Brute Force (video game)
Encyclopedia
Brute Force is a video game released for the Xbox
by Microsoft
in 2003. The game is a squad-based third-person shooter
that uses four members of a team which fight in numerous battles. These members in the squad include Flint, a sniper, Brutus, a shock trooper, Tex, a heavy assault trooper, and Hawk, a scout. Each character on the team has their own strengths and weaknesses. The story is of a science-fiction setting where humans spread throughout the galaxy. Tension arises with the threat of a hostile alien race that appears. The squad, Brute Force, is sent in to confront the enemy. Additionally, each character has their own backstory. Brute Force began as a PC game in 2000, but was soon after turned into a first-party title for the Xbox, following the buyout of Digital Anvil
by Microsoft.
They are assigned to find a third member of the team named Hawk, Tex is surprised to find out it's a "She". They find her on a Planet called Osiris where the now almost-completed team has to clear out natives known as Seers and reach their leader known as Shadoon, who is the antagonist for half of the Story. They find a spy who tells them information about the Outcast operation on Ferix saying that Shadoon was behind the situation. After guiding the Spy, they find out that the Seers are also being helped, by the Fire Hounds. They clear out everything and then return to Estuary where there are still reports of Red Hand on the Planet, they are intended to find some computers and destroy them to stop the Red Hand from transferring unknown Data to someplace, they are however backed up by Mutants, it is however unknown how they got there(likely Estuary's colonists have the same problem as Caspian's). After clearing out the last of the Red Hand on Estuary, they return to Caspian to meet the last member of the team, Flint. They are tasked to track down someone known as Edward Kingman, who was funding the Red Hand. However, they must battle their way through Mutants who have slaughtered the Militia and are now guarding the Outline Perimeter for Kingman's zone. After taking out Kingman, they return to Ferix to locate a Crashed Confederation ship which was shot down, then return to Osiris to destroy a Spire in which the Seers are using for something unknown. They however stop this then return to Ferix one last time to find out that the Seers were on a ship to Ferix. The Confederation managed to shoot it down, but the Outcasts locate the crash site. The Seers and Outcasts team up to defend themselves against the team, meaning that on Ferix, Brute Force have to fight Seers as well as Outcasts.
On the next mission they are tasked to find a Traitorous Confed Colonel, named Gunther Ghent, who trained with Hawk's Recon unit, now to find out he was selling weapons to the Red Hand. They then head back down to Caspian to take out a Super Mutant doing one last Encounter with the Mutants. They return to Osiris one last time to finally kill Shadoon, who is guarded by millions of Fire Hounds, Seers, and weird Psionic Artillery. They find out that a Commset has crashed on a planet Called Singe. The Commset is being guarded by Fire Hounds, as well as Red Hand, who are working together to guard the Commset. They are then sent to Caspian to find a Synthetic Traitor named Ty Mctavish, who is Identical to Flint, the team has one last battle with Kingman's Associates before heading out. They are sent to an Asteroid named LB-429 where Mctavish was Sending unknown Data to an Unknown contact on the Planet, they investigate and find out the Asteroid is infested by a race called the Shrikes. They find their leader, a Hunter Lord. The Shrikes are now invading Caspian, then later on, the team returns to Estuary one last time after so many missions not on Estuary. Now occupied by Shrikes, the team is now tasked to find some Alien Technology of unknown origin so the Confed can examine it. Then they return to LB-429 where they find the last of the Shrikes, as well as finally Destroying the Asteroid. They manage to kill the Hunter Lord and get evaced out, after that, several Confed jets destroy the asteroid. After the end, the team is seen walking into a dazing sunlight on an unknown planet(most likely Estuary), meaning they are finished with their jobs and are free to go, leaving room for a Sequel.
squad-based shooter. This allows for both open-ended type gameplay and adding a tactical component by playing the characters according to their abilities. Engagements can be handled via stealth, sniper fire, or direct assault. Each of the four playable characters has a special ability for approaching combat in their own way. Tex and Brutus are suited to direct assaults, Hawk is suited to stealth, and Flint is suited to sniping enemies. The player switches between and issues orders to the characters via the D-pad. No online gameplay is offered with Brute Force, however there is cooperative play, where another player may at any time control another character during the campaign. Up to four players are supported this way.
