Full Spectrum Warrior

by THQ

Product Features

• Authentic 3-D infantry combat game
• Unique combination of tactical and action gameplay
• Command eight soldiers in real time
• Squad equipment reflects real weaponry and equipment currently in use by the U.S. Army
• For one or more players using Internet or LAN

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000ALSFV
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: September 21, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,101 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC

From the Manufacturer

The U.S. Army is the most powerful ground force in the entire world. The backbone of a ground invasion is the U.S. Army Infantry, and in the midst of combat, their skills, courage, and teamwork are put to the test.

Full Spectrum Warrior is based on a game commissioned by the U.S. Army to train light Infantry troops in urban combat situations. Soldiers are placed in a tense, hostile, and claustrophobic environment where they must complete a variety of military objectives.

Players act as the Squad Leader, providing direction to Alpha and Bravo fire teams. The successful Squad Leader effectively uses cover in the environment and moves his fire teams in a coordinated fashion so they can protect themselves from possible attacks that could come from any direction. Full Spectrum Warrior puts you in the dirt with your men, where danger lurks around every corner.

Product Description

Full Spectrum Warrior is the ultimate war simulation. Break away from the usual tactical shooter games, and get on the ground with actual U.S. Army weapons and tactics. Based on software designed to train real soldiers for real ground operations -- so you know it's as close to the real thing as possible! Realistic animations for squad members - Motions for soldiers were modeled after combat veterans Online support for teaming up and facing terrorists and guerillas in realistic, amazing urban combat

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Judge for yourself, December 27, 2004

By 

J. Nickerson (Zürich, CH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Full Spectrum Warrior (CD-ROM)

I don't agree with these other critics. I'm a vietnam vet, and it's realistic enough for me. Who cares if you can't enter buildings, sewers, etc. - that's not the focus. Teamwork and solid tactics: moving from cover to cover, flanking, covering fire and timely use of smoke and grenades is what this game is all about. Don't look for a training sim for the army, it's a GAME. And don't look for another 1st person shooter, this is (finally!) something quite different. I've played all the best new generation war games: MOHAA, Vietcong, COD, Men of Valor, Pacific Assault. I think this definitely ranks with them, dismissed!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original and beautiful, but could have been much better, October 5, 2004

By 

Gregory Litchfield "Existential Hero" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Full Spectrum Warrior (CD-ROM)

I haven't yet finished this game, but what I have seen is nothing short of stunning. That's too bad, because with a little more work this game could have been one of the greatest ever made.

Don't be fooled into thinking this game is a first person shooter with some aspects of tactical control. It's something much different. In FSW, you are an unseen squad leader, moving your two teams through a bombed-out, rubble-strewn, third-world hellhole liberally populated with AK-47 wielding fanatics. You cannot directly control any particular soldier in your squad. Instead, you give them commands, either as a team or individually. The game is essentially an exercise in observing an area for threats, moving one team into an overwatch position, bounding your other team forwards, observing for threats, etc.

Each team has a team leader with an M-4 carbine, an automatic rifleman with a M-249 SAW light machinegun, a grenadier with an M-16A2 rifle with an M-203 grenade launcher, and a rifleman with another M-4. Each squad also has fragmentation and smoke grenades at their disposal. At some points in the game you will have access to artillery fires and helicopter recon. If more than one of your men goes down the mission is a failure and you must restart from your last save point.

Enemy AI appears at first glance to be pretty poor, but this isn't always the case. Enemies are generally poor shots at longer ranges, but are deadly in close quarters. Usually, the best option is to use one team to engage the enemy from behind cover, while you flank around a building with the other. This will work about 85% of the time, but the enemy will sometimes trick you into moving into an ambush with your flanking team. The enemy will generally try to find cover and return fire on your troops. If they see one of their comrades go down, or are under fire from two different positions, the enemy tends to panic and rout, making them easy pickings. You often don't have to enagage an enemy, and it's rarely worth the effort unless you absolutely have to. It's often possible to bypass an enemy, or force him behind cover with suppressive fire and then break contact. The enemy also seems to have unlimited ammo, which is unfortunate becase they tend to simply blaze away at your troops, even when they're under cover. The enemy will not, however, shoot at your men if they can't see them. If you run into problems, you can usually break contact by throwing a smoke grenade between your men and the enemy. The notion of firing through the smoke never appears to have occurred to them.

