***Official The Brute Force Xbox Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[Leroy]

I had to play it this morning before I left for work. Stayed up late, got up early playing this darn game. I wish they had made the command structure more like Conflict Desert Storm, but it worked well enough once I got the hang of issuing commands in the middle of a battle.

Graphically it's pretty darn sweet with all the particle effects and bump mapping.

As far as the few low score reviews, I read them all and they all seem quite favorable. I think they are knocking the score down because of lack of multiplayer Live! support. Sorry, but there are a crap load more people without Live! than there are with it. And to knock a game for not having a feature that was never planned in the first place is silly.

 

[BrianB]

This game is 3rd person isn't it?

Yes. It controls like a fps though (which reminds me of Bloodrayne for some reason).

 

[ChrisV]

Well, I rented it last night and played for hours without a break. Quite a lot of fun. Definitely more of an action game than a 'tactical' game. All in all, I like it and may buy it. We'll see how smart the AI is on a harder difficulty setting.

 

[Dave.A.C]

Ok, I've now put in an additional 4-5 hours (7-8 total) on this thing, and am really liking it more and more. While using the squad isn't necessary (run-n-gun works fine) I've found myself issuing commands and placing members in strategic locations more often than I gun it. Actually, I'll typical take it slow and use the squad - when this gets old and I want some action, I switch to Tex, tell everyone to cover me and double fist it. The ability to switch-up the pace so effectively is nice. Very tough to stop playing, and I'm really anticipating the next chance I have to pick it up again.

I'm really looking forward to trying out Co-op via xbconnect.

Oh, and on the story (I said it was pretty bad originally) -The story is starting to come together now. At first it seems the game is just a bunch of unrelated excuses to shoot things, you eventually realize that there is a thread running through them all. I equate it to Splinter Cell in the structure of the story. Still not great, but at least it's there.

 

[Scott Bourden]

This game is 3rd person isn't it?

Yup, my mistake, but it handles and plays like a FPS, hence my mixup

 

[Joel Mack]

This game gave me an LOL moment last night, too.

On the "Rescue Brutus (part one)" mission
When Tex reports that's found some "alien doo-dad" and is ordered to bring it back for analysis, when he actually picks it up the HUD says "picked up alien doo-dad".

Maybe I'm the only one, but that really struck me funny...

 

[Ricky Hustle]

This game gave me an LOL moment last night, too.

Me too Joel! I love this game, partly because it knows what it is and does not take itself seriously. Plot? Who friggin cares, gimme a big gun and let me blow shit up.

Brute Force rocks, don't let the review scores get to you.

 

[Peter Manojlovich]

Maybe I'm the only one, but that really struck me funny...

No,you're not the only one, I laughed, actually guffawed is more appropriate at some of the lines. This game doesn't take it self too seriously. There are a lot of sound bytes in this game. I was suprised how much voice work there is in this game, and how varied it is. There are a fair number of ambient sound effects in the game. I don't understand the low ratings in sound this game seems to be getting. This doesn't make any sense to me.

Some very general impressions. This game is not an instant love kind of thing. It doesn't have the visceral impact of a halo. The music is far more subdued, but still quite effecttive. The action is close quarter, but most of my kills seem to come from a distance.

Squad AI is very good, the best I've seen in a game like this. My teammates actually do what I tell them. I don't have my teammates getting in my way and crossing into my line of fire.

One of the criticisms leveled at the game is that you don't need to use squad tactics to beat the game. That's sort of like saying in a basketball game you can score all your points with just one player. Of course you can do it, but then is it basketball you're really playing. I like using the squad tactics. I feel more effecient in cleaning out areas than just going in guns blazing which I also do in spots. It's neat to move a teammate to a cover position, and then move up alonside them, to open a door. Before the door opens, give your squad members the fire at will command, and go to town.

I like the grenade system. Press the left trigger, a little bar begins filling up to determine the strength of your throw. I find that you can do a lot of very precise grenade placement. I found myself using grenades a lot in this game with some impressive results.

The storyline is actually much better than I anticipated and I like the characters of Tex and Brutus, which so far is all I have. I've only played about midway thru the third mission. This game is a run-and-gunner if you want it to be, but it's also a tactical based squad game if you want to be. Depends on your playing style. The commands work as advertised. If you tell your teammates to hold their ground, and you go off on a scouting expedition and get into trouble, don't expect the cavalry to arrive. A couple of times, I went, where the hell is Brutus? Then I remembered, I gave him the move to command, which moves a teammate to a certain position and they hold their ground.

