GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Games

Playstation Reviews
PS3 | PS2 | PS One | PSP

Xbox Reviews
Xbox 360 | Xbox

Nintendo Reviews
Wii | DS | GBA | Cube | N64


PC | N-Gage | Dreamcast

How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Games In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

xx Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships
xx Alien Shooter - Revisited
xx Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded
xx Altitude
xx America's Army 3
75 And Yet It Moves
79 ArmA II
xx Armed Forces Corp.
xx Astro Tripper
75 BattleForge
74 Battlestations: Pacific
75 Bionic Commando
78 Blood Bowl
59 Blueberry Garden
xx Book of Unwritten Tales, The
90 Braid
xx Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island
81 Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
80 Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, The
76 Chronicles of Spellborn, The
67 Codename: Panzers - Cold War
73 Cogs
64 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising
70 Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
69 Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason
41 Damnation
66 Dark Sector
89 Dawn of Discovery
82 DCS: Black Shark
53 Death Track: Resurrection
xx Delta Force: Xtreme 2
76 Demigod
xx Drug Wars
71 Elven Legacy
89 EVE Online: Apocrypha
81 Fallout 3: Broken Steel
78 Fallout 3: Point Lookout
77 Fallout 3: The Pitt
50 Fenimore Fillmore's Revenge
xx Final Fantasy XI: A Crystalline Prophecy
65 Flock!
80 Free Realms
72 Fuel
78 Ghostbusters: The Video Game
54 Gobliiins 4
63 Godfather II, The
36 Grey's Anatomy
xx Hannah Montana: The Movie
xx Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
xx Helldorado
xx Hinterland: Orc Lords
xx Humans, The
xx Hunter, The
xx Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
72 Killing Floor
xx Larva Mortus
66 Last Remnant, The
20 Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
xx Light of Altair
75 Maw, The
79 Men of War
76 Mevo & the Grooveriders
xx Military History Commander: Europe at War
74 MLB Dugout Heroes
63 Monsters vs. Aliens
74 Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate
72 Officers
xx Operation 7
xx Orb and the Oracle, The
78 Overlord II
80 Path, The
88 Plants vs. Zombies
xx Pool Hall Pro
xx Pro Cycling Manager: Tour de France 2009
79 Prototype
xx Railworks
xx Raycatcher
70 Restaurant Empire 2
xx Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer
73 Runes of Magic
xx Samantha Swift and the Golden Touch
72 SBK 09 Superbike World Championship
xx Scorpion: Disfigured
64 Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis
74 Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper
77 Simon the Sorcerer 5: Who'd Even Want Contact?!
86 Sims 3, The
xx Smashing Toys
73 Spore Galactic Adventures
26 Stalin vs. Martians
xx Stateshift
68 Still Life 2
42 Stormrise
92 Street Fighter IV
71 Superstars V8 Racing
51 Terminator Salvation
xx Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943
xx Three Cards to Midnight
70 Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
61 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
xx Trine
31 Tunnel Rats
xx Up
61 Velvet Assassin
72 Virtua Tennis 2009
76 Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 1: Fright of the Bumblebees
73 Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 2: The Last Resort
75 Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 3: Muzzled!
62 Wanted: Weapons of Fate
xx Warrior Epic
58 Wheelman, The
xx Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey
72 World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
xx WSC Real 09: World Snooker Championship
77 X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Uncaged Edition
xx Yosumin!
78 Zeno Clash

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums
Full Spectrum Warrior pc Game Reviews
Full Spectrum Warrior
Critic Score
Metascore: 80 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.6 out of 10
based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 12 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

Full Spectrum Warrior is based on a game commissioned by the U.S. Army to train light Infantry troops in urban combat situations. Soldiers are placed in a tense, hostile, and claustrophobic environment where they must complete a variety of military objectives. Players act as the Squad Leader, providing direction to Alpha and Bravo fire teams. The successful Squad Leader effectively uses cover in the environment and moves his fire teams in a coordinated fashion so they can protect themselves from possible attacks that could come from any direction. Full Spectrum Warrior puts you in the dirt with your men, where danger lurks around every corner. [THQ]

PUBLISHER: THQ
DEVELOPER: Pandemic Studios
GENRE(S): Real-Time Strategy, Third-Person Action
PLAYERS: 2
ESRB RATING: M (Mature)
RELEASE DATE: September 21, 2004

