Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)

Designing video games is not normally the sort of thing you'd expect the US Army to get up to, but in actual fact Full Spectrum Warrior was created specifically for use as training tool for US soldiers; it's only now that we civvies are getting a chance to have a go too. The full story is that the US Army had become a little upset that recruits to the Air Force already understood a lot of the basic mechanics and tactics of flying from playing flight sims but yet army recruits were learning nothing of use from ordinary video games.

In order to rectify this, Full Spectrum Warrior tasks you with control of a four-man squad of soldiers who are normally armed with nothing more than a machine gun and grenades. The first thing to realise is that you don't directly control any of the soldiers and are therefore not responsible for aiming or shooting, or even moving. Instead the game plays more like a real-time strategy, where you must indicate where to move and who to shoot at and let your grunts get on with the actual business of aiming. This makes for a uniquely engrossing experience and you do genuinely feel you're being taught something about real-world tactics.

The incredibly realistic graphics also help to completely immerse you in the game--whether they’ll make you more or less likely to eye up those TA ads is debatable, once you realise what a hard life soldiers really have. --David Jenkins

"The future of strategy shooters is here"

9.2/10, GAME OF THE MONTH AWARD

"Stunningly realised and immensely rewarding – war just shouldn't be this much fun"

92% - CVG GOLD AWARD

"FSW is a triumph... Adore this groundbreaking piece of military brilliance"

9/10

"Looks great, sounds amazing and plays beautifully"

9/10

"This is special stuff"

8/10

Full Spectrum Warrior is based on a light infantry training simulator designed by Pandemic Studios for the US Army as a tool to reinforce Army doctrine and squad tactics among troops. Full Spectrum Warrior is a squad-based, tactical-action game that delivers the experience of squad-level command in the heat of battle. The product was developed with expertise from the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies, which worked with Pandemic to bring state-of-the-art technology to the game. Designed to simulate today's challenges of urban combat missions, Full Spectrum Warrior delivers a level of realism and accuracy that has never been seen in a military-based game.