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. *This game is not sponsored or endorsed by the United States Army.Format: XBOX Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: M - Mature UPC: 752919520239 Manufacturer No: 52023

Position your men for firing, assess threat levels, and execute a plan of action -- no more plowing through a doorway, shooting & collecting a health pack. This is the real deal - to win you'll have to think & act like a real soldier

Think like a leader - you're in charge of real fireteams and your duty is to complete the mission and bring your men back alive

Manage ammo and the wounded - Respond to troops calling for fresh ammo, and pick up injured teammates to deliver to evacuation sites

Deadly missions that bring home the tension felt by soldiers in the field -- from suppressing Middle Eastern dictators to defending a convoy to seizing control of an airport

Accurate simulations of soldiers' actions & reactions in combat, with real military rules of engagement to follow

Average Customer Review: ( 98 customer reviews )
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People can play games before they're officially released to the general public. I played this game at the THQ booth at E3 in Los Angeles for about an hour. It is amazing. The AI is spectacular, as are the graphics, sound, and playability. This is truly the next generation of tactical "war sims".

And to Saraa from UK...

This game is set in the fictitous country of Zekistan. It has nothing to do with Iraq or violence against Muslims. In fact, one of the main characters in the game is a devout muslim who is also a member of the U.S. military.

18 of 21 found the following review helpful:

A thrilling and fun alternative combat gameNov 15, 2004
By M. S. Hillis
So there I was, up to my knees in bullet casings. I'd safely guided my two teams through the perilous streets of Zafarra, capital of the central Asian hotspot of Zekistan. We'd been taking out insurgents while on the trail of terrorist mastermind Mohamed Jabbour Al-Afad.

As we moved down one deserted street, pausing only long enough to eliminate a solitary enemy who opened up on us from an alley, a technical suddenly rolled out of the next intersection, laying down heavy machine gun fire and pinning the eight of us behind a burnt-out kiosk.

I sent Bravo team scurrying back down the alley while Alpha hunkered down amid a hail of .50-caliber bullets. Within a couple minutes, Bravo had emerged one block away to flank the technical. A sniper who was dumb enough to leave himself exposed on a balcony was quickly dispatched with.

Although the technical began firing on Bravo, I ordered Alpha to draw their attention back by firing on the enemy from behind their cover. This allowed Bravo to scamper down the street and duck behind a wrecked car, a position that put the technical within range of the M203 grenade launcher. Bravo's grenadier popped up, aimed, and within seconds a zooming 40 mm frag lit up the technical and turned it into a smoking hulk.

That was just one of the many tense scenes I encountered in "Full Spectrum Warrior", a fantastic combat title that delivers adrenaline in copious quantities. The game scraps the usual first-person perspective in favor of a third-person view in which you control two teams, each with a team leader, grenadier, rifleman and squad automatic weapon. Rather than rushing enemies with a minigun in each hand, the point here is to employ basic Army tactics of using cover and laying down sector fire to have your teams achieve various objectives.

The tactics are fairly straightforward and easy to get a handle on. There are few nice bonuses as well. At some points in the game you will get temporary control of a third team. The pair of Ranger snipers in one of the final levels was particularly sweet. Some objectives will also have you call in air strikes on certain targets.

The graphics are fantastic, rendering the soldiers and cityscapes with realistic detail. There is a nice heat shimmer effect that gives the experience somewhat of a dreamlike quality. Recently I saw some photographs of U.S. Marines in Falluja, and was amazed at how much they resembled scenes from "Full Spectrum Warrior". In one level that left my controller moist with sweat, you work your way through alleys during a sandstorm, the limited visibility added to the tension.

Adding to the realism is the constant banter - much of it foul - coming from the soldiers, some of whom develop distinct personalities in the course of the story. The game reminds us that for all their fearsome gear, soldiers are pretty fragile - a couple AK rounds will take your guys out of action. And don't even think about leaving a man behind. If you lose a guy to enemy fire, you in fact lose two, because you have to assign someone to carry the wounded until you reach the next aid station. And if someone is killed, game over, you incompetent loser. Restart from the last checkpoint and try not to screw things up this time.

