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America's Army v2.0: Special Forces

	Author: Chris Abele Article Type: PC Game Review Publication Date: 2/28/2004 Developer: U.S. Army Publisher: U.S. Army Related Categories: First Person Shooter, Special Operations, Tactical, Present Day / Near Future

Returning to Service

The concept behind America's Army has always struck me as genius. Rather than spending several millions of dollars to buy a fleeting thirty-second commercial on primetime television, the United States Department of Defense instead opted to spend that same amount of money to create a computer game to reach thousands (if not millions) of potential soldiers. Although the government has moved away from suggesting it is a marketing tool to recruit new soldiers, the game remains a branding effort for the Army, and a hugely successful one at that. Thanks to the millions of (taxpayer) dollars invested in the project, the Army has created a high-quality tactical shooter that is as good as, if not better, nearly every other tactical shooter available today. And yes, it's still free.

I first experienced America's Army: Operations when it was released to the public in the summer of 2002. As a long-standing fan of the tactical shooter genre (especially Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series, Operation Flashpoint, and SWAT 3), I frankly gushed over the authentic G.I. training experience the developers had created. I was thoroughly impressed with the realism, attention to detail, and authentic Army training elements (including a drill sergeant barking orders!) that pervaded the game. Since my first review, America's Army has continued to improve itself with a steady stream of updates and new feature additions. Thanks to the tremendous budget the government has prioritized for the project, the developers not only continue to upgrade the game, but have also hired new developers to work on future phases as well. Unlike nearly every other computer game, America's Army has had a life beyond its initial release, all the while remaining free to gamers around the world.

Which brings us to the significant v2.0 update for America's Army: Operations. Released in November, the v2.0 upgrade primarily added the Special Forces class, completed adding the new Medic class, added weapon customization, and a series of weapon, map, and feature additions to otherwise round out the package. That v2.0 update presented me with a perfect opportunity to revisit the game and its various improvements.

Training with the Special Forces.	The new customizable SOPMOD M4.

Getting Started: Installation, Patches and the Manual

Fundamentally, very little has changed from the original America's Army release. The full client for v2.0, however, has ballooned dramatically in size, now weighing in at a massive +600 MB. Obviously, dial-up gamers need not apply, but the government does sell the game on CDs, which can be purchased via mail order for about $5 (Editor's Correction: This purchase is done through a third-party company, and carries no affiliation with the U.S. Government.  Free copies of the game are available from local Army recruiter offices.). The game runs on Unreal 3D engine technology (like Raven Shield, Unreal Tournament 2003/2004, and other shooters), so it does require some substantial hardware, although those requirements should be less of a problem eighteen months after its initial release. A Pentium 4 with a 64 MB graphics video card from NVidia or ATI should cinch it for most players, but lesser systems will do if necessary.

The game's training manual comes in Adobe PDF format and has been constantly updated throughout the game's development. Although seventy-pages in length, the meaty manual doesn't waste space with unnecessary graphics, but does go into great detail explaining the background behind U.S. Army training and what will be required of users.

I use the word "required" because all this free gaming does have one substantial caveat, the same that may have turned off some gamers to America's Army when it was first released. Every virtual soldier must complete a shooting course in order to experience any other part of the game. Think of it as a tutorial mission that must be beaten to play the rest of the game. Although even the most greenhorn of newbie FPS gamers should be able to hit the 24 out of 40 targets at the virtual Fort Benning training course, gamers not otherwise familiar with the shooter genre may become quickly discouraged. But considering the game's price, this can only be considered a warning to players rather than a design critique of the game.

After passing a few minor training courses, players then go online to play against other virtual trainees in dozens of different missions. That core of the gameplay is 100% multiplayer, and the development team has updated the game since its initial release with new training schools (Sniper school, 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, 75th Ranger Regiment, and Combat Medic training) and corresponding missions. Each of those new training schools requires a series of offline and online tests, and all of the schools go toward an overall experience point rating, which is used to differentiate more skilled players from newbie players. Skilled players get access to better weapons, missions, and training schools, including those added in the v2.0 update.

It's time to learn.	The best America's Army map gets redone for elite Special Forces players.