After the mechanics of the squad-based gameplay, AI was perhaps the most important parts of development. This was actually to complement the team-based system, which would allow the enemies to act intelligently and allow your team to support the player and work together as a team. The gameplay has four different command modes to which the AI reacts differently. The characters are also aware of the environment in finding areas for cover and sniping, as well as going to heal themselves.
The single player campaign missions are composed mostly of a series of battles where the player attempts to fight their way to the end. They consist mostly of objectives such as disabling structures, eliminating a target, or collecting an artifact. These missions take place on six different planets with different environments — a desert, a swamp, a volcanic planet, and an alien lair.
The non co-op multiplayer feature consists of choosing one squad (which usually represents different human factions and alien races) and playing different game modes against other players. The different squads are unlocked as you complete the campaign (i.e. the first squad unlocked are the main characters of the game). Each squad member has a different set of weapons or ability.
Brutus: A Feral. He is the squad's Shock Trooper, handling medium weapons. Special ability gives him the Spirit of Vengar, a vision-like mode to help see enemies and also to heal him, and make him kill enemies on contact.
Hawk: A very pretty woman, who listens very well. She is the stealth expert, handling special types of weapons, mostly Pistols. Special ability, as her role implies, makes her invisible. She also has an energy Blade weapon for close quarters.
Flint: A Synthetic Cyborg. She is the Sniper, always having Sniper Rifles in hand with Pistols in holsters. Special Ability gives her auto aim, helping her aim when sniping. Other abilities include zooming in further with sniper rifles than other squad members, and no shaking while zoomed in (steady sight).
Bratton: The Commander of Brute Force, who directs them through missions. Only appears as a hologram before mission breifings
Corporal Stout: Another Confed Marine, who is also part of V-Squad and also aids Tex in the first mission.
Sergeant Gonzales: A Confed Marine who only appears in Co-op.
Seer Spy: A Seer Spy, sent to investigate on Osiris. He was captured but rescued by Brute Force.
Oli-Oak: A Feral Shaman Ambassador whom Brute Force rescues in Mission 9.
Ty McTavish: One of Kingman's Associates, who was selling Data to the Shrikes. An early model synthetic that sabotaged the projects, leading to the synthetic massacre.
, and Starlancer
. Brute Force was designed to be a first-party game for the Xbox and begun in March 2000, before the console had launched. However development had begun before the takeover of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, and the title was originally meant for PC. Microsoft promptly turned it into an Xbox exclusive title. The core team of developers was composed of 30 people, but counting testers and other outside contributors more than 100 people had worked on the game. Only three months were spent on the concept stage of development, but would spend the next two years on the prototype cycle of development. Numerous influences on the game were cited. During the beginning of the project the developers looked toward Rainbow Six
and Counter-Strike
, stating that they wished to reach a level of intensity that fell somewhere between these two games. The also wished to implement a strategic element to the game, which was influenced by X-Com
, where a team-based system was used to overcome obstacles. Halo
also had an impact on the game, but according to the developers only to a minimal extent, mostly in terms of interface design and combat balancing. Some aspects were admitted to being similar to Halo for the sake of making the game accessible to those who had played Halo before. (The controls are, for example, almost identical.)
Digital Anvil was known as a developer of space combat games, and with Brute Force they set out to try something new, specifically a ground-based game. They also wanted to attempt a team-oriented game that would put the player in control of a squad of characters set amidst numerous environments. The game was conceived from these few core ideas. Development should also be looked at in the context of a first-party Xbox game following the enormous success of Halo. For one the game was meant to attract gamers who were fans of Halo, but also sufficiently different enough. Secondly the developers wanted the game to be a showcase of what the Xbox hardware was graphically capable of. However the team did admit that they had no idea what the system was capable of when they first started developing for it.
