Brute Force

Brutishly forceful third-person action from Digital Anvil. The verdict.

More Images

We've been waiting for Digital Anvil's much hyped shooter Brute Force for quite some time, and whilst it isn't going to wipe the floor with Halo - it might just prove the perfect compliment. Digital Anvil's enviable staffing and funding seems to have paid of too, with a game that is a testament to it's high production values, which make for a memorable experience regardless of the games obvious lack of originality. More over, it looks stunning, despite the fact that Digital Anvil have no previous pedigree in Xbox development, but I'll speak about such matters a little further on.

First things first, many people are going to be very pleased with Digital Anvil's flexible approach to progress through the game. Not only have you the standard single player mode to keep you amused, but you've also got a split-screen co-operative mode which supports up to four players and a LAN option. Xbox gamers will also find Brute Force rather easy to pick-up as the control system is almost identical to Halo's, which is certainly no bad thing whatsoever, especially given the unlikelihood of any self-respecting Xbox owner having not played Bungie's seminal masterpiece. In fact, everything about Brute Force tips more than a subtle-nod to this landmark.

Not that everything is the same of course, Halo is certainly the more subtle of the pair - with a greater emphasis on exploration and it's various wonders, while Brute Force, needless to say perhaps, does exactly what it says on the tin, providing an aggressive and rivetingly intensive blast. Of course, throughout my convoluted rambling you could have been forgiven for assuming that Brute Force is a first-person shooter, which, strictly-speaking it is not - being viewed from a chasing third-person perspective instead. Oddly, this impacts the game play surprisingly little. Though as this and other reviews before it have noted, it is surprising that Digital Anvil bothered using an alternative viewpoint at all.

Perhaps the main difference from Halo then, is its squad-based leanings, which take it in the same direction as the likes of Ghost Recon, albeit a lot less 'realistic' and more fantastical - as demonstrated (not only by the less-than-plausible sci-fi plot) by the way you and your squad respawn after death, rather than lose position completely. Even the enemies killed on your last run will be gone at the second attempt, which is very friendly indeed and helps maintain the sense of pace and avoid repetition.

With this in mind your four-man team of super-human Commandos each have different abilities that will come in more-than-a-little handy in a variety of situations. The four characters are: Texas (Arnie-inspired hard man), Brutus (ability to regenerate health), Hawk (ability to move undetected), and Flint (powerful long-distance shooter). Are these characters particularly interesting? No, not really, but they have a well-balanced mix of skills which makes for some interesting moments in the game. Sadly, the appalling plot can't be similarly justified...