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CLOSE COMBAT, SOUND FAMILIAR? Way back in 1996 Close Combat hit the shelves, it was like nothing gamers had ever seen before. It had realism, action, leading edge graphics it was even deemed "The best wargame ever created!". Since then some time has passed and three more titles have been added to the series but now, in 2005 Minnesota based Destineer Studios has realeased a fourth installment to the famous series, First to Fight.
Set in modern day conflicts, First to Fight offers a unique experience using cutting edge graphics, realistic military tactics and technology and advanced AI. All of this is delivered with help from over 40 active duty Marines fresh out of action.
What differs this game from its siblings is that it's a first-person shooter. Set in the year 2006 you first land in the city of Beirut, Lebanon, in the middle of a war fuelled by local militia. At your disposal you have troops Wallace, Cox, and Edwards. Each soldier is equipped with M16-A4s while Edwards, the heavy support, carries the SAW (no not a chainsaw unfortunately). You have a modified M16-A4, with M203 grenade launcher attached.
Each soldier is able to be given orders; whether you need covering fire or to halt your troops, it's all available with First to Fight's tactics system. As you scour the wartorn city of Beirut, navigating lusciously textured brown and grey buildings, extensive hotels, and dark alleys, you hear the sound of gunshots and explosions from nearby firefights, reminding you just how thick amongst the action you and your team of US Marines are. Graphically, the game is amazing. First to Fight has a a cutting-edge graphics engine which delivers amazingly realistic facial animations, volumetric real-time shadows, dynamic lighting and more.
The AI of the game is rather limited. Whether you play the game taking full advantage of the tactics system or you just forget about your team altogether Destineer's AI engine allows your troops to operate on their own, acting apropriatly as Marines should. But unfortuanly the enemys dont seem live up to the same standard, they seem more like mere targets running along a set path than "Humans with wills of their own".
Gameplay-wise First to Fight is a solid military experience, but it just lacks the punch to be top shelf material with hours and hours of re-playability. You can only expect a reasonably small amount of playtime from each scenario which is dragged out by character movement set at a walking pace for the most part.
The game is cabable of one to eight players for single-screen play or two to eight through system link LAN gaming, so you and your mates can play four-man co-op or play head to head in First to Fight's Fire Team Arena. There is no custom soundtrack option in the game but is Xbox Live ebabled. Overall the game is not a bad attempt at the FPS genre, but just lacks the action of a truly absorbing war game. |
