Immersion: How successfully the game immersed you into the storyline. Did everything make sense? Or were there glaring [and distracting] errors.
Score: 2/5
The stoyline in Brute Force is typical Action Game fare. "There's the bad guy, go shoot them." The characters are flat and typical. Everything is pretty ho hum.
Story: Was there a story (I rarely play anything without one)? Was it one that you shout to the rooftops about certain scenes that you remember (or would like to forget)?
Score: 1/10
Blech. The story is virtually non existent. There is no cohesion to the missions. They don't flow together correctly. It's all, "Go here, shoot shoot, pick up this, come back." Awful.
Innovation
Did the game make you say, "I've never done that before!!!" Did the game attempt something ordinary and accomplish something marvelous?
Score: 5/8
I look at Brute Force as a good first step in creating an innovative series. We have the basic mechanics in place, we just need a story and character development to sell it home. What use is having a squad based tactical shooter, when everything boils down to run and gunplay. I forced my self to attempt tactics to see how cool it could be, but there were a lot of things that got in the way. For instance, first you need to scout out an area. How can you scout when enemies can see and shoot you long before you can see them. Sure you can turn invisible, but that doesn't last long enough. Next you need to position your sniper. How can you do that when you get shot at way before you can position them and the enemy AI never patrols, they just wait for you to wander into their sights. At least the commands do what they are supposed to and the ally AI is competant. I felt comfortable telling my squadmates to meet me a location and I didn't have to worry about them wandering into heavy fire to commit suicide. Maybe we'll get the rest of this game right in Brute Force 2.
Dialogue
Nothing's better than good dialogue in a game (and nothing is worse than bad dialogue).
Score: 1/2
This is the kind of game where you laugh in all the wrong places. Everything that characters say is so trite and cliched that it's funny for all the wrong reasons. Come on digital anvil, I know you can do better.
2. Gameplay
Gameplay refers to how fun the game is to play (not look at).
Control Scheme
Don't you hate it when you play a game that puts the button you need in the worst place (and only lets you use the DEFAULT scheme).
Score: 5/5
If you use the best, you get the best. Brute Force uses Halo's control scheme. This is perfect for a console based shooter. Most things feel good. From throwing grenades to laying down suppression fire. You aren't locked into an inverted look if you don't like that. You can even set up your preferred control scheme and save it for whenever you play. Outstanding.
Responsiveness
How many times have you died and had your friends laugh at your ineptitude, all the while your pleading that you mashed the jump button?
Score: 8/8
Everything works well. The animation doesn't get in the way (and believe mee you do a lot of scrambling in this game to save your bacon). The targetting reticle is large (a must for console gaming) and when you pull the trigger, Mr. Boomstick go Boom! Great.
Level Design
Were the levels and puzzles well thought out, challenging (but not inane)?
Score: 4/8
All I can say is that this game needed a level editor. The levels themselves are OK for an action based game (baddies here, go shoot them). But, I was screaming for some intelligent maps. Wouldn't it be great if you could sneak into an installation (before the baddies show up), case the joint, get your tactics together and then lay the smackdown? These levels won't allow for that. Everything is chaotic, I kept sneaking up to obvious bell tower locations to find, no one up there, and when I put my sniper in that great spot, no one happened by to picked off with fierce accuracy. Again, maybe next game.
Balance
Did you waltz through the opening enemies, reach the boss only to discover that you needed to level up for 5 more hours to defeat them?
Score: 1/3
Nothing makes sense in the way this game is laid out. You could be waltzing through a level with the scout, doing well against the enemies and then, all of a sudden, you get ambushed and you're dead (it would have been OK if the place looked like an ambushable locale, but right in the middle of a bunch of statues in a closed off room, weird).
3. Technical Merits
This category deals exclusively with the look and sound of the game (not the feel).
Graphics
Is this game so pretty that you seek out (and wear) art from the game?
Score: 5/7
Most of Brute Force looks great. There's tall grass to hide in and other goodies, but what's up with the ugly characters? (Especially the women, yikes).
Score
Could the soundtrack accompany you on long boring torturous journeys (and make you feel at ease)?
Score: 1/7
Not surprisingly, when you don't care about your story, you don't care about your music. I've been playing Brute Force for a month and I didn't even notice that there was music in the game (is there any, I don't remember)?
Effects
How many times did you scream, "Holy Guacamole, look at that!!!" during this game.
Score: 7/7
Weapon effects are top notch. You can lay down some impressive looking damage in this game. When things go boom, you can feel it. Also, the rag doll death scenes are a hoot and a half. Enemies fall off cliffs and roll down hills, really great stuff. Good job.
Vocal Acting
Great voice acting = a quite memorable game experience.
Score: 2/4
just bad, granted a lot of the vocal acting is hindered by the script, but, come on, put some feeling into what you're saying.
4. Enjoyment
The all important question, "Was this game fun?"
Thrills, Chills, Wahoos!!!
Did the game make me jump up and down on the couch, did I turn the lights on or did I yell even one, "Wahoo?"
Score: 7/10
There is some fun to be had. It's a blast to go all psycho and lay waste, but I expected a lot more. It would have been more fun if the tactical side delivered. But, all in all, this is a fun game.
Replay Ability
Is this game even more fun the next go round?
Score 4/5
Of course, no one will play the story mode again (it is painful enough going through it the first time), but with all the multiplayer features, you can still have fun with Brute Force months after you finish the story.
Multiplayer
Can you invite friends over to play (or have a jolly romp over the Internet)?
Score: 4/5
Here is where Brute Force shines. Plenty of offline multiplayer goodness. The screen is a little small and you can't see your squad mate's health in split screen, but still this game begs for multiplayer heaven.
Co Op
Even more fun than just playing together, Cooperating is the ultimate in playing TOGETHER.
Score: 5/5
This is good. Allowing 4 player co op through the story is laudable (even if the tactics aren't there, this feature alone is great). Of course, the best way to do this is with system linking, but this isn't a realistic way to play. Perhaps the next version will be online, dare we hope.
Total Score: 62
In short, Brute Force gives you action, when you want tactics. There is potential here for something great. I hope that this series continues and now that Digital Anvil has a handle on the mechanics of the game, they can focus on the ambiance and the levels to create something outstanding.
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