Well, since the Xbox had red ring fever and had melted its graphics card, I decided to link up the dusty scart leads of the old, yet utterly faithful ps2.
Skipping the ensuing nostalgic anecdote, Fire Warrior, made by THQ, creators of the late, great Red Faction series is a competant if sadly bland addition to the FPS genre. Though that is not to say it is not without its charms.
Based within the firmly established universe of Warhammer 40k, you play the role of an upcoming Tau line trooper, and the norm is cunningly subverted from this point onwards, as you are an alien killing human enemies, humans who are to a man, characterised as crude, corrupt and generally unpleasant. But sadly this isn't really built upon, and eventually everything just slips into being a target to be eliminated and the killing humans aspect becomes largely irrelevant. Arguably it allows the player to catch a glimpse of the 40k universe from an interesting angle, but its merely a watered down version with a few lumpy cameos floating here and there. What you see of the plot is thin enough to be stirred in nicely, and most of the time it seems to be playing out without you as you do all the grunt work. You are handed a gun and a hefty dose of responsibility from the various higher powers, who linger on screen for several seconds before jogging off to do something more important.
Having said that, mocking the plot structure of any FPS is like shooting cod at Tescos, whereas shooting the action is alot tougher. Like shooting toddlers in tescos. The action is meaty and challenging whilst being well paced and takes place in some imaginative locations. The AI isnt astonishing and not as varied as it first appears. Clones appear in different garb and all the big things, such as Dreadnaughts and Obliterators become more or less interchangeable after your first encounter. Later in the game they appear in groups or one after another in qick succession, which though challenging gets a bit samey and quickly feels like a bit of a slog seeing as none of the weapons bar the Bolter and Melta do any decent damage. The weapons are taken directly from 40k and as such lasguns, and plasma guns make an appreciated and entertaining appearence alongside some of the more standard FPS staples.
My final thought, for this is a spontaneous and unplanned review, is that Fire Warrior is a decent enough game, but is undeserving of the high scores it got in its golden day.
Skipping the ensuing nostalgic anecdote, Fire Warrior, made by THQ, creators of the late, great Red Faction series is a competant if sadly bland addition to the FPS genre. Though that is not to say it is not without its charms.
Based within the firmly established universe of Warhammer 40k, you play the role of an upcoming Tau line trooper, and the norm is cunningly subverted from this point onwards, as you are an alien killing human enemies, humans who are to a man, characterised as crude, corrupt and generally unpleasant. But sadly this isn't really built upon, and eventually everything just slips into being a target to be eliminated and the killing humans aspect becomes largely irrelevant. Arguably it allows the player to catch a glimpse of the 40k universe from an interesting angle, but its merely a watered down version with a few lumpy cameos floating here and there. What you see of the plot is thin enough to be stirred in nicely, and most of the time it seems to be playing out without you as you do all the grunt work. You are handed a gun and a hefty dose of responsibility from the various higher powers, who linger on screen for several seconds before jogging off to do something more important.
Having said that, mocking the plot structure of any FPS is like shooting cod at Tescos, whereas shooting the action is alot tougher. Like shooting toddlers in tescos. The action is meaty and challenging whilst being well paced and takes place in some imaginative locations. The AI isnt astonishing and not as varied as it first appears. Clones appear in different garb and all the big things, such as Dreadnaughts and Obliterators become more or less interchangeable after your first encounter. Later in the game they appear in groups or one after another in qick succession, which though challenging gets a bit samey and quickly feels like a bit of a slog seeing as none of the weapons bar the Bolter and Melta do any decent damage. The weapons are taken directly from 40k and as such lasguns, and plasma guns make an appreciated and entertaining appearence alongside some of the more standard FPS staples.
My final thought, for this is a spontaneous and unplanned review, is that Fire Warrior is a decent enough game, but is undeserving of the high scores it got in its golden day.