn’t ask but I’m guessing yeah. With all the sweet sounds comes bad voice acting. Everything the characters say seems to be forced, and they sound’s like there on some late night cinimax movie. Overall, the sound is a little above average at best.
Gameplay
Ok let me get this out in the open now. Brutus is almost all you need to play with through the game. A good 80% of the time I played as Brutus, 15% went to Flint when I needed her sniper action, the other 5% went to Tex & Hawk.
"Brutus is almost all you need to play with through the game."
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Each character is different, and learning when and where to use each specific character becomes a necessity. The interface for commanding and switching characters is easy to use, and more importantly, intuitive. In the bottom left corner of the screen, a small portrait of each character is placed around a circle in the top, bottom, left, and right positions. Pressing the d-pad quickly in the corresponding characters direction will instantly give you control of the given character. The change is quick, and if you’re not familiar with your entire team’s position, the change can be a little disorienting, but the radar makes it easy enough to regroup with the rest of your team. To give commands to your team members, you must press and hold the d-pad in the direction of the character you want to give orders to. Doing so will cause a command screen to pop up that will allow you to tell the character to cover you, fire at will, stay put, or move to a certain point on the map, with each command being assigned to a different face button. I really with you could use the Xbox Voice Communicator to dish out orders ala SOCOM but you take what you can get right?
The control set-up is a mix between Halo & SOCOM (PS2). You move dual analog, throw grenades, etc. So if you played one of these hugely popular games you should have no problem catching on. And you need to catch on fast cause the enemy artificial intelligence is top of the line. Throw a grenade and watch as the opponent dives for cover. Run away from a batch of lethal enemies and they will pursue you. The enemies in Brute Force think and react as you would expect anyone with half a brain to, so don’t be surprised when you’re crouching for cover only to find yourself getting surrounded by the enemy. Good thing your teammates are top of the line also. You could really count on them watching your back unlike the dumbskullz in SOCOM.
Even though I didn’t clock in much time in multi-player modes. I have to say I don’t like’em. And that’s the reason I didn’t play too much.
"One dumb player can ruin it all."
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The co-op is fun only with one other player since you’ll want access to you favorite guy or girl all the time in my case Brutus & Flint. Any more can spoil the experience. One dumb player can ruin it all. The deathmatch mode isn’t good enough to keep you locked on. That’s what you have Halo for.
Lasting Appeal
The general run-through of the game has a nice length. But I doubt anyone would wanna trek through it for a second time alone. But co-op with friends can change everything. Even better with system link. Deathmatches are a little dull. Nothing you’ll drop Halo for. But with future downloadable stages via Xbox Live who knows how long Brute Force can last!
Conclusion
Since Brutus Force was announced the Halo weight was on it’s back. It needed to be “the next big thing” on Xbox coming from Microsoft Game Studios. Well I gotta say Brute Force is no Halo. And damn sure don’t feed the need for Halo 2. It’s kinda like needing to fit a size 10 shoe and having a size 9 foot. But Halo aside Brute Force is still the best thing to own on Xbox. Some Xbox Live gameplay would have filled that shoe in my opinion. But Brute Force is still the game to get for all you Xbox owners east, west, north, & south. With such a small amount of short comings buy it now and enjoy the great tactical combat that defines “Brute Force.”
The Good
+ Brutus & Flint
+ Visuals are sweet.
+ Control layout easy to catch on.
+ Sound effects smooth as butter.
+ Shooting a guy in the head as he dives behind a rock.The Bad
- Tex & Hawk
- Borderline terrible voice acting.
- Getting shot in the head while trying to hide.
The Stupid
? No Xbox Live support?
