Special Forces: Team X (XBLA): "An Impressive Mashup Of Various Shooter Genres"

Atari, and Zombie Studios have worked together to bring us what could be best described as a third person cover based shooter. The game itself seems to borrow what's great from other popular shooter titles, and make a unique experience with the well known game mechanics. There's definitely a hint of games like "Borderlands", "Call of Duty", and even a tiny fraction of "HALO" thrown into the mix. If I had to compare it to any shooter series though it would definitely be more like that of the "Gears of War" series. The cover-to-cover combat is definitely the game's more prominent feature, and focal point. While the game definitely borrows some ideas it still stands alone as a unique gaming experience.

Special Forces: Team X, or "STX" as I'm going to refer to it, is a game filled with loads of customization options. You'll find yourself spending quality time customizing your two soldier loadouts (Loadout A & B) as well as plenty of time earning the interchangeable items contained within. The character loadouts themselves are definitely on of the more detailed setups that I've seen in any next-gen shooter. Like the "Call of Duty" series you'll find that your soldier can carry a primary, and secondary weapon. What sets "STX" apart from other shooters in this area though is the selection of weapons available for each setting. The primary weapon slot can be used to choose high powered guns such as assault rifles, sub-machine guns, sniper rifles, and smgs. The secondary weapon slot on the other hand has unlockable weapons such as a tactical knife, high powered handguns, and even two types of shotguns. It's not often that you'll see an in-game soldier being able to carry a shotty as his secondary weapon of choice. Accompanying each weapon setup you'll also find that you can unlock, and equip weapon attachments with earned xp. The attachments range from scopes to silencers. It's what you'd expect from a military shooter.

Continuing with the "CoD (Call of Duty)" likeness you'll find that "STX" utilizes a special weapons feature called "Gear". The Gear setup is a lot like the tactical/lethal grenades, and perks used in a CoD game. You'll find that you can equip, and use special attacks such as attack dogs, resilience, and even grenades. These "Gear" items can be used twice per weapon/perk type. The "Gear" system works by using "Active", and "Passive" perk types. The "Active" perks are the ones that help out the player using them. The "Passive" perks on the other hand are more team oriented, and help aid your teammates in various ways. Last but certainly not least is the "Appearance" setup. What would a soldier be without proper clothing, and camo? Zombie Studios has a very detailed answer to that. Not only do you have four body types to choose from (John, Bruce, Hawk, Don), but you'll find that you can also dress him up with head-to-toe tactical clothing, and camo. There are multiple unlockable items for all of the loadout options. Choosing the best items in this game is more of a preference than a stats oriented choice. The only real exception to this are the guns which do have their own "information" stats (Damage, Spread, Recoil, Reload) which are located on the same screen as the loadout setup menu.

Aside from the weapon, an soldier appearance setups you'll also find that "STX" uses a customization option for the actual maps that you play on as well. After joining a game via 'quick match', 'XBL party', 'custom match', or 'create a match' you'll be placed into an interactive voting area where you, and the other players decide on three different sections of map. Each map section ultimately connects together to make one huge map. The sections can be duplicated, but mixing, and matching them is what makes for a truly interesting game. Included in the core game of "STX" are a variety of different map locations, and I'm guessing that if the game sells well there might be future dlc for this arcade title. During each pre-game map voting session you'll find available map choices like an administration building, refinery, irrigation canal, warehouse, Barge Inlet, Junkyard, and container deck. There are a few other map locales I didn't mention as well, so you can definitely imagine the vast amount of combinations that can be voted on. It makes for one of the most unique map options I've seen in an FPS, or third-person shooter.