This game is nothing like Halo, it's entirely a different beast. It's lacking the immediate accessiblity of Halo and its visceral impact of being thrown into the middle of a firefight. The feel and design of the two games are very different. Your squad AI is very good. I don't see BF as a blockbuster smash hit. The title is all wrong. There's a subtlety to the gameplay that will elude a lot of gamers expecting to reign a mass of destruction on their enemies. Liking it, not loving it, but I'm still very early in the game.

 

[Thom B]

Couple of q's for folks. Does it support 4 player co-op on a single box? Also, how does the stretching look on a WS set? Thx.

T

 

[Paul_Fisher]

4 player co-op on single xbox- yes

not sure about stretching, I don't have a WS set.

 

[Dave.A.C]

Another good sound bite:

I was sniping across a bridge with Flint and moving around. Hawk got in front of me, turned to go back behind me, and we ran into each other. I'm looking through a scope, so getting out of her way was clumsy. As we did the getting-out-of-each-others-way dance, Hawk yells (if memory serves): Knock it off, Moron!

Gave me pause for a minute, thinking did I really just hear that? Some good stuff in this game.

 

[Paul_Fisher]

I killed a guy one time, and his buddy said, "They killed Kenny, they are going to die!" or something like that, but I know he said the Kenny part.

Reference to South Park...

 

[Derrik Draven]

I have to agree that this is a pretty good game. Personally, I was skeptical about the "next Halo" crap and, I was right. It's not the next Halo. As stated here, Halo 2 is the next Halo. If you haven't watched the Halo 2 E3 demo; do it. It's the next Halo.

Anyhoo, I kind of like the fact that the squad based tactics in this game can sort of be described as "squad based lite". IE, you don't need to pour over detailed schematics of the upcoming level tryin to decide where and what to do with you squad members, only to have them get
executed in the 1st 5 minutes of play.

This is tactic action on the fly. You have to think on your feet if you try and use the squad as a squad. Otherwise, there is a certain amount of picking the character you like and letting the other 3 follow you around providing support. Even though I'm nowhere near finished; (20 levels or so to go), the few I have played I could simply pick one character and the others would kill what I didn't.

But, that was kinda sloppy and I noticed when I used Hawk to go into steath mode, have her go ahead and quietly slice enemies apart, then have Brutus and Tex come up afterwards, I could do some real damage and not have to use much by way of health packs or ammo. One level I had Tex take the high ground and he provided excellent cover as I used Brutus to make his way through the mist down below.

Graphics are excellent. This is a game that makes you remember one of the reasons why you have an Xbox. I really haven't seen the stuttering frame rate that Kasavin was complaining about at Gamespot. Granted I haven't done any multiplayer but, he even mentioned that it's never really smooth enough even in the single player mode. That's a load of crap. Either that or I'm starting to lose it. After being into gaming since Pong, I know a shitty framerate when I see it.

Squad AI is excellent. Best I've seen yet, no lie. No one gets in your way and, I've even noticed that when I'm out in front (taking point) and the feces start to hit the rotary oscillator, even my guys supporting me from behind, never seem to hit me in the back if I cross their line of fire. They hold up for a sec while I'm in the way. Nice.

Digital Anvil could teach alot of developers on how to program path finding for AI characters as well. I have yet to see anyone get "stupid stuck". Thank you.

The banter between squadmates isn't quite at Halo level but, it's pretty decent and they don't repeat terribly. I really didn't pick up much of a smell of "cheesiness" in the dialog and the voice acting is decent to good. I'm very sensitive to cheese. I hate cheese...in games and movies
"...you, the master of lockpicking". AAAUUGH!!!!

Anyhoo, this is a rambling review "lite". Bottom line is that, at the very least, Brute Force is worth a rental by just about everyone unless you really hate sci-fi, squads, shooters, or chicks with hot, polygonal asses.

 

[Joel Mack]

"...the master of unlocking", actually.

 

[BrianB]

Digital Anvil could teach alot of developers on how to program path finding for AI characters as well. I have yet to see anyone get "stupid stuck". Thank you.

Hmmm. On the "tree" level, the civilians you're rescueing will happily just run against you regardless that the rest of the very wide path is open.

