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Now, in Team Sabre they will travel across the world to another continent and engage a Columbian Drug Lord by the name of Antonio Paulo who is manufacturing and shipping his poison into the United States. From there they will travel to the deserts of Iran to deal with rebels who have attacked and taken Kharq Island, which has an oil terminal on it.

Novalogic has done an excellent job of recreating individual weapons for use within the game. They each have their own unique sound when fired, their recoil and reload times seem to be fairly accurate, and the manner in which you aim each weapon is indicative of its unique qualities. I was impressed with the manner in which the weapons fired. It is especially evident when you try out each of the sniper rifles throughout the game that you have access to. Recoil, reload time and the time it took to lay the weapon on target were all different based on calibur and weapon weight. I think overall I prefer the M21 to any of the other options that are given.

Weapon action for the automatic rifles was also quite different between the AR-15, G3 and MP3. And then there were the SAW’s like the M240 which were very difficult to control, especially if you kept your finger on the trigger. Each weapon required a bit of practice and time with to be able to use them effectively.

In addition to your primary weapon you also have a secondary sidearm which is typically a pistol, either a 9mm or a 1911 .45, in some of the missions you will have the option of a pump shotgun instead of a handgun. You will find that the effectiveness and action of each of these weapons is just as unique as the rifles.

You are also issued a brace of grenades which includes flashbangs, smoke and frag grenades. Each of these also required some practice to use effectively. I never quite got the range down for throwing the grenades and usually either over shot my target or they bounced off a wall and came back to me. One thing I can say though, don’t be looking in the direction that you throw a flashbang. You will be blind and disoriented afterwards.

Then there is the tertiary weapon, which in most all of the missions is a satchel charge. This is used for destroying emplaced guns, stationary vehicles and anything else that comes near it when it goes boom. Later on in the game you are also given the option of AT4 LAW’s and claymores.

After you have selected your weapon mix for the current mission you can check out the “skills” section of the briefing. This is a nice addition to squad based shooter games. Here you have the opportunity of increasing your effectiveness in three different categories: Accuracy, Dexterity and Endurance. You gain points to spend in this section based on your performance in the previous mission. So if you do well, you get a reward which helps you do better in the future. If you suck wind then you have to go on as you are.

This is a squad-based game where you are part of a four man team and you are responsible for their performance and well being. Once in the game you can control your team through the squad menu, you can send them forward to flank an enemy, have them lay down suppression fire so that you can flank the enemy, request their aid in the form of medical kits and additional ammo and you can even have them heal each other. And don’t worry, your team mates will tell you when they would like someone to hit them with a medkit.

Your team is important and you will want to endeavor to keep them alive as much as possible, they not only cover your six, but they also supply you with extra sets of eyes to detect enemy activity.

Speaking of the enemy, in Team Sabre, the enemy is not dumb. Yes they do rush towards you in anticipation of their certain demise. They will also seek cover and use the terrain to their advantage. They will man abandoned gun mounts and will generally give you grief as you move through the game. They are also not perfect, so though they are shooting at you, its not like in some games where every shot the enemy fires finds a target. There were a couple of times where I came around a corner crouched and the tango standing there fired over my head.

The missions are laid out in a series of objectives, each successive objective becoming evident as you complete one. And sometimes you get redirected from your primary objective to deal with an emergency that crops up. Of course this would not be a “Black Hawk Down” game with out at least one Black Hawk falling out of the sky unexpectedly. When will it happen you ask? Well it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you now would it?

You will find through out the game that when combat ensues it is not a simple and direct affair. It is loud, distracting and at times very confusing, where both sides are yelling, calling for help and identifying targets. Team Sabre does a good job of creating a battlefield where it is just as easy to shoot a team mate in the heat of battle as it is to be shot by the bad guys.

I’d give this game three thumbs up if I had three thumbs. My only complaint is that the game is not long enough. If you push through it you can complete the entire game in a few hours of play. I didn’t get a chance to try out the multiplayer aspect of the game, but online play may extend the life of the game and give it a lot of replayability.