The game was first officially unveiled in October 2001 at Microsoft's X01, and shown in more detail later at E3 2002 and X02, where according to the developer much of the speculation was that the released media was not actually in-game. Although it was also said that the technology was one of the biggest challenges of development, and had not received final development kits until mid-2001.
Brute Force has the distinction of being the last game developed by Digital Anvil, as the studio was closed down officially on January 31, 2006. The staff was integrated in to Microsoft Games Studio in Redmond.
's first-party launch titles, in which the four characters complete a mission by using their unique skills in unison to achieve goals. The final game, however, included very few of these instances, instead resorting to a more action-based shoot'em-up where individual traits were unessential to victory but could certainly make a level much easier. This hurt the gameplay, as the entire game was developed to be a tactical shooter. The various characters were also seen as being unbalanced, many noting Hawk to be the least useful on the team, mostly due to her low health (with the notable exception during the optional battle in Ferguson Base.). GameNOW
s Miguel Lopez expressed disappointment in the game, but called it "a fun, silly shooter that's best enjoyed alongside your whole crew". He ended his review: "If you're bored, go outside. If you're still bored when you get back, then rent Brute Force".
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
in 2003. The game is a squad-based third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
that uses four members of a team which fight in numerous battles. These members in the squad include Flint, a sniper, Brutus, a shock trooper, Tex, a heavy assault trooper, and Hawk, a scout. Each character on the team has their own strengths and weaknesses. The story is of a science-fiction setting where humans spread throughout the galaxy. Tension arises with the threat of a hostile alien race that appears. The squad, Brute Force, is sent in to confront the enemy. Additionally, each character has their own backstory. Brute Force began as a PC game in 2000, but was soon after turned into a first-party title for the Xbox, following the buyout of Digital Anvil
Digital Anvil
Digital Anvil was a computer game company. It was founded in 1996, when Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts left Origin Systems, Inc., along with many other employees....
by Microsoft.
Plot
Brute Force takes place in the year 2340, when the human race has spread out across the galaxy and settled around 50 star systems, which are collectively known as the "Known Worlds". The major colonies and some alien races are governed by what is known as the Confederation Republic (usually referred to as the "Confed"). They patrol borders, protect their people, and keep watch on hostile alien races, as well as humans who are desiring to work for the Aliens. The game begins with a scene showing a sandstorm and the first character Known as Tex fighting off an unknown force when suddenly a Dropship he was about to board takes off without him, when he defends himself from what now looks like Snakes, they overrun him and kill him. His memory chip is re-obtained and cloned. He then gets his mission briefing from his Commander on invading a small Terrorist base on a planet named Estuary, occupied by former allies known as Red Hand. He successfully completes his mission. He is sent on another mission on a planet called Ferix where new allies to the Confed are located, he is told to find the second member of the Brute Force, a Feral alien named Brutus, who is trying to defend himself and his fellow colonists against an Outcast uprising. After that situation, Brutus wants to kill his clan leader who is evidently now an Outcast. The next mission has the half of the completion of the team recover a Briefcase on another planet called Caspian, but the Colonists have been Mutated into Mutants. So the half of the team clear out the Zone and find the Briefcase.They are assigned to find a third member of the team named Hawk, Tex is surprised to find out it's a "She". They find her on a Planet called Osiris where the now almost-completed team has to clear out natives known as Seers and reach their leader known as Shadoon, who is the antagonist for half of the Story. They find a spy who tells them information about the Outcast operation on Ferix saying that Shadoon was behind the situation. After guiding the Spy, they find out that the Seers are also being helped, by the Fire Hounds. They clear out everything and then return to Estuary where there are still reports of Red Hand on the Planet, they are intended to find some computers and destroy them to stop the Red Hand from transferring unknown Data to someplace, they are however backed up by Mutants, it is however unknown how they got there(likely Estuary's colonists have the same problem as Caspian's). After clearing out the last of the Red Hand on Estuary, they return to Caspian to meet the last member of the team, Flint. They are tasked to track down someone known as Edward Kingman, who was funding the Red Hand. However, they must battle their way through Mutants who have slaughtered the Militia and are now guarding the Outline Perimeter for Kingman's zone. After taking out Kingman, they return to Ferix to locate a Crashed Confederation ship which was shot down, then return to Osiris to destroy a Spire in which the Seers are using for something unknown. They however stop this then return to Ferix one last time to find out that the Seers were on a ship to Ferix. The Confederation managed to shoot it down, but the Outcasts locate the crash site. The Seers and Outcasts team up to defend themselves against the team, meaning that on Ferix, Brute Force have to fight Seers as well as Outcasts.
