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You are the squad leader of multiple infantry forces. Your
job - to lead them into action through a host of dangerous
missions and environments. There are real-life tactics deployable
in order to defeat your opposition, and as squad leader you
also have some of the most advanced weapons and military equipment
known to man, such as grenade launchers, machine guns, helicopter
gunships and mortar stations. The lives of your men are your
responsibility. Every decision, no matter how small, can have
massive consequences...
Ten
Hammers is the sequel to the original Full
Spectrum Warrior game. I have to admit to being
a huge fan of the first game - despite the fact that it was
relatively easy to complete and there were a few too many
bugs. In fact a lot of the problems from the first game have
not been addressed with the sequel (like the fact that when
you have to replay a level you still have to kill the same
number of enemy who always come at you from the same position
- making it easier for you to plan your tactics once you know
where the enemy are going to appear from).
You
start the game in familiar territory - with two squads that
are dressed in the same style uniform from the previous game.
However, once you have completed a few levels you are given
new squads to command - a British and Northern Ireland team
come equipped with their own expletives and vocal outbursts.
Sadly though, there isn't much variety to their speech so
you'll hear the same phrases time and time again.
This
time around you can split each of your squads into two teams
(the team leader and automatic rifleman come as one unit and
the rifleman and grenadier as the other). You can also enter
buildings and venture upstairs to take up a better firing
position on your enemies. Another addition is the ability
to control tanks and other units for the odd mission. You
can also learn from past mistakes with the in-game replay
video system, which gives you the opportunity to look again
at your squad's actions and movements. These enhancements
do add a lot to the game, but you'll need to make sure that
each unit is secure before switching to another team - because
if you leave your men in the open for too long they can be
shot down before you have time to get back to them and give
them orders.
There
are a few too many bugs though that really should have been
ironed out. I
couldn't understand the logic of the control system in firing.
You can't customise the camera options and they seemed a bit
messed up. For example, when moving around the gaming environment
you must push down to look up and vice versa (which is how
I always prefer my controls to be configured). However, when
you switch to looking down your weapon's sights, the control
movement switches so that you must push up to look up and
down to look down. Even after days of playing, this was still
annoying - and led to plenty of situations where I was killed
because I had to mess around with the controls.
Also,
when under fire, your team act like they are on a walk in
the park. If you direct them to go a certain way some of them
go the direct way, while others wander into the enemies line
of fire and then eventually make their way to their destination
(if they are not shot down).
Then
there is the fact that the camera angles are a little restrictive
- if you want to move around your team and examine if there
are any areas ahead you can move to, it's not as easy as it
should be. Also the restrictions on grenade throwing is a
little odd. Sometimes you can throw them a long way, other
times you can only throw them a very short distance (which
usually results in you getting blown to bits).
The
enemies AI was also a little odd. More often than not you'll
enter an area and be shot down before you know what has happened.
But at other times you can stand out in the open near your
enemy, who won't spot you - and instead just runs around like
a nutter.
Another
thing that I thought worthy of mention, although most people
won't is that in the later levels the composer was obviously
heavily influenced by the music of James Horner.
Now
all of my above comments make the game sound unplayable. But
the truth is that they are just niggles, rather than serious
problems. The end result is still an entertaining game, it's
just a shame that it wasn't a little more polished before
being released. Fans of the first game will love this follow-up.
Darren
Rea
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