There are plenty of other things to worry about too, other than just insurgents. If you do - hilariously - get capped by an angry Zekistanian, you’ll need to pick up the soldier when the coast is clear and take him to a medical point, otherwise you’re buggered. You usually get more than one team at your disposal, but only limited replacements for your men, so it’s strategy and careful planning all the way. Unless you’re in one of the vehicles in the game, such as the ‘Charlie’ tank that can destroy and mutilate anything in its path like some sort of muddy-brown overlord!
The levels are largely set in the lands of Tien-Hamir (Ten Hammers) that splits the Zekistan country off, so a lot of the landscape isn’t going to be changing vastly. However, running into buildings, making enemies combust with tank missiles, and flanking groups on roadways make for enjoyable changes of pace for each parts of the mission. A large number of the missions amount to getting to a particular checkpoint or retrieving victims and getting them medical attention, but some of the missions are different and require a little thought and strategy. It’s this strategy aspect of the game mentioned earlier that is the great draw with Ten Hammers, yet at the same time can also contribute to its largest drawback. Read on, and we'll explain why.
For instance, with the vast (and sometimes confusing) array of control options open to you, you can be forgiven for thinking that there are many different ways of tackling every situation. All SPOnG can say is “Thank God for checkpoints”, as you’ll be returning to these many, many times during your playtime. When you’re faced with a problem that needs a bit of thinking, you’re given no clue as to how to overcome it. Hints flash on the top of the screen, but even these can become quite cryptic and it will take several failed and frustrated tries before you clear that particular section.
There are several points like these throughout the game – but somehow once you’re over them, you’ve forgotten all about the agitation and you’re planning your next strategy. Trying to position your team can be a fiddly chore at times, as the thumbstick is not always as accurate as can be, leaving you open to fire and hilarious slow motion shots of your team mates copping one in the head. There’s no room for error in this game, particularly in the later levels, which can be made all the more irritating by some fairly obscure problem-solving exercises.
Funnily though, there’s a reason you will keep hitting that ‘Retry’ option over and over and over again after constant defeat. Despite the sometimes relentless nature of the game, you just want to overcome it. It takes a while, but after playing the game for a bit, you get to feel comfortable with the game’s atmosphere, its strategy-based elements, its freedom of control options. Just playing the game can be a satisfying experience as you plan your next move with two teams about to storm a building from the only exit points. And while we have to admit that we too are getting kind of sick of games themed on the Iraq conflict, SPOnG found Ten Hammers a pretty involved and engaging game.
SPOnG Score: B-
Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers is an entertaining title, one of the few 3D war-strategy games SPOnG would recommend to even our peacenik mates. Ignore the premise; the proof is in the pudding – this game has involving missions that pull you into the story, with engaging gameplay to match. This probably won’t convert the hardcore peaceniks and those who are usually put off by war themes or strategy games, and the few, minor bugbears that haunt this game can irritate for a while. But beyond that, Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers is highly recommended for waraholics. And anger management cases.
