Full Spectrum Warrior
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| Full Spectrum Warrior | |
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| Developer(s) | Pandemic Studios |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Engine | Proprietary U.S. Army engine |
| Release date(s) | Xbox PC Playstation 2 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time tactics Simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | Xbox, Windows, PS2, Mobile |
| Media | Xbox DVD, PC CD-ROM, PS2 DVD |
| System requirements | Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, 1 GHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, 350 MB hard disk space, 64 MB GPU |
| Input | Keyboard and mouse (PC}, Joystick (Xbox) |
Full Spectrum Warrior is a video game classified as a real-time tactics action/war game. It was developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ. It was released on June 1, 2004 for the Xbox, September 21, 2004 for Windows and on March 23, 2005 for the PlayStation 2.
The name Full Spectrum Warrior relates to the Army's program of training soldiers to be flexible and adaptable to a broad range of operational scenarios. The game was originally developed by Pandemic as a serious game training aid for the United States Army. The US Army also developed Full Spectrum Command with the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) as a more strategy-oriented serious game intended for higher ranking military officers. FSC has not been officially released to the public, though it was included in the Windows version and all that was necessary to access it was a password, soon available on the Internet.[citation needed]
The game uses the Havok 2 physics engine, featuring realistic manipulation of objects in the game environment (such as knocking over crates) and ragdoll physics.
Pandemic released a sequel, Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, on March 27, 2006 in North America and June 23 in Europe.
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[edit] Gameplay
Full Spectrum Warrior is essentially a squad-based game in which the player issues commands to two fireteams, Alpha and Bravo. Each fireteam has a Team Leader (Sergeant Mendez for Alpha, Sgt. Williams for Bravo) who is equipped with an M4 Carbine. The Team Leaders also carry the team GPS, which can be used to locate mission objectives and enemy locations, and a radio for communication with HQ. The second team member is the Automatic Rifleman (Corporal Devreux for Alpha, Cpl. Picoli for Bravo) who is equipped with an M249 SAW machine gun, used to lay a large volume of fire on the enemy to suppress it. The third team member is the Grenadier (Private First Class Silverman for Alpha, PFC Shimenski for Bravo), who is equipped with an M4 mounted with an M203 grenade launcher, which is used as a team weapon, the most powerful. The last team member is the Rifleman (Private Shehadi for Alpha, Pvt. Ota for Bravo), equipped with a single M4 Carbine. If a member of the team gets hit by the enemy, the Rifleman will be the one assigned to pick up and carry the wounded team member (unless the Rifleman himself is the one down). Lieutenant Phillips is the team commander and the player will usually find him with the CASEVACs (healing and ammunition points). Each of the teams has a limited amount of hand grenades (frags and smoke grenades), in addition to the M203 grenades — which can be fired directly at the enemy position from further distances, exploding on impact.
Throughout the game, the player does not directly control any of the fireteam members; instead, orders are given using a cursor that projects onto the terrain, letting the player tell his/her soldiers to hold a corner or wall and set a specific zone to cover with fire. It is also possible to order them to lay down suppression fire on a given zone to cover the second squad's movement, or to simply cut back on incoming fire.
However, the game does feature some restrictions due to its coding, resulting in some unrealistic actions. For example, the game is heavily based on the concept of cover and suppression, so a team member or enemy standing behind a solid object is considered "behind cover" and is generally invulnerable to small arms fire. The game does not precisely distinguish between how much cover a target is protected by; an enemy rifleman with only a leg concealed is almost as protected as a soldier crouching behind a car, forcing the player to perform flanking maneuvers that should not be necessary. Another example is that the M203 grenade launcher lacks its real-life parabolic trajectory and instead has straight-line, rocket-like physics, making it almost possible to snipe with it.
The basic gameplay mechanics remain the same for the retail version of Full Spectrum Warrior, which was released on both the Xbox, Sony and Microsoft Windows platforms. All versions are very realistic, although the retail version places much more emphasis on aesthetics — it possesses substantially improved graphics and sound, and while the story is fictional in both versions, the retail version greatly resembles a war movie. Fleshed-out cinematics and high-quality voice acting are also characteristics that distinguish the retail version from the military version. The original military version of the game can also be unlocked within the retail Xbox version only. [citation needed]
[edit] Multiplayer
Full Spectrum Warrior includes a cooperative mode that was designed to take advantage of Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service through the use of voice communication. In co-op mode, two players are in command of their own fireteam and must work together to accomplish the goals of the level.
[edit] Cultural references
Full Spectrum Warrior is often compared to Ridley Scott's film, Black Hawk Down. The musical group Machine Head worked on the music for both Black Hawk Down and Full Spectrum Warrior.
As well as referring to an Army programme, the game's title could also be a play on the title of the Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket. The shaky camera that follows the characters as if from another soldier's perspective is also said to be reminiscent of the camera work in Full Metal Jacket.
