Posted on: Tuesday, June 4, 2002

'Army of One' tries for Army-style fun with video game

By Marc Saltzman
Gannett News Service

An unlikely entrant to the video game industry, the U.S. Army unveiled its first title at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3.

"America's Army," slated for a July release and to be given away at http://americasarmy.com, is the first consumer game created by the military and is designed to give an accurate depiction of Army life.

"We know that Americans love this type of electronic entertainment," said Maj. Chris Chambers of the Army's office of economic and manpower analysis. "It just made sense the Army communicates its story where people like to spend time."

The computer game — for use with Windows PCs only — actually is two games in one:

• A strategic action game played from a first-person perspective, where up to 32 players can battle online in a military conflict such as an anti-terrorism scenario. To create the game's sophisticated graphics, Army engineers licensed and modified the leading-edge programming from the popular game "Unreal" to render realistic-looking soldiers, environments and special effects.

• A role-playing game that challenges players to accomplish "life goals" such as making money for college, getting married or becoming an officer.

Although the action game is multiplayer-only and requires an Internet connection, the training missions and role-playing can be played solo.

So is "America's Army" also a recruitment tool, designed to appeal to video gaming's core young male audience?

"Definitely not," Chambers said. "There are no embedded messages. ... This is simply an entertaining and informative tool to connect with America about what the Army is about."

But Rob Smith, editor in chief of PC Gamer magazine, said the Army may be trying to target those with technical know-how.

"Modern warfare equipment requires a level of computer savvy that wasn't the case in years gone by. Many game players fit the demographic, " Smith said.

Will the game be a success? Smith said that because the game will be released for free (either via download from the Web site or CD-ROMs bundled with magazines, including PC Gamer), it will be available to practically anyone who wants to try it. "And from what we've seen, the game itself is actually really good."