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Close Combat: First to Fight Review - Xbox

The game Full Spectrum Warrior comes to mind when we loaded up Close Combat for the first time and it ran through the pretty lengthy tutorial on how to act in urban combat. Close Combat: First to Fight is the latest game to utilize the same engine as the combat simulator that the U.S. Marines supposedly use, although there’s a pretty clear message as you load up the game that the U.S. Marines don’t endorse this game, so we don’t know what to believe any more. Close Combat brings you fairly close to the combat, but can you put up with a slow and fiddly control system to enjoy a few minor thrills?

“The greatest supporters of peace are those that are sworn to risk their lives when war occurs” - Gen Charles Krulak, 31st commandant, USMC.

Gameplay

At the start of the game, you go through several tutorial videos to explain how to play the game properly. The way they expect you to play the game is ludicrous though. No gamer can be bothered creeping along the walls of the streets these days unless it’s an awe-inspiring stealth game like Splinter Cell. Even the MGS series has more action than Close Combat, as you find yourself churning along at about 4KPH getting shot at from all angles because your team who are supposedly “smarter than you” according to the developers don’t know how to use their weapons or keep up with you. If they’re so smart, the least they could do is follow you properly, but instead they get in your way more often than are useful.

Full Spectrum Warrior had the whole U.S. Marines game fully worked out. Squad based action at its finest, with practically no competition up to this very date. Close Combat has tried to imitate FSW, only putting you in-charge of the main person in the squad, and making it a first-person shooter - unfortunately, this scenario does not work. There are too many situations where you want to hurry through an area but you can’t because you need your squad to help you clear out a room. It takes away from the fun, and really lowers the overall feel of enjoyment when playing Close Combat: First to Fight.

The controls are awkward, it’s basically set up the same way as the S.W.A.T. series, but with less options. Your team will do as you say, but there are only a couple of different variations for taking control of areas, and after doing them once or twice they start to become pretty boring. Your whole team has machine guns, but you are the only one that can make it a grenade launcher as well. Grenades can prove to be useful in intense situations, but are not really needed, just like the rest of your team!

The streets of Beirut, Lebanon are more violent than ever in Close Combat: First to Fight, but there’s next to no bloodshed. (continued next page)