Digital Anvil's game, titled Brute Force, was hailed to become one of the best, if not THE best game, for Microsoft's Xbox. It was definitely one of the most hyped games, and expectations were extremely high. When the game was finally released, after quite a few setbacks, Brute Force set new sales records, smashing the record previously set by Halo. I couldn't help myself and had to get in or the action. Was this game overhyped or is it the real deal? Read on to find out.

Brute Force is a third person action game, although it was probably meant to be a tactical squad based game. The game is set in the not so near future, around 2340 or so, and it is said that humans have colonized and settled on many different planets in the galaxy. Some of these planets are also home to other races, and some conflicts spring up occasionally. A group of four completely different warriors and united and sent out to keep peace, find a few artifacts and complete some other tasks.

The first levels of the game introduce you to the four characters that you will be controlling, and only after completing all of these 'preliminary' missions will you be able to control all of them. The four main characters in this game are all very different and unique. They all carry different weapons, are used in different situations and have different abilities. The main leader of the group is Tex, a very muscular human (reminiscent of Schwarzenegger in his old movies). He has more health than any other member of the party and his special ability is than he can use two weapons simultaneously. He also carries only extremely heavy weapons, such as rocket launchers. The next character than joins you is Brutus, a reptilian dinosaur, and the official name of his race is Feral. He packs quite a punch, has the second-most health, and his special abilities are extremely helpful. He can regenerate his health, see infrared and even perform a deadly move while running toward an enemy. He is really vicious and can carry a heavy and a small weapon. Then you are finally united with Hawk and Flint, the female characters. They can only carry light rifles and their health is much less than that of Brutus and Tex, with Flint having slightly more. Flint is a cyborg and a sniper, and her ability is extra lethal and accurate aim. Hawk, on the other hand, can become invisible and sneak up to enemy and use her melee attack for an easy, yet cool kill. Hawk is the only character than can perform the melee attack.

In the game, you control only a single character at a given time but switching between them is very easy. When you are controlling a member, you can issue orders, such as following you, staying put or attack, and must think everything over before jumping into combat. Each character has a special ability and it is very easy to utilize it or turn it off. There is a meter and the special ability does not last forever, but when you turn it off it regenerates, similar to the focus in Enter the Matrix. There are roughly thirty weapons featured, all of them different and interesting, as well as a large array of grenades (making different explosions) and other items such as medical kits. If a member dies you continue and then have the option of buying them back. This is possible because their DNA is taken and a replica of the dead member is created. Their memory is returned to them and they are back for action. This sounds cheesy but seems eerily realistic in the game.

The controls are very similar to Halo: Combat Evolved, which I purchased only two weeks ago but have already fallen in love with. The right trigger is for shooting your weapon, while the left trigger is for using your item (such as a grenade or a medical kit). The right thumbstick is for looking and aiming, while the left thumbstick is for moving your characters. The directional pad is used to switch between characters, or with the aid of the other buttons, for issuing orders. A is for jumping, B for switching items (melee attack in Halo), Y is switch weapons, while X is pick up weapons. Finally, the white button is to turn the character's ability on/off. If you have played Halo, you will become accustomed to the controls extremely quickly.

The artificial intelligence in Brute Force is fairly smart, and the enemies actually hide behind geographical formations, attempt to run away from nearby grenades, yell remarks than are fairly related to their situation. I was fairly impressed with enemy AI, but the four characters AI is a different story. My main complaint is Flint, who will never ever snipe somebody when you are not controlling her, it is as if she forgets than she can zoom.

Unfortunately, this is game is Xbox Live enabled, therefore you will not be able to complete online against gamers worldwide. However, co-op mode is included, like in Halo, and controlling the gang is very fun with a friend, or two, or three. With two you will have the screen split into two, but with three or four it will be four sections, which is not a lot of room. However, you can hook up more than one Xbox and more than one TV for a great time. Digital Anvil also included a feature that I have been wishing for for a long time. If you are playing the single player campaign and your friend comes over, you can hook up another controller and your friend will start playing right away. If he leaves, unplug the controller and you got back to single player. This is great and I really give the developers recognition for this.

Yet another multiplayer mode, Deathmatch has also been included. This mode lets you to square off face-to-face against your friends. It is your party against your friend's party. Not only are Flint, Hawk, Tex and Brutus available, but some other parties are unlockable, including my favorite, the Feral team. By the way, before I forget to say so, Microsoft and Digital Anvil have promised to release some downloadable content for Brute Force, such as extra missions, shortly.

The graphics are awesome, and use the raw power of the Xbox to a very high extent. The landscapes are beautiful, the terrain of the different levels is appealing and everything is just gorgeous. The animations are fluid, and I really liked the flowing lava. A cool feature was the different explosions of the grenades. The weapons all have a distinct style and look great. The characters themselves are very drawn and are very detailed. The framerate is pretty high and smooth, but slowdown can occur in multiplayer mode. I think that the graphics are as good as any game I have seen on a console.

The sound and music are not the best parts of the game, but they are bad either. The music is very futuristic and seems to be taken from some sci-fi movie. Each character has a bunch of lines exclusive to them, but after a while they get repetitive, even though they were voiced nicely and the lines are used in logical situations. All of the other sounds in the game are nice. Each weapon sounds differently and the yelps made by enemies make the experience of shooting them even more memorable, if you know what I mean.

Overall, Brute Force is a great game. Even though if took Digital Anvil an extremely long time to release it, it was definitely worth the wait. I am not sure whether a sequel will be made, but since this game is so successful, I think it is very possible and would definitely buy it. Making it Live enabled would make it better, just live Live should make Halo 2 a great game. I recommend this game to all Xbox owners, and I am sure that this game will treasured by action lovers. If I were to compare it to another game, I would say that Brute Force is most similar to Ghost Recon and Halo. To answer the question that I began this review with, Brute Force was definitely not overhyped and is a well-developed action game.

Recommended: Yes