Inside the Hidden US Army Mode

　　About a day after the release of Full Spectrum Warrior, a cheat code surfaced that can be used to unlock the US Army version of the game, which was designed as a military training tool--the game itself gave rise from it. The Army version of Full Spectrum Warrior can only be accessed by entering "HA2P1PY9TUR5TLE" from the cheats menu under the "Bonus Material" main menu selection, and it must be entered each time you reboot your Xbox and want to play the mode. It consists of six different stand-alone missions and plays roughly like the actual Full Spectrum Warrior game, but it noticeably lacks a lot of the graphical polish and it is especially weak as far as audio is concerned. However, the Army mode features some intriguing gameplay mechanics that, if nothing else, provide revealing insight into the actual game's development. Take a look at the embedded video on this page to see the Army mode in action, and compare it with our other movies of the game to get a sense of how the full version of the game evolved.

　　Take a look at the US Army version of Full Spectrum Warrior that's hidden in the game. Double-click on the video window for a full-screen view.

　　Before we get into the particulars, we should point out that the Army version of Full Spectrum Warrior isn't nearly as enjoyable as the full game--and it's not meant to be. It loads slowly, the audio is very basic (in stark contrast to the full game's great sound and voice-over), the frame rate chugs much slower than the full game, and the gameplay itself is erratic and unstructured. But remember--this isn't even supposed to be a game, so much as a training device. What, exactly, it's supposed to train someone to do isn't entirely clear, but at any rate, the Army version of Full Spectrum Warrior is obviously based on a significantly older version of the game engine.

　　With that said, there are aspects of the Army version of Full Spectrum Warrior that are pretty interesting, especially in how it differ from the actual game. Many of the more abstract, less realistic aspects of the actual game are much more plausible in the Army version. For example, and most notably, taking cover does not mean gaining absolute protection in the Army version; soldiers attempting to avoid enemy fire by taking position behind a car or around a corner of a building are not invulnerable as they are in the actual game. The soldiers are less likely to take a hit, but they can get killed. Also, there are fewer onscreen icons as well as a much heavier civilian population in many of the missions, which makes identifying opposing forces a challenge. In the actual game, you can pretty much approach a mission with an "if it moves, it's hostile" mind-set.

　　The Army version of the game models a few other aspects more realistically than the full game. For example, M203 grenades travel in a realistic arc rather than in a perfectly straight line. It's possible to enter many of the buildings in the environment and clear them out. Switching between members of a fire team, which is a largely useless feature in the actual game, is used here as the means of getting to the respective team members' special abilities (such as the grenadier's grenades). Also, enemies attack from random directions and from all around, rather than in the predictably scripted fashion found in the actual game's campaign. Another interesting touch is that, while you control two fire teams of eight men in total in the actual game, in the Army version there's a ninth character--a squad leader, whom you presumably represent as the player.

　　There are some other notably intriguing features in the Army version. It's possible to modify the experience levels of individual members of the two fire teams, which presumably affects their accuracy and reaction times. It's also possible to adjust each map's parameters for things like quantity and aggressiveness of both opposing forces and civilians. You may also adjust the wind speed and direction, which most likely affects smoke grenades. It's also possible to change the rules of engagement, thereby customizing victory conditions, acceptable casualties, and so forth.

　　The six missions themselves each have a rudimentary textual mission briefing and each one pretty much places the squad deep into hostile territory. The variety of customizable parameters makes the Army version of Full Spectrum Warrior interesting to play around with, but when you get right down to it, the controls are clunky and the action is decidedly less playable. The controls themselves are largely similar to those of the actual game, though a few of the key functions have been remapped for whatever reason.

　　It seems like it would have been nice if some of the features from the Army version of Full Spectrum Warrior were at least optional in the actual game. The ability to customize mission parameters and to engage against a less predictable foe might have given the game more replay value. At any rate, the inclusion of the Army mode is certainly an interesting hidden feature and it can be used to infer a lot of different things about how the actual game was designed and changed for a mainstream audience.