Close Combat:First to Fight?

[Mrcabone]

I've been keeping my eye on this game for a few weeks now,and it's out today,I was wondering has any thought about picking this game up,if so what are your impressions of it?I haven't seen any reviews of it on ign or teamxbox,but I just might go and pick it up.(oh yea it's for xbox)

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

OXM gave it a 2.8, citing numerous problems. Basically one of the worst games so far of the year.

[Wilson10]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

OXM gave it a 2.8, citing numerous problems. Basically one of the worst games so far of the year.

that seems to be what is floating around, but I find it hard to believe. It has to be a typo in the mag (which is NOT out yet) , a bad rumor, or maybe it really is. The UK version of the mag gave it a 8.5. I just can't see how they hyped it so much (and OXM did) then give it a score like that!

[marino13]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

I have been reading impressions from ign, game faqs and other sites and all have been saying the reviewer is wrong .They are saying the ai is solid and the things pointed out in the review aren't happening to them. Most are saying if you like the slow pace of gr2, you will love this game.Good impressions of online so far too.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

I know, I just read a bunch as well.. Hmm, weird, mabye OXM got a very early build. I wish TeamXbox or Gamespot would review it soon.

[myownsun]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

Yeah im waiting for the GS review before i GF it....

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

IGN gave it an 8.0, and I read on the xbox forums that OXM's review was an 8.2 not a 2.8. My one buddy got it and likes it more than Rainbow. I'm probably going to look into it this weekend.

[Mrcabone]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

I guess I'll pick it up today,I just knew from reading a couple of previews that it couldn't be so bad that it would get a 2.8 rating from any game site.

[dave360]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

Fellas, I bought it and there's no way this game is a 2.8. This game plays so much better than Rainbow Six it's pathetic. I've only played thru the first three or four missions, but I'm impressed. The only problems I see with it are that you have to press Y to talk online(gets in the way of the other buttons), and the graphics aren't as good as Rainbow Six. The online co-op is very good as well as the Fire Team Arena. I think OXM mixed up their reviews, as there's no way this game deserves that low of a score.

[pk500]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

Finally rented this game tonight. Put about an hour into the offline mode.

Fellas, this game is getting a seriously bad rap. It's a very solid, very fun game. It blends bits and pieces of a bunch of games right off the top of my head: The original Ghost Recon and GRIT, Full Spectrum Warrior, Rainbow Six 3 and a touch of Brothers in Arms.

Some highlights:

-- You have to be deliberate as all hell in your movement. I've read many comments at other forums about how slow the movement is. That's bullsh*t, obviously written by someone who was weaned on Halo and Unreal. The movement is very slow in this game, but not sluggish. It's deliberate, realistic.

-- Lots of one-shot, one-kill moments, both for the enemies and my fire team and I.

-- Tons of command options for you as the fire team leader. Call in airstrikes, call in mortar support, takedown rooms behind doors, takedown rooms after a frag toss, command your fire team as a unit, command individual members of your fire team, move your team or individual soldiers to exact spots using the aiming reticle, order suppression fire from the unit or individual soldiers, order covering fire from the unit or individual soldiers.

-- You can pick up weapons of enemies. They're mostly using AK-47s in the early scenarios, so I don't know why you'd want to pick up the weapons, but you can. You also can use machine guns and heavy mounted guns on rooftops and tanks, or order a member of your fire team to do both.

-- This is a multi-dimensional game, for sure. You can climb ladders to second and third floors, go to rooftops, etc. And enemies are in all of these places, so you're constantly on guard. One time, an insurgent nailed me with one shot from the derrick of a f*cking high-rise crane about 100 meters away! I never saw him because I never thought to look that high.

-- There are first aid kits spread out around the scenarios, but I think you can only use them on your squadmates. I didn't find any way to use them on yourself, and when you're dead, the scenario is over. Maybe I need to look at the manual more closely.

-- The enemies didn't seem to spawn in the same spot every time, or if they did, they appeared in those spots at differing times unless it was a machine gun nest, etc.