I'm sure you're likely wondering what game, or match types "STX" has. STX once again borrows ideas from the best of the next-gen shooter genre. You'll find the standard "TDM (Team Deathmatch)" with is basically a mode where each team tries to get the most kills before the time runs out. The team with the most kills at the end of the match is obviously the winner. The second available match type is called "Hot Zone". Hot Zone is essentially like CoD's (Black Ops 2) "Hardpoint". Hot zones appear at random places on the map. If a team member manages to secure the hot zone they will gain points for the duration of time that they remain at that point. As with "TDM" the goal is to score the most points before time runs out. Another match type, "HVT (High Value Target)" seems to take hints HALO's "Regicide" match type. In "HVT" the "High Value Target/Player" who is marked by a certain icon will score three points per kill while their teammates will earn two points per kill. The oppsing team will only score one point per kill. In order for a player to become the "HVT (High Value Target)" they will need to kill the current HVT. At the end of the timed match the team with the most points wins.

The two remaining match types will be very familiar to "CoD" players. The "CTF" match type, or "Capture the Flag" is just as it sounds. Players will need to capture the opposing teams flag, and carry it to their own flag post in order to earn points. As usual the team with the most points when the match is through will be the winner. Last, but certainly not least is "Control Point". If you've ever played the "Domination" match type in a "CoD" game then you'll know what this match type is all about. Located on each map in a "Control Point" match are three locations marked as "A", "B", and "C". In order to gain points your team will need to stay at each location long enough for a gauge to fill up. Securing, and dominating the most areas is the key to winning this match type.

Taking on the enemy in each "STX" match type is similar to that of "of Gears of War 3". Each map contains a massive amount of objects that you, and your teammates can hide behind. Some levels even feature multi-leveled areas that can be used as vantage points. The controls used to maneuver your soldier through these terrains is a mixture of that you'd find in "Gears of War", and "CoD". The "GOW (Gears of War)" gameplay mechanics come into play as the way you get around the maps. You can perform a tactical roll, hide behind objects, jump over barriers, and perform cover fire. You can even press up against walls, or barriers to hide from your enemy. The "CoD" gameplay mechanics on the other hand are just as you'd imagine. You can run, melee, aim down sight, and even hip fire. In "STX" the melee system is taken a step further in that you can assassinate a player be pressing the melee button behind them. Since "STX" is a third-person shooter you'll find that your method of aiming is basically a reticle that stays in front of your character at all times. You'll also find that while aiming down sight, or through a scope that the perspective/reticle will change.

As far as graphics are concerned they are a lot like what you'd see in "Borderlands". The art styles is a cell shaded one giving the game a 3D animated look. As innocent as it may appear though there is a significant amount of blood, and gore involved in this game. Shooting a person just right will cause their head to explode in a bloody mess. Weapons like the obtainable chainsaw also add to the gory kills that can be dished out. Before I forget to mention it I also need to tell you that each map contains randomly placed crates that hold the more powerful weapons of the game such as a grenade launcher, and the previously mentioned chainsaw. The crates are initially locked, but unlock as the match timer counts down. The second thing I forgot to mention was that STX features a team based, and lone wolf combo points system. STX is definitely a team oriented game. Staying with your team will not only help you win in the long run, but will also build up a point multiplier if you are in range of at least one teammate. Going about the game alone will result in no bonus points per kill, and will set your combo meter into "Lone Wolf" mode. It's definitely in your best interest to stick with your team. I'm sure there are some exceptions though when flanking will come in handy.

After playing the game for a significant amount of time I was able to come up with a justified opinion. I think that 'Atari', and 'Zombie Studios' have a potential winner on their hands. The game's design is brilliant. Everything from the loadout setups to the map creation options, and the art style give the player a unique gaming experience that is quite addictive, and fun. The downside to the game, and it's online matches though is that there seems to be either some cheating/hacking going on. The possibility that lag may be an issue is also a concern of my own. During my playthrough I noticed a few flaws. One such flaw occurred when the match would switch your team, and their location immediately after the initial spawn. My main concern aside from the previously mentioned flaw is the possibility that hackers have already exploited the game's weaknesses. I will often times get into a match where my bullets seem to do nothing at all even when I have my gun aimed right on the opposing soldier as I'm firing. This could be attributed to lag, or hacking. It's hard to tell. Whatever the case may be the game definitely, and obviously needs a patch. If the developer manages to sort out these problems then I can see this game going far, and being worth the $15 (1200 msp) asking price. If not it may eventually fall to the wayside as one of those games that could have been great.