Whether we like it or not, the Final Fantasy VIIs of the world cannot be developed overnight.  That is why Bungie is still working hard on Halo 2, which will not be released before the new year hits.

Around the time of the first Halo's release, Microsoft announced the shooter that was to be Halo's in-between game: Brute Force.  Little was known back then, and not much more has been learned now.  Microsoft has been running ads telling us that "we are Brute Force" for the past six months.  But the ads didn't describe the gameplay or give any indication of what this game would be like.

Finally though the game has been released, and with its release comes the answers we've been looking for.

Brute Force will surprise most gamers.  It's not a Halo clone like you might expect, but Halo's DNA was definitely used in the creation of this game.  The game is played from a third-person perspective, yet the controls have a bit of Halo-feel to them.  Only two weapons can be carried at a time; the zoom feature on sniper weapons is activated by depressing the right analog stick; and the story has to do with aliens, space and futuristic vehicles.

These Halo-isms are counteracted by what may someday be described as Brute Force-isms.  There are four characters in this game, and you get to control all of them.  The characters aren't dispersed as ridiculously as most games.  Rather than having to select one at the start of the game, or being forced to use specific characters for specific levels, Brute Force lets you command all four characters simultaneously.  You'll only have complete control over one character, but you can assign tasks to your partners (such as "Cover Me" and "Stand Guard") and switch to them at any time.

Changing characters is easy: simply press the directional pad in the direction of the character you wish to control.  For example, Tex is the character on the top, so you'd press Up to switch to him.

Using each of these characters individually and as a team is extremely important in this game, and is one of the things that makes it so much fun.  It would be pointless to have four different characters if all of them were exactly the same, because then you'd only need one to finish the game.  I don't think I even need to bother saying that that is not the case here.

Tex, the leading male character, is your typical-looking fighter: he's big, he's strong, and he carries powerful weapons.  He, like all of the other characters, also has a special ability: Berserker.  When berserkering, Tex can fire two weapons at once, increasing his chances of survival in a heated battle.

Brutus is a lizard-like character with the cool ability to see the heat generated from a living, breathing thing.  It's like a natural version of infrared goggles.  The graphic effect here is pretty cool: most of the background detail becomes white, while humans, aliens and other creatures appear to be an orangey color, making them easy to spot.  Brutus can also heal himself while using his special ability.

Every game must have a quick female character, right?  Brute Force's quick gal is Hawk.  Hawk's abilities allow her to move silently and invisibly.  While doing this, she can then sneak up on enemies and cut right through them with her powerblade (a lightsaber-type weapon).

Last but not least, there's Flint, a human cyborg.  Her ability isn't as cool as some of the others, but it is useful.  She'll walk forward and check the area, and then take out any enemies that appear to be a guaranteed kill.

Each character also has different running speeds and different health meter sizes, and thus can take more or less hits in combat.  Their weapons also vary: not every male character will carry a weapon that appears to be too girly or too weak.  And not every female character will pick up something heavy that's going to slow them down.  (Given the fact that these are video game characters, the game's explanation for weapon exclusivity is lame, but I guess it's better than them not giving any explanation at all.)

Brute Force is seamless, but is set up differently from Halo.  The levels are somewhat linear, and you have radar which always tells you where you need to go.  Most often the place that you need to visit is filled with a few dozen enemies.  Visit the place, exterminate the enemies and move on.  That is what this game is all about: extermination.  Not to say that this is overly violent (believe me, it's not), but you will do a lot of killing.

Normally, this would become repetitive very quickly and eventually get boring.  But somehow or other, the developers managed to pace the game in such a way that that rarely ever happens.  There are times when you're wandering around, wondering when you'll get to blast another alien.  But for the most part there are tons of enemies to battle.

Another thing that keeps Brute Force from getting repetitive is the levels.  While the main task of each level is almost always the same, the levels are quite different from each other.  You'll climb giant tree houses, infiltrate pyramids and hope you don't fall in a lava pit on one scolding-hot planet.

Gameplay: 8.5
If you love shooters, but hate all the nonsense that comes along with some of them (locked doors, confusing corridors, etc.), then Brute Force will feel like a breath of fresh air.  The kill-kill-kill gameplay style is a lot less repetitive than any other shooter I can think of, and the four-player cooperative mode is just plain awesome.

Graphics: 8.6
Video game graphics advance so quickly that it's really tough to grade this game.  Most everything looks beautiful, especially the backgrounds and the character designs.  The explosions could have used some work, and the liquid animation is terrible.  But overall this is a really good-looking game.

Sound: 8
Brute Force's voice acting turned out to be pretty good.  The music is also impressive, but for some odd reason, it cuts off every time it gets good!  During some of the more intense scenes, the music will really begin to pick up, and then it'll stop dead.  Maybe they thought it'd make the situation more intense.  But all it did was make me want to deafen the gunfire and bring back the music.

Difficulty: Medium
Brute Force is challenging at times, but for the most part, I don't think anyone is going to have a hard time playing through it.

Concept: 9
Brute Force is one of the best squad-based shooters out there.  The developers really knew what they were doing, making the game much easier to get into than most games of this kind.  Seamlessness is key, and for the most part Brute Force has it.

Multiplayer: 8
Play through the game with a few friends, or settle your differences in an exciting deathmatch.  It's not as polished as Halo, but it still rocks.

Overall: 8.6
Although this is the official "in-between Halo" game, I wouldn't recommend buying it as a substitute to that game.  Brute Force is a great buy, but not if what you're really looking for is Halo 2.  There is no substitute for that.  However, if you want a great third-person shooter, then Microsoft has got you covered.  It was a long time in coming, but finally you have another great multiplayer game to enjoy without having to sign up for Xbox Live.