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

95
Game Chronicles
A game like no other. It almost rises above the definition of the word “game”, but you can’t argue that there is a lot of challenging fun and addictive gameplay to be found in this attractive package.
Read Full Review
93
PGNx Media
Visually, Full Spectrum Warrior is quite a looker. The game’s various urban settings are very realistic, further adding to the authentic nature of the game. The texture work is quite good and shows in detail the various deprived and underprivileged Middle Eastern cities that the game mimics.
Read Full Review
92
Worth Playing
It is a good game that is well thought-out, plays well (assuming you take the time to learn the game) and is a very satisfying experience.
Read Full Review
90
Gaming Nexus
While I would liked to have had a bit more variety (the ability to carry a fight inside a building, for example), it is a very impressive first effort for this new genre.
Read Full Review
90
GameSpy
The interface works a whole lot better on the PC, and if your machine is up to running it all maxed out, then it will look that much cleaner. All this aside, however, the game itself is intense and utterly engrossing.
Read Full Review
88
PC Gamer
An intense and demanding simulation of modern urban combat. [Dec 2004, p.70]
88
IGN
The only real problem is that the game lets you have everything immediately and never really steps up the strategy and tactics into new and interesting territory. Creativity and style aren't necessarily an option.
Read Full Review
88
ActionTrip
Probably one of the best tactical military shooters I've played. It's authentic, gritty and highly original in the way it was executed. And it requires you to use your brains for a change.
Read Full Review
85
GameZone
Not only the best military sim of recent times, but one of the most intense and exciting strategy games ever created.
Read Full Review
84
Computer Games Online RO
An entertaining game with an excellent interface and decent AI.
Read Full Review
83
Jolt Online Gaming UK
It’s repetitive, a little on the shallow side, and probably not for your average twitch gamer, but it’s also highly original and extremely entertaining.
Read Full Review
80
EuroGamer
Still, nitpicky design and technical limitations aside, the 12 hours or so that you'll be playing the single-player game are almost always enjoyable, challenging, and entertaining.
Read Full Review
80
Computer and Video Games
It's beautifully simple, but also brings an element of tension as there's always a few seconds between issuing commands by tapping the left mouse button, and seeing them carried out on the battlefield.
Read Full Review
80
Edge Magazine
Whatever you conclude about the bigger picture, this is special stuff. The claustrophobic buzz of flies, the distant muezzin drone, the desperation as you crouch uncertain in the dust whilst your men call frantically for orders will lodge in your mind long after you've walked away from the game. [July 2004, p.98]
80
Yahoo! Games
A fascinating strategy game mixed with a lot of tactical shooter elements. Additional online modes and some gameplay tweaks would have earned the game a higher rating, but as it stands, it's still a thoroughly entertaining and involving experience.
Read Full Review
79
Game Over Online
The good news: there’s a co-op mode. The bad: it’s limited to two players. It’s the work of the solo campaign divided in two, which may possibly be fun for you and a friend, assuming you’ve got broadband and a microphone. The ugly however: there are no publically-hosted campaigns to be found, anywhere, despite built-in GameSpy support.
Read Full Review
78
Gamezilla!
I just wish there was more of it to enjoy, and something has to be done about the multiplayer - it just wasn't enough. If ever there was a game that cried out for a sequel, Full Spectrum Warrior is it.
Read Full Review
77
GameSpot
Often ends up feeling like a string of puzzles whose solutions are pretty obvious. Nevertheless, Full Spectrum Warrior is very good overall, and deserves credit for being something other than just another military-themed shooter or strategy game. It's just too bad that it isn't more involving.
Read Full Review
76
Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
Full Spectrum Warrior's heritage as a US Army training tool is all too evident. Pandemic nearly forgot they needed to make a game too, and as a result FSW is too realistic, too automated - and not enough fun. [PC Gamer UK]
Read Full Review
74
PC Format
Ample proof that thinking men are welcome in the modern army.
Read Full Review
70
GMR Magazine
PC players have a set of expectations that couldn't be met without more solid A.I. That, plus unfulfilling multiplayer, takes away any chances for a Medal of Honor here. [Jan 2005, p.122]
70
AceGamez
If you are a fan of tactical shooters then it is a great alternative to the norm of clichéd tactical shooters; everyone else may want to try before you buy however, as the limited nature of the gameplay and the speed at which you can complete the single player campaign might not be enough to keep the average gamer entertained for very long.
Read Full Review
70
Computer Gaming World
It'll eventually dawn on you that you're playing the world's most elaborate version of tic-tac-toe. [Holiday 2004, p.94]
70
Boomtown
Relentless, exhausting and unique, although Full Spectrum Warrior is certainly one of the most innovative strategy games we’ve played for some time, it’s not always a wholly satisfying one- it often feels too much like hard work. Good, but not quite the classic it could have been.
Read Full Review
70
Computer Games Magazine
It never really takes off, seeming perpetually stuck in neutral rather than shifting to the higher gear it feels like it should achieve. [Jan 2005, p.64]
67
Gaming Age
More a glimpse into how a real Army fire team moves and engages enemy forces than it is a challenging real-time strategy game.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Aaron D. gave it a0:
Another politically incorrect, militarist, anti muslim, american junk.

Andy W. gave it an8:
This game is unique in that 2 players can play the campaign in muliplayer co-op over a LAN, or the internet. Players are controlled from a third person view, except when using hand grenades and grenade launchers, which you control first person style. The AI is scripted, trigger based and usually spawns in the same places, which means that replay-ability is limited. However, it still requires teamwork and tactics to complete a level. The 'suppress and flank' tactics become routine by the end of it, but it is still enjoyable. There was an annoying bug which crashed the game to desktop after most in game auto-saves. This was irritating, but the game saves were always ok, and it just meant restarting the game and continuing on. There were no patches avaible when I played it (early 2005) and web support was minimal. An enjoyable game with some innovative features. Worth getting especially if you're looking for a combat game with a mulitplayer campaign.

[Anonymous] gave it an 8:
Good game but not great.

H. S. gave it a 10:
A tactical shooter where your troops do the shooting. It all gets down to how you plan your soldiers operation. The troops do the fighting, rather than you have to tell them exactly what to do. If bullets rain on them they won't run away from cover just because you want to. A truly amusing and challenging game. A bit on the easy side but that's a minor problem.

Discuss this game in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use