Marines get the Video Game Treatment. Some of it is good the rest is bad.
First of all, I'm what you call a "realism whore", If I play games about a certain subject matter (Military for instance) then I expect that game to be as realistic as possible, I don't want some arcade shooter and I certainly don't want a game that is half assed by producers, So in this review expect the worst.
Game play:
In CCF2F you command the basic Marine Infantry team which is a 4-man Marine Fire team (Evidently you’re the Lance Corporal in Charge), the command system in this game is actually one of the best I've ever seen, it's easy to learn and easy to use, you'll be clearing rooms and clearing streets in no time. The mission itself well there your average type of missions, from clearing an enemy position to reaching the next waypoint the game however does throw in a few surprises, in each mission your allotted a certain number of supporting teams (Whether it be Mortars, Marine Scout Snipers or the big and mean AH-1Z Cobra Gunship) your allowed to use them in anyway you please however using them carelessly will jeopardize the mission, F2F also utilizes a nifty Psychological feature in the game, if an enemy soldier is pinned down on both flanks he'll panic and run, or surrender (I'll talk about the later in a minute). F2F also makes you aware for enemy HVT’s (For those who are not accustomed to Military jargon, it means High Value Target's) you will be ordered to either neutralize or capture them and the option is all up to you, however neutralizing them will decrease your overall score and effectiveness of your men, now for the fun part. F2F also utilizes a Surrender system in which enemy Soldiers and Target's surrender and don't get all giddy. Every soldier that you try to surrender may pull out a grenade or pistol and shoot you in the back and don't try to get creative also, F2F will fail you automatically for shooting an EPW or POW (Though out of frustration, my finger accidentally slipped).
Now for the bad part, The enemy and Friendly AI in this game can be weird at times, most of the times your Marines are poor shots (Makes you wonder how they passed the annual Marine Inspection), The enemy on the other hand are excellent shots (Wait, shouldn't it be the reverse?), Sometimes missions are just aggravating (Oh man, And out of frustration I kind of violated the Geneva Convention), your team mates aren't helpful at all the only thing there really good at is taking fire and (of all things) clearing rooms.
Sound:
Unfortunately the bad luck doesn't stop here, the weapon sounds in F2F are soft and the worst I've ever heard. The M16 sounds like a pop gun and the M249 barely scares the be Jesus out of the enemy, The M2 sounds like a bird whistling and the explosions aren't fantastic at all.
Graphics:
Surprisingly F2F features pretty good graphics (the Hardware specs calls for a 32 mb Vid Card), The Textures are nice but the Fatigues, Camouflage or Combats are tight (there not suppose to be tight there suppose to be baggy, I Know I own a set of Combats).
The Few the Proud isn't all that cracked up as it's supposed to be:
If you think the war is over and everything bad stops here, then you my friend are wrong.
F2F also has the tendency to lie a bit, In the Manual and even on their site it says that your not alone well for the most part you are, there are no other Fire Teams, Squads, Platoons supporting you there are no M1 Abrams or LAV25 coming to the rescue it's just you, and a handful of marines helping you (That handful isn't what you expect).
Missions have the tendency to be repetitive, Clear this or Clear that, tactics are seldom used. Your Friendly AI doesn't react to street corners or hallways (as stated in the video and manual), all they do is bunch up and follow you. People have a tendency of talking even when there mouths are sealed shut, and on some missions shooting the enemy radio man as a way of failing the mission.
And so this is the end of my review (My Guess is that you've slept through the whole thing)
F2F was an excellent concept, taking something that hasn't been done before (Using Marines in a Game) and putting it into the public mainstream, the concept was excellent but the execution was terrible, F2F would have made an excellent Tactical FPS if the developers put some time into it. You have 40 Marines who have just come back from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, you have an extra platoon of Marines at Camp Pendleton who are showing you the tricks of the trade and yet you create a game that is really nothing more than an Arcade Shooter with a few tactics in it.
If there is to be another attempt in using Modern Day Marines then I'm hoping your not alone that there will be M1 Abrams and LAV-25 Roaming through the streets, Your apart of a Platoon clearing a certain sector and taking part in raids and destroying the enemy insurgency a better character interaction and storyline, better sound and gameplay.
Overall I give it 6.8 out of 10.
Excellent concept flawed execution.
Maybe the version that the USMC has is better