On the next mission they are tasked to find a Traitorous Confed Colonel, named Gunther Ghent, who trained with Hawk's Recon unit, now to find out he was selling weapons to the Red Hand. They then head back down to Caspian to take out a Super Mutant doing one last Encounter with the Mutants. They return to Osiris one last time to finally kill Shadoon, who is guarded by millions of Fire Hounds, Seers, and weird Psionic Artillery. They find out that a Commset has crashed on a planet Called Singe. The Commset is being guarded by Fire Hounds, as well as Red Hand, who are working together to guard the Commset. They are then sent to Caspian to find a Synthetic Traitor named Ty Mctavish, who is Identical to Flint, the team has one last battle with Kingman's Associates before heading out. They are sent to an Asteroid named LB-429 where Mctavish was Sending unknown Data to an Unknown contact on the Planet, they investigate and find out the Asteroid is infested by a race called the Shrikes. They find their leader, a Hunter Lord. The Shrikes are now invading Caspian, then later on, the team returns to Estuary one last time after so many missions not on Estuary. Now occupied by Shrikes, the team is now tasked to find some Alien Technology of unknown origin so the Confed can examine it. Then they return to LB-429 where they find the last of the Shrikes, as well as finally Destroying the Asteroid. They manage to kill the Hunter Lord and get evaced out, after that, several Confed jets destroy the asteroid. After the end, the team is seen walking into a dazing sunlight on an unknown planet(most likely Estuary), meaning they are finished with their jobs and are free to go, leaving room for a Sequel.
Gameplay
Brute Force was developed to be a third-personVirtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
squad-based shooter. This allows for both open-ended type gameplay and adding a tactical component by playing the characters according to their abilities. Engagements can be handled via stealth, sniper fire, or direct assault. Each of the four playable characters has a special ability for approaching combat in their own way. Tex and Brutus are suited to direct assaults, Hawk is suited to stealth, and Flint is suited to sniping enemies. The player switches between and issues orders to the characters via the D-pad. No online gameplay is offered with Brute Force, however there is cooperative play, where another player may at any time control another character during the campaign. Up to four players are supported this way.
After the mechanics of the squad-based gameplay, AI was perhaps the most important parts of development. This was actually to complement the team-based system, which would allow the enemies to act intelligently and allow your team to support the player and work together as a team. The gameplay has four different command modes to which the AI reacts differently. The characters are also aware of the environment in finding areas for cover and sniping, as well as going to heal themselves.
The single player campaign missions are composed mostly of a series of battles where the player attempts to fight their way to the end. They consist mostly of objectives such as disabling structures, eliminating a target, or collecting an artifact. These missions take place on six different planets with different environments — a desert, a swamp, a volcanic planet, and an alien lair.
The non co-op multiplayer feature consists of choosing one squad (which usually represents different human factions and alien races) and playing different game modes against other players. The different squads are unlocked as you complete the campaign (i.e. the first squad unlocked are the main characters of the game). Each squad member has a different set of weapons or ability.
Main characters
Tex: The self-proclaimed leader of the squad. Mainly, he is the squad's heavy weapons expert, but handles medium weapons as well. Special ability allows him to dual wield weapons. He is the first character you get.Brutus: A Feral. He is the squad's Shock Trooper, handling medium weapons. Special ability gives him the Spirit of Vengar, a vision-like mode to help see enemies and also to heal him, and make him kill enemies on contact.
Hawk: A very pretty woman, who listens very well. She is the stealth expert, handling special types of weapons, mostly Pistols. Special ability, as her role implies, makes her invisible. She also has an energy Blade weapon for close quarters.
