Force 21

DEVELOPER : Red Storm Entertainment
PUBLISHER : Red Storm Entertainment

 

System Requirements Pentium 166 Mhz, 32 MB RAM

Recommended Pentium II 233MHz, 64+ MB RAM,

Ratings
Code Issues Graphics: 7 Decent and serviceable, but nothing that will knock your socks off Audio: 7.5 Good sound effects, but ultimately forgettable music Interface: 7 Easy to pick up and play, some confusing interface quirks, but nothing detrimental	Play Issues Gameplay: 6 Can be fun, but unrealistic nature is frustrating. Replayability: 6 One time through is enough, and that’s a shame, thorough mission editor adds potential Multiplay: 6 Your standard multiplayer support Learning Curve: 7 Decent manual and interface should pose no problems
Other/Notes Documentation: 8.0 Manual is informative and fun to browse through. Pros:  Decent action, cool introduction. Cons:  Once you play both campaigns…that’s it!  Just plain mediocre. Overall: 6.9

Red Storm surprised the gaming community awhile back with the release of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.  After the disaster that was Politika (do you even remember it?) this company rose from the ashes to create one of the most involving and just plain fun action/strategy games.  It is still immensely popular on Microsoft’s Internet Gaming Zone, and the sequel, Rogue Spear, is just on the horizon.  So when I heard about their newest game, Force 21, I was excited to have the opportunity to review it.  Well, the excitement soon transformed into disappointment.  Force 21 does not necessarily do anything incredibly wrong, it is just that it does not do enough things right, and therefore remains undistinguishable from the dozens of mediocre game titles plaguing store shelves.  It’s a shame too, because with Rogue Spear shaping up to be another hit, one has to wonder if Red Storm can venture outside of their Rainbow Six franchise in order to make an above-average game.

Force 21 tells the story of World War III.  It seems like the United States just cannot get along with China.  So what is the solution?  Blow the Hell out of each other!  But you see it is not that simple.  One would think that all that is required is the launching of a few nukes and presto, China or the U.S. is reduced to a smoking crater.  Both nations, however, have created a defense system which renders nuclear missiles obsolete.  Instead, they are required to send in ground forces (the usual tanks, mobile missile launchers etc.), as well as some fighter planes and helicopters.  The whole dramatic backdrop is told in a very awesome intro scene (so far, so good).

  Next step is to choose sides.  You can play as the Americans or Chinese in two very similar campaigns.  Each, however, has there own assortment of toys to play around with and cause a healthy dose of pain and suffering (also very good).  You then start the campaign by checking out three different screens.  There is the mission briefing, where you’ll be informed of your current objectives, then there’s the map screen, where you can observe the deployment of your forces and where your objectives currently reside, and finally there’s the area where you can divide your vehicles into groups and even choose from a pool of military muscle men to help you in the mission.  If all of this sounds familiar, you’re probably thinking of Rainbow Six, which had a similar multi-step setup program.  I thought the system was excellent in Rainbow, and it also works well for Force 21 (although it is not nearly as involved).  So after I was done with this portion of the game I excitedly dived right into the first mission. 

  What struck me first were the graphics.  I have seen better, but I really liked them, and they are perfectly adequate nowadays.  The view is similar to Bungie’s Myth II, although the camera is not even close to being as flexible.  Whereas in the Myth games you could rotate the camera at will and observe any area of the map from the get-go (although enemies would not be visible until you were in range), Force 21 makes players able to see only what the units can see.  Therefore, scouting becomes essential in winning missions.  If you are behind a hill, an enemy unit could be waiting right on the other side to ambush you, so you better be careful!  Unfortunately, the realism ends there. 

  First off, there are no soldiers.  Every unit is a vehicle, so already your strategies are limited.  If there’s a row of tanks blocking my way, and all I have are a few tanks, I have to send them in charging.  No opportunity to equip a few soldiers with some grenades or an anti-armor weapon to sneak around a ridge and take them out.  I guess I just have to assume that everyone is afraid to leave the protection of their armored vehicles.  Well I guess I can’t blame them, considering that every vehicle has unlimited ammo!  Your tanks could be firing shells for hours without ever running out.  Is this also some new American or Chinese technology?  Fortunately the sound effects are cool, so at least you will not mind listening to it all.  The interface is decent, and coupled with a pretty good manual, serve to create a game that is rather easy to control. 

  My last complaint is the sheer linearity of the game. The missions are so heavily scripted that there is almost no replay value in the campaigns. You can play the game multiplayer, but there is no skirmish mode, so once you beat it, I can see no reason to go back. There is a mission editor that looks to be very complete and powerful.  So, with the right amount of players willing to make new single and multiplayer levels, Force 21’s shelf life could be greatly extended.  But getting back to the single player game, every mission is a like a puzzle.  Once it is solved, you move on to bigger and better things.  Also, the forces you obtain in one mission have nothing to do with how well you performed in the previous one.  Hence, no reason to look back.

  As a quick action/strategy game with few surprises, Force 21 could be what you are looking for.  It is definitely fun the first time through.  If you are looking for something deep and involved, however, you may want to hold off until Rogue Spear is released.  The sad part is, with so many new and exciting strategy games just released, as well as dozens more on the horizon, I am extremely hesitant to suggest picking up Force 21.  Also, if I have to go to war with China one more time, I’m going to scream.

If you like to comment on this review, please post a message at the forum.
Reviewed by Anthony Micari