At one time it appeared that Pandemic Studios could do no wrong. With games like Star Wars Battlefront, Destroy All Humans, Full Spectrum Warrior, and Mercenaries on their resume, it’s easy to see why this was believable. And while none of these games can be considered perfect, they are however good, and made Activision’s plan to monetarily back Pandemic way back in 1998 seem like an ingenious decision.  

Probably the most least accessible of the group is Full Spectrum Warrior. This oddball mix of squad-based strategy and shooter is actually classified as a real-time tactics action/war game. It wasn’t that it turned out poorly; it’s just that it brought a lot of innovative features to the table, and up until that point they hadn’t been done before in other shooters. A lot of this can of course be attributed to FSW’s origins; having been originally developed as a complex training tool for the United States Army, it should serve as a testament to greatness that Pandemic was able to convert it to the mainstream as well as they did.

So with nearly two years of development time since the series debut and a laundry-list of issues to correct, the sequel to Full Spectrum Warrior is finally upon us. So what has Pandemic done to improve the game this time around? Or is Ten Hammers more of the same? Well, for starters Ten Hammers isn’t a monumental improvement over its predecessor, but it does have more than enough new features to make it appear that way. Players now have more precise control over their squad-mates and can now split the unit into two different teams for an even more detailed plan of attack. You can also control vehicles, fight from the cover of buildings, send soldiers to scout ahead, and witness the story unfold through the eyes of three different military groups. Throw in some decent online play and one would think that Ten Hammers delivers on all fronts. While this is mostly true, there were a few glaring problems that kept it from being the game that it could’ve been.

Maybe it’s the uninspired story, or even possibly the below-average dialogue. Maybe it’s the added amount of control over my soldiers without making it all seem more user-friendly, or it could even be the fact that these same soldiers don’t react the way I think they should. But for some reason the overall experience you receive from playing Ten Hammers just isn’t as explosive as it seemed years ago. Maybe it’s the lack of original mission schemes, or maybe not allowing the player to actually pull the trigger so to speak is starting to seem like more of an issue than it once did. Of course, everyone who played the original will argue that this is what FSW thrives upon, and the lack of hands-on in the firing aspect is more than made up for in the strategy department. And while this is true for the most part, it seems like the developers may have held back on purpose this time around. It’s like they gave me 98% control over my units, and then didn’t give me that extra little amount because they wanted to remain true to the series’ roots.

One of your squad’s new features is the precision firing aspect, which lets you aim more precisely in those tight spots. This allows you to take aim from right behind your soldier’s head which gives you a better perspective on how to effectively defeat your enemies. For instance, in the previous version if an enemy was hidden safely behind a car or other objects it made it very difficult to strike him unless he made himself visible. This usually resulted in both sides blindly shooting at each other until one group was lucky enough to make contact. This time, if you find yourself pinned down behind an object that has visible holes in it (car window), you can use the precision aiming technique to fire through that hole and hopefully defeat your opponent. This works for all of your team members, but with an obvious advantage, the squad leader’s rifle is by far the most effective.

You also have much more control when moving your squad members around the battlefield. In the original FSW you often felt like you were sending squad members on a suicide mission, as they’d often get shot from multiple directions while trying to move from point a to b, but in Ten Hammers they seem to be a little brighter, especially with the new options. You can now choose from Tight or Hot modes after issuing a movement command. Choosing Hot from the menu will cause your squad to advance twice as fast as they normally would, with little regard to any enemy that might be waiting for them. And as you might have expected, choosing Tight will cause your squad to move in a silent stealth-like mode, and will almost never be spotted unless out in the open. Possibly even more useful is the Scout ability. This allows one member of your squad to go ahead of the pack and check enemy placements, and once done will run quickly back to the group. Likewise, if the area is clear he will stay at his scouted position, and the rest of the soldiers will advance to his point. 

One of the more unfriendly features, at least control wise, is the option of controlling all squads from one perspective. No longer do you have to manually switch from Bravo to Alpha in order to control your intended squad, as this time around you can issue commands to all friendly units any time you wish. You can literally send troops to any location on the map, but problems start to appear when these same squads come under attack. And since you do not directly control these troops it makes it hard to switch to them quickly enough to keep them out of harms way. Once you are fighting along side Delta and Charlie things are even more confusing, as you can potentially control four different squads without ever switching to any of them. Of course, this can become overly-difficult to do with any chance of success, and often times it is better just to manually switch and issue orders that way.