Some reviewers have been disappointed at a lack of absolute authenticity, i.e. the fact that some enemies labeled as behind cover still appear totally exposed, making it impossible to take them out with fire from certain angles. This misses the point, which is to get players to think tactically about combat situations and not rely on pixel-perfect shot placement to dispatch large numbers of enemies.

You can finish the game on regular difficulty in about 15 hours, which I found to be of perfect length. Any shorter and it would have felt lacking in depth. Any longer and it would have been in danger of being repetitive. As it stands, the game left me feeling like I really accomplished something, yet at no point did I feel bogged down in levels thrown in as filler.

I heartily recommend "Full Spectrum Warrior" to those looking for a great alternative to the raft of FPS military games already out there.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Another ReviewJun 10, 2004

All right, the game is pretty decent (I haven't finished it yet but hear it is pretty short). The graphics are pretty, the controls good once you get used to them and the sound is good also. I bought this game knowing it was not a FPS and have not been disappointed in it as you get to work the tactics vice the shooting.
While everyone else is praising the game and their points are valid I will simply bring up the small annoyances.
1) The Platoon members: Where did these guys come from? Been in the army for 9 years and haven't had to deal with how these guys are portrayed in their comments to their squad leaders. The language doesn't bother me but the emulation of a real soldier talking that way to his leaders is something not taken lightly.
2) The M2/M3 Bradley in the 1st couple of missions: The 4 missile pod signify the vehicle is a M6 Linebacker (Air defense version) and it fires 4 missiles at one of the targets. Linebackers fire the Stinger missile (Anti-Air... not anti armor)
* The above two do not hurt game play at all. It is simply an irritant that I see as I play. (like doing something for a long time then seeing it butchered in a movie)
3) The snap reactions of the squads: a little slow on the draw sometimes as they are moving down the alley and a target presents itself. I know you can cancel the move and then issue another to initiate the attack and I could have set up a bounding move, but sometimes reflex-firing should come into play.
4) The enemy being so engrossed with the unit firing at him that he is incapable of shooting at the other squad that is running in the open.

I see in the credits that they name a few army personnel. My question to them would be what their Branch in the military was and have they ever lead a small unit in any tactical situation. Again... just a statement as there is nuances in the images portrayed that really have nothing to do with game play. My bet is they are/were not in combat arms but a support branch and now working systems/simulations.

It's a good game. For those that are upset at the lack of FPS - they should read the game description PRIOR to buying it. Knowing what I know now I would have still purchased the game.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:

A little frustrating at times, but fun as hellAug 07, 2004
By William McCormick
In response to some of the reviews, I have to say this: I have served 4 years in the Marines as an infantryman in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I have to say this game is pretty accurate. As for the language used.. guess what, that's how real life riflemen talk when under stress! The Army and Marine Corps the public sees is different from the one that servicemen actually live in. I thought the game was very accurate portraying that. There were even a few guys in the squad who reminded me of my own platoonmates. Anyway, the lessons this game teaches you about tactics are great, although kind of basic. Unfortunately, you only get one aspect of MOUT combat, and that is moving through the streets, but clearing buildings is totally different from that, and would require a totally different game engine. (like, say... Rainbow Six?) The environments, sounds, and visuals really immerse you into the experience, and the gameplay becomes easy to grasp after a few missions. Now for the gripes- first is control. The cursor sometimes will be hard to move around when you need it the most, being hard to see, or getting stuck behind objects. Second, is the reaction time of your soldiers. If they stumble across an uncovered enemy sometimes it will take them a millenia to shoot him, resulting in you getting whacked in the process. I suppose that this is a lesson in proper tactics, and that you should have made a better decision so that you wouldn't GET surprised like that. My last major gripe with this game is the M203 grenade launcher. It is a GRENADE launcher not a ROCKET launcher! it is NOT a direct fire weapon, it is meant to be lobbed. So, if some Zeke (the slang for the enemy combatants) is in defilade behind cover, you should be able to LOB the grenade over the cover and kill him. This is how it works in real life! Anyway, those are my only major gripes. The game is fun, and provides a decent look at MOUT tactics. (And, by the way.. the M249 SAW fires 5.56 mm bullets, not 7.62 mm!)

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