Flint: A Synthetic Cyborg. She is the Sniper, always having Sniper Rifles in hand with Pistols in holsters. Special Ability gives her auto aim, helping her aim when sniping. Other abilities include zooming in further with sniper rifles than other squad members, and no shaking while zoomed in (steady sight).
Bratton: The Commander of Brute Force, who directs them through missions. Only appears as a hologram before mission breifings
Other characters
Private Cogburn: A Confed Marine from V-Squad who aids Tex in the first mission.Corporal Stout: Another Confed Marine, who is also part of V-Squad and also aids Tex in the first mission.
Sergeant Gonzales: A Confed Marine who only appears in Co-op.
Seer Spy: A Seer Spy, sent to investigate on Osiris. He was captured but rescued by Brute Force.
Oli-Oak: A Feral Shaman Ambassador whom Brute Force rescues in Mission 9.
Red Hand
Gunther Ghent: A former Confed Colonel, who was selling weapons to the Red Hand. He used to train with Hawk's Reconnaissance unit.Mutants
Supermutant: A Caspian Colonist who was mutated with High Toxic Countermeasures, making him glow green. He was the first Colonist to become a Mutant, thus spreading out his radiation on the Caspian and Estuary Colonists.Seers
Shadoon: A Seer Overlord, leader of Sword of Shadoon Cult and the cause behind the Outcast Problem on Ferix.Kingman
Edward Kingman: A Business man in the galaxy for 40 years, who was funding the Red Hand. The blame went to the various bandits on the planet Caspian.Ty McTavish: One of Kingman's Associates, who was selling Data to the Shrikes. An early model synthetic that sabotaged the projects, leading to the synthetic massacre.
Shrikes
Hunter Lord: A large Shrike, Shadoon's master, co-ordinator of the terrorists and responsible for all the trouble in the Galaxy.Allied Factions
- Confederation of Allied Worlds: The organization that keeps the galaxy and it's races under control.
- Feral Colonists: The Feral natives who rebel against the Outcasts.
- Seers: Peaceful, mind-reading allies to the Confederation. Acting very similar to the Nali from Unreal.
Enemy Factions
- Red Hand: A Mercenary organization, former allies of the Confed. Turned against them because of some unknown reason.
- Feral Outcasts: A tribe of exiled Ferals who have been turned evil, and begun slaughtering civilians. They are aided by Blue Feral Meancasts, Feral "Police" that have joined the Outcasts.
- Mutants: Deformed Caspian or Estuary Human Colonists that have transformed from the radiation of toxic pools, acting almost zombie-like, though they still retain human nature, such as talking and wielding weapons.
- Sword of Shadoon: A cult of Seers that oblige the evil Shadoon. Co-ordinator of the Feral Outcasts, mutants, and possibly Ed Kingman
- Fire Hounds: A race of lava creatures living on Lava Planets. They aid the Seers in battle against Brute Force.
- Caspian Militia: A group of Enhanced Human Troopers. They look very identical to Red Hand, but they wear Silver. They are only encountered if you go to Ferguson Base. As they are genetically altered they are extremely difficult to kill, unless hit in the back by Hawk's blade which is a one hit kill on these soldiers.
- Kingman Industries: Kingman's fellow associates, consisting of two types. Subversives, armored troopers, and Terrorists, who look the same as Red Hand, but wear black.
- Shrikes: An alien race, the cause behind most of the troubles in the Galaxy. If they form a fleet, they will launch an attack on Earth. They make up the last opposition Brute Force has to deal with.
Worlds
- Estuary: A peaceful watery planet, the first planet in the game.
- Ferix: The home of Brutus' species, the Ferals. A Jungle-like planet.
- Caspian: Considered to be an Industrial version of Earth (similar to Reach from the Halo Universe).
- Osiris: Home of the Seers. A Red Planet.
- Singe: A Lava planet, home of the Fire Hounds, visited only once.
- LB-429: An Asteroid in the Wastes of the Ulysses System. Invaded by the Shrike and later on destroyed by the Confederation.
