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View Full Version : Brute Force, New information on Digital Anvil's squad-based blast fest.



faceoff508
05-04-2002, 08:22 AM
The Features


Choose from four unique commandos
Battle on six different worlds.
Four Player multiplayer game modes including co-op and deathmatch options.
Co-operative gameplay can be engaged on the fly.
Innovative tactical control scheme.
Full-fledged character development
There is this Federation that dominates the time and space of Brute Force. It's a government not too unlike the Empire we've all come to know from the Star Wars films. Your job is to take control of a group of commandos and surely to stop some evil-doers (most likely the Federation) from doing evil all over the place.

Players will be able to take control of Tex-the heavy assault trooper, Flint-the cyborg sniper, Hawk-the stealth specialist and Brutus-the crazy-ass, strong-but-big-hearted alien. Success in Brute Force requires players to make wise decisions about which character to use in which situation, but knowing you have so many dangerous operatives at your fingertips is sure to be a joy.

Characters:
Flint

Our girl flint seems to be the last of her kind. Her kind happens to be a group of obsolete cyborg warriors. Apparently she's good enough with the sniping skills to still be an effective member of the team. In fact accuracy is her whole game. Quick to lock-on and doesn't miss when she does. Of course the sniper rifle and other ranged weapons are her tools of choice.

Hawk

Stealth is a style that Hawk wears well. She's fast and quiet perfect for sneaking up on unsuspecting enemies for that quick slice to the neck. She's the one turning invisible like the Predator in the game trailer. She can't carry the biggest, most destructive weapons, but her variety of stun pistols and rapid fire arms fit her style perfectly.

Brutus

This big lovable lug is the ferocious, yet loyal beast/warrior. No doubt cut from the same mold as Chewbacca, The Thing and Russell Crowe, Brutus doesn't like high technology and is easily spooked. When it comes to clobberin' however Brutus takes the cake. The variety of cannons and big guns that he carries and his balance of speed ,strength and stealth would make him a good character for beginners.

Tex

He's the prototype loner/hero who disdains authority but has no problem uncorking an ass whooping when one is needed. He's got the heaviest armor and greatest strength but of course he isn't the fast dog on the track. He's known to use two weapons at once like his minigun and rocket launcher. Like Han Solo he prefers a head-on fight to any kind of sneaking around.

Six worlds may not sound like a lot of ground to cover, but the Xbox has taught us to truly appreciate the word "worlds" when it comes to games like this. They'll be huge, with plenty to do. It's funny how, much like in the Star Wars universe, only one kind of climate can exist on an entire planet that also happens to support human life. Although Caspian is the only Brute Force planet described as earthlike. If you take a look at the premiere trailer, in our media section below, it's pretty good bet that all of the action there is taking place on either Caspian or Shrike. Either way, it's pretty damn good looking. Here are the planet rundowns Digital Anvil has provided.

Ferix

This is the swampy jungle planet where the trees have grown so gigantic and so prolifically the locals just built their civilization out of them. Brutus is from Ferix so they're all like him: very spiritual and friendly to human. The Ferals that live in the bigger towns with spaceports are more worldly than some of the more primitive citizens. The clannish social structure is the way of life here. When a Feral is kicked out of his clan for whatever reason they can sometimes fall prey to the dastardly plans of the Seers who basically enslave them as warriors. Because of this Outcast Feral warriors can mean bad news for your team, especially Brutus.

Caspian

Caspian is the earth-like center of the Ulysses system's industrial complex with a quarter million miners, settlers and militia scattered everywhere. They mine Sootrock here at several locations around the planet. There are four principle cities here, each with its own distinct flavor. Gulag is the tropical island area that houses the spaceport and commercial center. Bulgar is the fertile grasslands area. Feguson is the mining headquarters and thus the dominant city on the planet. Vesper is an experimental commune full of scum and villainy. Vesper is also where the Federation's influence is resisted the most because of the strong Mutant population there. These guys are ****ed off, bitter and strong as hell even though their bodies are all misshaped and melting.

Osiris

This is the volcanic moon that actually orbits around Caspian. A group of aliens called the Seers have established a colony here for the purposes of overthrowing the Federation when the time is right. The Seers aren't much to look at physically but their mental abilities more than make up for the lack of muscle. Their colony is built into the side of an active volcano (brilliant!) and the atmosphere is breathable but not very friendly to Ferals. However the reduced gravity here suggest that there might be some easy jumping to be done on Osiris.

Since this is a tactical shooter, we're hoping there is enough balance between strategy and mindless firepower. We want to think about what we're doing and why, but we also want to open up and lay waste to hordes of bad guys as often as possible. Especially with the big machine guns and nasty weapons Digital Anvil is surely cooking up for BF.

Outlook: Brute Force, as one of the first of its kind on the Xbox, will probably raise the stakes for squad-based tactical shooters, but it still has to live up to the universal standard of fun. But with those unique zany characters, two women, a tough dude and a Chewbacca-like wild thing, all you have to do is add some big guns, lots of mindless zombie/aliens/soul-less creatures and everything you need for a hit game is right there. Brute Force could make quite an impact come Spring 2002 with very little in the way of competition.

From IGN