One of the more refreshing new features is the fact that you can now enter and wage war from the inside of buildings. This is especially helpful when you’re in need of getting off the streets and into the arms of safety. From here you can potentially snipe opposing enemies, or even send down a barrage of grenades to clear a tough part of the street. This of course means the enemy has this ability as well, and running into a sniper that knocks you off several times in a row will likely happen. This is mainly due to the enemy snipers having a vertical advantage on you, so hiding behind that car or group of barrels isn’t going to be effective when a sniper is looking down upon you from a higher vantage point. The only real problem to using this feature is that you never really feel like you have much of an advantage; sure, you can occasionally pick off unsuspecting enemies, but most of the time they will spot you before you’re able to see them, and will likely pin you down inside the building. Throwing buildings into the mix was an awesome idea, but it seems that the enemy soldiers reap the benefits more than the player does.

And much like every other war simulator on the market, the FSW series now allows the use of vehicles, specifically the controlling of tanks. Thankfully, driving these beasts around the battlefield is as much fun as you’d expect. You can do almost anything that its real-life counterpart can; whether it’s gunning down enemy troops with the turret’s machine gun, obliterating obstacles with the tank’s cannon, or ejecting smoke grenades to provide your troops some better coverage, the options are nearly limitless.

With all of these new modes and features stacked onto an already good game, one would think that Ten Hammers is able to hold its own. In some aspects the answer would have to be yes. The new squad movement options are certainly a welcome addition, and the new battle techniques like precision shooting, controllable vehicles, and the choice of taking the fight indoors is definitely a move in the right direction. The problem is that while the rest of the game has received a facelift, for some reason the controls have been neglected, and have a terrible time handling these new features with any grace or style. At certain points in the game events become so hectic and out of control that you really feel like you have lost your grasp on the situation. Throw in the fact that the player has very little actual control over his squads, especially when time is an issue, and the whole scenario starts to become just a bit frustrating. Just one soldier who catches your team off guard can seem like an army of one if you’re forced to cycle through layers of menus before you can deal with him.

So in a way this is Ten Hammer’s main weakness; almost every stride it takes in the right direction is beset by its inability to offer these new additions in a comfortable and accessible manner. I’m sure fans of the series will likely enjoy what Ten Hammers has to offer, as they realize that war is hell, and so is recreating it effectively in a video game. So these issues can be overlooked if you’re willing to do so, and as long as you don’t expect it to be a vast improvement over the original, things will probably seem a bit less harsh than I have described.
 

Gameplay: 7.7

There’re plenty of new abilities and moves at your disposal, and the new squad-based movement options are taking the series in the right direction. The use of controllable vehicles, as well as the use of indoor environments is a welcome addition, too. Had these new features been worked into the control scheme more effectively, Ten Hammers would’ve been much better off.

Graphics: 8.4

Even though you will notice only a marginal improvement in visuals over the original, Ten Hammers is still one very good looking game. Animations are smooth and spot-on for the most part, and squad members move throughout the battlefield in realistic fashion. The only real problem that existed was some minor clipping issues that took place when team members were hit in close proximity to each other. They seem to pass through each other quite often on their way to the ground, and don’t react to the impact in the way they should. The levels, although look spectacular, repeat themselves just a bit too often, and this repetition takes away some of the visual impact.

Sound: 8.2

The sound is nearly as impressive as the visuals, and compliment the hectic on-screen firefights nicely. Each weapon seems to have the appropriate sound to it, so grenades explode with the utmost ferocity, and you can expect the machine gun to pound your ears repetitively until the rounds stop. Overall the game’s audio does a wonderful job of drawing you into the narrative, often moving from the eerily quit to downright chaotic in a matter of seconds.  The moment you hear a few bullets whizzing by your head unexpectedly and pierce the object behind you, you know right off the bat that you’re in for quite a ride. 

Difficulty: Medium/Hard

Concept: 7.7

The Full Spectrum Warrior series has the right idea in mind, even if it doesn’t always deliver the way it should. Making the player concentrate more on the strategic side of warfare rather than the combat part is certainly something that could be embraced. Had only Ten Hammers implemented all its ambitions effectively into a streamlined package, it could’ve taken the series to the next level.

Multiplayer: 7.9

Up to four players can wage war online, and there should be enough variety to keep most fans happy. Those willing to play cooperatively will be treated to some mode specific stages, all of which are worth checking out. The versus mode is a little more interesting, as one team will play the part of the U.S. soldiers, while the other will play as the terrorist unit named Tien Hamir. The U.S. soldiers react as they do in single-player mode, but the insurgents are cosmetically different and seem to have a greater number of soldiers at their disposal. This is a vast improvement over the original FSW and anyone looking for a little online action will be happy they checked it out.   

Overall: 7.8

Despite my rather large list of complaints, it should go as noted that Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers is by far not a bad game. Having been a fan of the original I was anxious to see what Pandemic could do to improve the series. And for the most part they offered multiple new ways to approach each situation, but I just felt that had the control scheme been adjusted to reflect these new changes, this game could’ve been much better. Even still, checking out Ten Hammers is a must for fans, and even if you prefer to run 'n gun your way through war-sims, checking out the methodical pace offered here would definitely be worth your time.