Development
Brute Force was developed by Digital Anvil, one of Microsoft's internal developers. The team had previously worked on games such as Wing Commander, Strike CommanderStrike Commander
Strike Commander is a flight sim computer game for MS-DOS released in 1993 by the now defunct Origin Systems and designed by Chris Roberts. Its 3D graphics-engine used both gouraud shading and texture-mapping on both aircraft-models and terrain, an impressive feat at the time...
, and Starlancer
Starlancer
Starlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin Roberts, under the auspices of Digital Anvil.-Overview:It is the year 2160...
. Brute Force was designed to be a first-party game for the Xbox and begun in March 2000, before the console had launched. However development had begun before the takeover of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, and the title was originally meant for PC. Microsoft promptly turned it into an Xbox exclusive title. The core team of developers was composed of 30 people, but counting testers and other outside contributors more than 100 people had worked on the game. Only three months were spent on the concept stage of development, but would spend the next two years on the prototype cycle of development. Numerous influences on the game were cited. During the beginning of the project the developers looked toward Rainbow Six
Rainbow Six
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six is a media franchise created by American author Tom Clancy about a fictional international counter-terrorist unit called "Rainbow." The franchise began with Clancy's novel Rainbow Six, which was adapted into a successful series of tactical first-person shooter video games.-...
and Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
, stating that they wished to reach a level of intensity that fell somewhere between these two games. The also wished to implement a strategic element to the game, which was influenced by X-Com
X-COM
X-COM is a series of strategy games created by Julian Gollop. In 2010 2K Marin announced the official reboot of the series, entitled simply XCOM. The original game has a cult following.- Original series :...
, where a team-based system was used to overcome obstacles. Halo
Halo (video game series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
also had an impact on the game, but according to the developers only to a minimal extent, mostly in terms of interface design and combat balancing. Some aspects were admitted to being similar to Halo for the sake of making the game accessible to those who had played Halo before. (The controls are, for example, almost identical.)
Digital Anvil was known as a developer of space combat games, and with Brute Force they set out to try something new, specifically a ground-based game. They also wanted to attempt a team-oriented game that would put the player in control of a squad of characters set amidst numerous environments. The game was conceived from these few core ideas. Development should also be looked at in the context of a first-party Xbox game following the enormous success of Halo. For one the game was meant to attract gamers who were fans of Halo, but also sufficiently different enough. Secondly the developers wanted the game to be a showcase of what the Xbox hardware was graphically capable of. However the team did admit that they had no idea what the system was capable of when they first started developing for it.
The game was first officially unveiled in October 2001 at Microsoft's X01, and shown in more detail later at E3 2002 and X02, where according to the developer much of the speculation was that the released media was not actually in-game. Although it was also said that the technology was one of the biggest challenges of development, and had not received final development kits until mid-2001.
Brute Force has the distinction of being the last game developed by Digital Anvil, as the studio was closed down officially on January 31, 2006. The staff was integrated in to Microsoft Games Studio in Redmond.
Reception
There was a great amount of hype for Brute Force leading up to its release. The game broke Xbox sales records of both first day and first week sales, beating out even Halo. However there were quite a few complaints concerning the gameplay, many criticisms stemming from a 2001 video that was included with many of MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's first-party launch titles, in which the four characters complete a mission by using their unique skills in unison to achieve goals. The final game, however, included very few of these instances, instead resorting to a more action-based shoot'em-up where individual traits were unessential to victory but could certainly make a level much easier. This hurt the gameplay, as the entire game was developed to be a tactical shooter. The various characters were also seen as being unbalanced, many noting Hawk to be the least useful on the team, mostly due to her low health (with the notable exception during the optional battle in Ferguson Base.). GameNOW
GameNOW
GameNOW was a United States-based video game magazine that was published by Ziff-Davis from November 2001 to January 2004. There are 27 issues of GameNOW in total. In addition to video game consoles like PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance, GameNOW also covered games for...
s Miguel Lopez expressed disappointment in the game, but called it "a fun, silly shooter that's best enjoyed alongside your whole crew". He ended his review: "If you're bored, go outside. If you're still bored when you get back, then rent Brute Force".