Let's face it. Military shooters are a dime a dozen. There are so many that I let out a slight groan upon hearing the announcement of a new one, so when I first heard of Globalstar's Close Combat: First to Fight, I assumed that it was going to be yet another interactive Middle Eastern romp, but you know what they say about people who assume, right? After checking this game out, it appears that Globalstar, Destineer, and the US Marine Corps have made an A$$ out of you and me. Ok...so it's just me.

Unlike other military shooters, First to Fight drops you and a three-man fire team in extremely close quarters, namely the battleground of Beirut. You'll have to navigate down a lot of narrow city streets, and enemies will be all over the place, firing at you from windows as well as the ground. Much like the Rainbow Six series, the game draws on realism, so it's advised that you check your surroundings and plan strategies rather than blindly running in guns blazing. The game works off an RTFA (Ready-Team-Fire-Assist) system that allows for unprecedented realism. Also, you're always at the point, so it's your decisions that'll most likely determine the outcome of a mission. Your squad mates are more than capable of holding their own (I'll elaborate more on that in a bit), but they follow their leader. It's a concept that really hasn't been effectively realized in a game. Yes, in other war sims, soldiers will blindly follow you wherever you go, but First to Fight is unique because of its light RPG elements. You have leadership points, and if you make good decisions, their morale will go up and they'll follow orders like they should, but if you do a lot of stupid things, their morale will go down and they'll be reluctant to take direction. I'm very excited about this system because I feel it'll make the gameplay a lot more challenging than in other shooters where you can just all go in at once and run around shooting blindly. Not only will First to Fight's point system make you think more about how to approach certain situations, but it'll also highlight the benefits of working as a team.

Another cool thing about this game is the AI. As I previously mentioned, your guys are tough hombres but they also fall back on their training. Since the game is being co-developed by the US Marine Corps, the in-game characters make the same realistic decisions that actual marines do because each of them has individual psychology. They'll always have your back, and you won't have to worry about them as much as in other games of this type, though you'll still need to control them, which is done by using the D-pad, and it's easy telling them to lay down suppressing fire, toss grenades, or cover your butt, though it's a wise idea to learn the role of each team member so you can better utilize their skills. You'll have a Saw Gunner, a Rifleman, and an Assistant Gunner fighting alongside you, so it's good to know what roles they play in real-time situations.

In addition to communicating with them, you can also call for air strikes, help from snipers, and an armored tank with a 50 caliber machine gun, which may get you out of a tight spot from time to time. In addition to that good stuff, there are stationary turrets lying about, both on the ground as well as in vehicles, and you can either send someone to operate it or just use it yourself.

What you will need to worry about are the many enemies in the game. They're more than capable of taking care of themselves and are highly dangerous, but the neat thing about them is, just as your fellow soldiers can lose faith in you, the enemy can lose confidence if you kill their team leader or call for back-up. It's possible to break its will, so if you overwhelm a bunch of soldiers, they might start running for their lives.

Destineer's really done a marvelous job with the game's visuals. Resembling a first person Full Spectrum Warrior (but even prettier looking), First to Fight features incredible texture work and highly-detailed character models and weapons. The special effects are also extremely well done, as smoke and fire look spectacular, and the game's rag doll physics send bodies flying every which way.

Of course, the big question with any Xbox FPS is whether it'll have online play. First to Fight will most certainly be Xbox Live compatible, but details have yet to be revealed. It would definitely be cool if you could team up with a few people and go through the game's single player campaign.

Whether First to Fight will be able to distinguish itself from the competition at retail remains to be seen, but I'm definitely anticipating it. I'm always up for a great first person shooter, and the AI looks like it's going to be the game's main selling point. Also, another version of the game will be used as a training simulator for the army, and supposedly the retail version will be very similar, which is definitely a good thing. Set to release this January for PC and in March for Xbox, First to Fight may turn out to be one of 2005's sleeper hits.