Close Combat: First to Fight

Marines in Beirut? The latest addition to a strong line of great war sims has a lot to live up to. David Kidd's glad there are three men watching his arse while he opens fire.

The Close Combat name has appeared on some impressive titles, with 1997’s A Bridge Too Far being the true standout. This RTS series had a lot to prove in a landscape that was rapidly being laid out by Westwood and Blizzard, but developer Atomic Games managed to blend together various World War II theatres with unique, thoughtful RTS gameplay. Unfortunately the series waned through the years, but now Destineer Games has taken the name into a whole new direction – and time period – with First to Fight. In keeping up with the trend of military consultation for first person shooters (‘cause, you know, it’s so similar to real life), Destineer enlisted the help of the US Marine Corps.
 
Consequently, the game has also been given a modern-day theatre of war, where you’ll be leading your small fire team through the streets of Beirut in a fictional conflict.
 
Whether the USMC actually played an important role beyond the hype that this kind of ‘collaboration’ brings is debatable, but if there’s something that First to Fight does well, it’s atmosphere.

It’s a damn shame, however, that the ambient surroundings and meaty sound effects are just wrapping for what is essentially another mediocre, squad-based shooter.
 
Missions are linear, with simple and obvious objectives, and tied together by fictional CNN style news stories – character development is nil, and the story arc dull.
 
Additionally, while I’m digging the recent flux of squad-based shooters, First to Fight is a mixed bag. On the upside, squad mates require little micro-management, and will adapt well to most situations, like taking cover and keeping watch on all directions.
 
Creeping through the streets with your team pointing guns at every angle is a nice touch, and busting into a room for a take down is tense. Unfortunately, some fire fights can go awry quickly, as your team zealously protects you from harm by jumping between you and the enemy.
 
If you do feel the need to take control, a right click brings up basic commands (cover, suppress) and contextual options, depending on what’s under the cursor.
 
This could have added some much needed strategy, but all it does is highlight the contrived level design and obvious objectives (oh, a machine gun nest – that must be where I call in the airstrike).
 
These criticisms, along with the basic controls and long, unnecessary load screens, could be attributed to the cross-platform Xbox release. Ultimately, though, while the game falls short of its strategic heritage, it’s still a fun game in its own right, with some tense action sequences and atmospheric environments. Fans of the originals shouldn’t lose hope – The Korean-based Close Combat: Red Phoenix is the next RTS in the series, due in early 2006.