Glad you're enjoying it after the handwringing

 

[Joel Mack]

Hmmm. On the "tree" level, the civilians you're rescueing will happily just run against you regardless that the rest of the very wide path is open.

That's realistic, man! They're panicked! They don't know which way to go!

 

[Dave F]

I had the dumb lizard teammate get stuck in a wall today. Fortunately he magically escaped when I finished the mission.

Pretty good game so far though. I'm enjoying it so far, except for the save system. It seems like it goes a long period between saves. Is it possible to resume halfway through a chapter? Or do you have to play the whole chapter anew if you quit & come back later?

-Dave

 

[Bob McElfresh]

I have not gotten through the multi-part Mystic level yet, but here are my impressions:

Squad Management:

I think the AI will have the characters use medkits as needed. But none of them will pick up packs when found. You have to micro-manage and check each character's med-kit count and decide who should walk up and pick up a med-kit.

Ammo supplies are a problem. Any character can walk up to ammo and pick it up (there is no sign of what kind of ammo it is). Even if they dont have the correct weapon, the ammo is taken (basically lost). Once Hawk picks up shotgun shells, she cannot share/give to Brutus. I've had him run-out of ammo a few times.

The AI does seem to be good, but your squadmates wont fall-back if they take too much damage. They will make a comment about needing a doctor, but you then have to switch characters or order them to go to some safe place (this is ok as the game stops while you are giving orders, but it breaks the mood of a firefight to micro-manage things.)

I'm also not sure what they do when they run out of ammo or deplete a rechargable weapon. Do they switch or duck behind something? I think they make a comment and you have to control them to get them to a safe place.

Gameplay:

Ok, it's a third-person shooter but it has the HUD of a first-person. Instead of a camera that you have to manage, when the character gets in a tight spot/back to the wall, the perspective zooms in and his body ghosts so you are basically in first-person perspective. Fairly well done.

I have 2 major gripes that bring this game down from 'something special' to 'ordinary':

- It seems to have "Boss Levels"
- Enemies can materalize out of thin-air

The first is almost cliche. Most coin-op games, cheap fighting games have these and it's the mark of an "Arcade" game.

Having a clear space suddenly filled with enemies removes all the tactical aspects of the game. You cant split your squad, send in a sniper, etc. (What's the point of a sneaky sniper when enemies dont appear ahead of you, but wait to pop out of thin air?). Even the non-mystic levels seem to do this. The treehouse level looks empty until you 'trigger' appearances by walking somewhere and suddenly enemies are on a dead-end path that was empty moments ago.

While I appreciate the need for a sudden fire-fight, the way they do this is just tacky/lack of good level design. It no longer feels "real" like Halo, Unreal, Ghost, Splinter Cell, Wolfenstein, etc. I want the option of going in guns-blazeing, or slowly picking off un-suspecting targets from a distance or with stealth.

These 2 issues make BF a step-backwards from current generation gameplay.

Is it fun? Yes. Will I continue to play? Sure. But if I get farther along and find places where I have to jump from object to object to get across something - I'm going to stop playing.

 

[Joel Mack]

Squad Management:

I think the AI will have the characters use medkits as needed. But none of them will pick up packs when found. You have to micro-manage and check each character's med-kit count and decide who should walk up and pick up a med-kit.

Ammo supplies are a problem. Any character can walk up to ammo and pick it up (there is no sign of what kind of ammo it is). Even if they dont have the correct weapon, the ammo is taken (basically lost). Once Hawk picks up shotgun shells, she cannot share/give to Brutus. I've had him run-out of ammo a few times.

The AI does seem to be good, but your squadmates wont fall-back if they take too much damage. They will make a comment about needing a doctor, but you then have to switch characters or order them to go to some safe place (this is ok as the game stops while you are giving orders, but it breaks the mood of a firefight to micro-manage things.)

I'm also not sure what they do when they run out of ammo or deplete a rechargable weapon. Do they switch or duck behind something? I think they make a comment and you have to control them to get them to a safe place.

All ammunition and medkits are pooled. No matter which character picks them up, they're available to all (according to the manual). If Brutus runs out of shotgun shells, you don't have any to give him, anyway... That's also how they work the "your squadmates will use medkits as neccessary, but will always save the last one for you".

 

[Paul_Fisher]

When I was playing co-op with a friend, anything I walked over (medkit, ammo, etc) would automatically be transferred to my friend as well. It sure does beat hearing, "Quit taking everything!" from your friend while playing.