[edit] Controversy
"Full Spectrum Warrior" became the subject of some controversy shortly after it was released. The two primary complaints aired in this controversy were that, 1) The Army wasn't using their training version of the game because it wasn't "realistic enough" (The Economist, Dec4-10, 2004) and 2) that the Army had been short-changed (see St.Petersburg Times, Feb 20, 2005, "Did the Army get out-gamed?" by Bill Adair). There was some discussion in the press regarding whether the government had either wasted money on the project, or if they had been taken advantage of by Pandemic Studios, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, their partner on the project. A story on this aired on ABC Nightly News with Aaron Brown ("Full Spectrum Failure?" May 24, 2005 airdate).
[edit] Awards
E3 2003 Game Critics Awards: Best Original Game, Best Simulation Game
[edit] Zekistan
"Full Spectrum Warrior" and "Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers" are both set in the fictional nation of Zekistan. In each of the games, many details about Zekistan are given. Zekistan is supposedly located between China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikstan. Zekistan is a former Soviet state which gained independence on October 4th, 1991. In the late 1960s, the Zekistan Liberation Front began opposing Soviet rule in Zekistan, but it wasn't until the 1980s that the CIA began supporting the ZLF, along with the Mujahideen in neighbouring Afghanistan. After the fall of the Soviet Union and Zekistani independence, Zekistan quickly fell into a civil war, with dozens of factions struggling for power.
The civil war was fought among Zekistan's various different ethnic groups. Zekistan is ethnically diverse, due to Zekistan being at a cultural crossroad in Asia. The indigenous ethnic Zeki population is Islamic and Persian-speaking, but there are also groups of Pakistani and Afghani settlers. During the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, many Arab fighters came to Zekistan. Initially, this was due to the war raging between Mujahideen fighters and Soviet troops in Afghanistan, but some fighters, like Mohammed Jabour Al-Afad, joined the ZLF. These fighters later fought with Arab Islamic extremist factions in the civil war.
After ten years of fighting, Mohammed Jabour Al-Afad's Islamic extremist fighters were victorious in the Zekistani civil war. Al-Afad soon formed a far-right Arab Islamic fundamentalist regime. His regime soon began to ethnically cleanse the ethnic Zeki population, as a punishment for opposing his rule. After the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Al-Afad regime offered asylum to members of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and the Hussein regime. Terrorist training camps were quickly set up in Zekistan.
Soon after, a string of terrorist attacks around the world are traced back to Zekistan. UN diplomatic efforts with Zekistan soon fail, prompting NATO to take action. In 2004, a NATO coalition, led by the United States, is formed to invade Zekistan. US forces are supported by British, Canadian, Czech, Spanish, Polish and Australian* forces. The coalition had three stated aims in Zekistan.
- Remove Mohammad Jabour Al-Afad as dictator of Zekistan.
- Eliminate the terrorist support network in Zekistan.
- Stop the ethnic cleansing of ethnic Zekis under Al Afad’s rule.
Pakistan grants access to its airspace, for coalition aircraft based on US aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea. Within 72 hours, air strikes have destroyed much of the Al-Afad regime's armour, air-defences, missiles and bases. Infantry and armour began landing at captured bases in the southern Zekistan. US forces, backed by British SAS troopers and friendly ethnic Zeki fighters, soon moved into the capital city, Zafarra, in the centre of the country. There, coalition troops found themselves engaged in fierce urban combat against terrorist irregulars and the remnants of Al-Afad's army. But within one day, much of the capital was taken and Al-Afad was killed in a US helicopter gunship strike.
Six months after the fall of the regime, the coalition had established an interim government to transition Zekistan into democracy. But problems were emerging. Various insurgencies were taking hold in the country and ethnic divisions were once again causing sectarian conflict. Across the country, the Mujahideen Al-Zeki, an Al-Afad loyalist group, began to battle coalition troops. The violence was beginning to spread to the peaceful northern province of Tien-Hamir. In the regional capital, Khardiman, the northern Anser Al-Ra'id faction began fighting against coalition troops and Mujahideen forces. Their leader, Mullah Qari Ra'id, is calling for an independent northern Zeki state. The Khardiman militia, controlled by Tien-Hamir governor Andrei Zakirov, is battling against both other factions. US forces attempt to establish order, supported by British soldiers (now under UN mandate).
Note: *Australia is not actually a NATO member state, so this may be a mistake by the developers.
[edit] External links
- Full Spectrum Warrior — Official Site
- Pandemic Studios — Developer
- THQ — Publisher
- [1] — Critical Article "Toy Soldiers"
- [2] — Critical Article - "War Games"
- Full Spectrum Warrior at MobyGames
[1]ABC- Full Spectrum Failure [2]St. Petersburg Times,- Did the Army Get Out-gamed? [3]How taxpayers paid for one of the nation's most profitable videogames