-- I played on the Marine skill level, one step from the bottom, and the AI still wasn't too bad. I was killed fairly I imagine that the top two levels are a b*tch.

-- There are a ton of places to hide and take cover in the early maps. The game is somewhat linear in that you have to head toward one spot to take out enemies, but there are different ways to approach the objective, much like Brothers in Arms.

Some lowlights:

-- I did see one of my squadmates set up with a gun through a wall in a tight passageway once. It only was one guy and only happened once.

-- Some of the alleys are so tight that your guys can get stuck walking in place if you try to cram four guys in there.

-- The situational recognition of my squadmates was a bit lacking at times. Once I took cover across the street behind a car to shoot at a machine gun nest. My squadmates were on the corner directly across from me but didn't help me fire. But as soon as I inched them forward about 6 inches, they let it rip. Minor niggle.

-- The constant wail of a siren in the first scenario nearly drove me insane. Smile

I haven't even touched this game online, but I really am eager to try this on XBL. So far I'm very impressed with the single-player game.

I'm not saying this is a must purchase. But it definitely has the original Ghost Recon meets Full Spectrum Warrior vibe going for it, and it's DEFINITELY worth a rent.

The OXM reviewer who gave this game a rating of 2.8 either was a Halo addict or seriously tripping on acid when he wrote the review.

Feel free to ask any questions, and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

Take care,
PK

[fossen]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

IGN gave it an 8.0, and I read on the xbox forums that OXM's review was an 8.2 not a 2.8.

Got my OXM in the mail, and it's definitely a 2.8. And it's not a misprint - that's obviously the score the reviewer intended.

"As a voice in the Xbox community, we'd like to formally apologize to the United States Marines for Close Combat: First To Fight. You fine folks don't deserve this."

It's wierd to see such an outlier like that. I wonder if this is (yet another) case of game magazines reviewing non-final code in order to meet deadlines?

[pk500]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

Got my OXM in the mail, and it's definitely a 2.8. And it's not a misprint - that's obviously the score the reviewer intended.

"As a voice in the Xbox community, we'd like to formally apologize to the United States Marines for Close Combat: First To Fight. You fine folks don't deserve this."

It's wierd to see such an outlier like that. I wonder if this is (yet another) case of game magazines reviewing non-final code in order to meet deadlines?

It has to be. There's absolutely NO WAY this game deserves a 2.8. Transpose the numbers, and that's more accurate -- 8.2. I'm a veteran of all of the Clancy shooters on the Xbox, Call of Duty, Full Spectrum Warrior, Brothers In Arms, Medal of Honor, etc., so I'd like to think I have a pretty good grip on what constitutes a good military first-person shooter.

This is a very solid game. I feel bad for 2K Games and the developers because this 2.8 review -- either done on early code, by a Halo/Unreal fanatic or by someone tripping on acid -- is flat-out inaccurate and will really hurt sales. It also drops the average review rating at gamerankings.com and the like big-time, which also is unfair.

Fossen, do you have the game? A couple of guys and I from DSP are trying out co-op on Xbox Live at 10:15 p.m. (EDT) tonight, and we're looking for a fourth. Want to play?

Take care,
PK

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

If he can't, I will hop on PK, I have the game. The OXM is not a misprint, the review trashes it from beginning to end. I could see it being a misprint if the rest of the review was good then the 2.8 score, but it's a full page of trashing it. I picked it up anyway, and fell in love with the game, think it's better than Rainbow.

[pk500]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

Extreme:

Excellent. I'll throw you a Friends invite. Fossen, please join us, too, as one of the two guys who has committed is a possible, not a definite.

10:15 p.m. (EDT). See you then.

I really like the game, too. Has its share of blemishes, but none are game-killers at all. The game combines a lot of the cool elements of Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, Full Spectrum Warrior and Brothers in Arms into a fun, compelling package.

Thanks,
PK

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Close Combat:First to Fight?

Very cool!!! I'll be there!