Friendly AI is reasonably good. Your soldiers each have their own distinct voices and personality, ruunning the gamut from good-natured but stern leader, to cold-hearted killer, to irritating teenage soldier. Each soldier has subtle differences in his uniform, including using non-issue body armor or uniforms that are inapproprate for a desert/urban setting. Some of your noncommissioned officers even have combat patches (unit patches worn on the right shoulder). The junior elisted have a proclivity for whining and cussing, and the noncommissioned officers spend a great deal of time telling their charges to shut up and clean up their language. If your troops unexpectedly come under fire, it's not unusual for the entire team to start shouting obscenities!

For the greatest army ever fielded, though, your troops are pretty poor shots. Most kills happen only after you've flanked an enemy and he abandons his position. Also, if you're under fire and unsure of what to do, pressing the spacebar will cause your troops to hide behind the nearest available cover. Unfortunately, your troops have a nasty habit of hiding behind couches, wooden crates and other objects that tend to disintegrate quickly when exposed to liberal amounts of 7.62x39mm Soviet ammo. That, or your men will sometimes drop to the prone position in the middle of the steet, which tends to get them killed very quickly.

The graphics are nothing short of stunning, and the game does a great job of making each and every location unique. The level of detail, from advertisements on walls to rusted rebar sticking out of rubble, is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's really easy to lose focus on what you're doing by sightseeing.

You can only save as designated save points, usually immediately after completing an objective. This isn't as irritating as it might sound, though. The game has a replay function, which allows you to jump back into the action at any point. If half of Bavo Team just got cut down by a machine gunner, you can watch the replay, including of where the enemy is, come up with a better plan, rewind the replay to the point immediately before you entered his field of fire and try again. It's a great tool that allows you to observe your mistakes, and learn how to play better.

Unfortunately, the game is somewhat lacking. The enemy AI is entirely scripted. They generally stand around waiting for you to make contact, and are never aggressive. This game could have been much more interesting if you had to constantly watch your six for irregulars stalking you, or if you had to suddenly take fire as a squad of the enemy tries to overrun your own squad. Alas, I have yet to run accross any situation of this nature.

Additionally, there game tends to be fairly linear. While you can bypass many enemies on the way to your objective, there is typically only one way to actually assault the stupid thing. Many enemies are smart enough to position themselves on likely avenues of approach, and there is typically just one way to flank them. Since they're also scripted, the replay value tends to be low. Once you've beaten a mission, there's really no reason go back and try it again.

Movements are also limited. Your troops generally sprint from cover to cover, though they sometimes walk. I often found myself wishing I could have them low-crawl behind cover or kick in doors so that I could take cover in a building. Also, you men all appear to have medical waivers for their knees, because they refuse to climb or jump. I can't count the number of times I fought my way down an alley, only to be stymied by...a five foot wall! In the real world, a soldier would climb over the stupid thing and carry on with his mission. In this game, you have to turn around and find another way.

To conclude, this game is nothing short of revolutionary, but it could have been better. Some games, like Half-Life, define a genre. Others, like Doom, create them. This game is the latter. For all it's beauty and originality, it's still a rough-cut, a work in progress. Hopefully, expansion packs or sequels will address the problems with AI and scripting. But if you're in the mood for something different, then you could do a lot worse than Full Spectrum Warrior.

I'd give this game a 3.5/5 rating, but since Amazon doesn't work that way, I'll round it up to a 4/5. It's really, really good...but not great.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars LAME, Save your money!, October 13, 2004

By 

TEXAS12 "TEXAS12" (Eastern Shore) - See all my reviews

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Full Spectrum Warrior (CD-ROM)

Well, I must say that I am extremely disappointed with FSW in many respects. For one, the graphics are not exactly anything to rave about. They are ok, but that's about it. And after all the hype this game received and the advertising it put out, it seems they should have saved some money for the developing. Basically, the actuall gameplay is at a 4 year old level. Click here, move there. THAT'S ALL YOU DO. And I can't stand the cheesey jargon used in the voiceovers. Horrible! I am an infantryman in the US Army, and I can tell you, no one I know talks like this or uses the goofy lingo the throw around in this game. Also,there is NO open ended gameplay, you can only move to certain areas on the map. The enemy AI and the weapons physics are ridiculous. You can have your team fire at an enemy out in the open and he wont move, wont throw a frag, wont call in support etc. If you want a REAL war simulation, buy Operation Flashpoint. It's dated, but still THE best squad/fps/command game ever made. After all the patches and upgrades and addons and it's truly open ended gameplay, OFP will probably be the only game that will permanently stay on my hard drive. FSW, nice try, no cigar.

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