Review

Special Forces: Team X

Microprose. Wow. I haven’t thought about that name in ages. I was a huge fan of Microprose, growing up with great games such as Sid Meier’s Civilization, Railroad Tycoon, and X-COM: UFO Defense. Ever since Sid Meier left the company, however, it has gone downhill. So fast forward a bit and here we are with Special Forces: Team X (STX) developed by Zombie Studios and published by Atari and Microprose. If anyone knows how to make a 3rd person shooter, these guys should. Zombie Studios is responsible for Blacklight: Tango Down and America’s Army. This game should be a home run! Well…

STX is a multiplayer-only tactical cover based 3rd person shooter. There is no single player campaign to speak of. This means the game is solely dependent on its multiplayer components. The only other game I know of to have done this successfully and still have a somewhat active community is Gotham City Imposters. It’s hard to pinpoint the problems I have with STX, but I’m going to give it a try.

Let me say straight from the bat, I tried extremely hard to like STX. As far as shooters are concerned, 3rd person shooters are my favorite. Give me Gears of War over Call of Duty any day of the week. As a console owner, 3rd person shooters feel more responsive and just “right” than it would on a PC. So I am a fan of the genre. Also, I will note that STX does offer some interesting elements. The look of STX is extremely striking, taking a hint from Borderlands, with a cel-shaded graphics that allow for easier detection of the enemy. It’s not anything new or exciting, but it does set STX apart from other Xbox Live titles. Then there is the map system; the way the developers approached the mechanic of picking a battlefield is pretty ingenious. The field is split into three parts or changeable slots. Before a match, players get to vote on their favorite combination of “parts” used to make a map. Whichever part(s) of the level has the most votes wins, so in theory there are hundreds of levels to play.

STX also uses a progression based leveling system. As you level up, you unlock more weapons, add-ons for weapons, clothing, etc. Weapons can be customized with up to three items instead of the usual one that is allowed in most games. Speaking of weapons, Microprose is now owned by Cybergun SA, who specializes in airgun products, which allows STX the rare usage of actual names and likenesses of pistols, rifles, and other weaponry. There are five modes to choose from, including High Value Target and Hot Zone. All modes are set for up to four teams, depending on the mode. Distinguishing between your team and the enemy is extremely clear, which is a godsend for those who regularly have difficulty figuring out who the bad guy is. So far so good right?

The gameplay is a mix of Call of Duty with Ghost Recon. That said, STX controls are extremely squirrely. I’ve played with the sensitivity and just cannot find the right fit. This is especially felt while sprinting, which introduces a bug in the game where frame drops are abundant. I’ve been able to reproduce this bug, but I’m unsure if this is due to the inherent limitability of being on a console, or from the game itself. The map system, while cool, is pretty limited. Though the layout may change depending on what parts are used, there aren’t that many parts to choose from. After a while it feels like the game only has one changing map.

The sound department is somewhat lacking as well. The voiceover of your player and others sounds like a middle schooler in a play, very stilted and lacking clarity. STX has the ability to call an attack dog to help you in dispatching the enemy, and you would expect to hear the dog snarling and barking like mad, but nothing of the sort is heard. Instead of snarling, it’s more of a scared whimper. When you shoot a weapon, you expect to almost feel a beefy discharge in your chest, but the shots sound almost tinny and not worth any attention.

The most fun I’ve had in STX was when I happened to stumble upon a chainsaw power up. I picked it up and sprinted across the playing field like Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre! The chainsaw is easily the “star power” of the game; you aren’t entirely invincible, but pretty dang close. Other than that, this game does not offer anything new, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. STX is a very competent shooter. But that’s it, just competent. Most people who are into shooters will find themselves right at home. It’s easy to pick up and start leveling up as long as the community is still active. Personally, I don’t see this happening. If I want to play a 3rd person tactical shooter, I would much rather play a more polished game. Sure, the front end is refreshingly simple, but there just isn’t anything more to get excited about, especially for the price. $15 is a bit too steep for a multiplayer only XBLA game. Ideally, this game would be perfect for the Free-to-Play model.

The shooter genre is so saturated with better options that STX just doesn’t make the cut. This is the issue that most new shooters have on XBLA. Most are just mediocre with nothing new to offer. And the worst thing to be in the video game business is mediocre!