FC: U.S. Army: Be all that you can be... in new 3D shoot-em-up

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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From: [deleted per request]
To: "Declan@Well. Com" <declan () well com>
Subject: The Army's E-game
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 20:24:11 -0800



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America's Army
<http://www.americasarmy.com/>http://www.americasarmy.com/

January 15, 2003
The United States Army, with Americas Army: Operations
being heralded as one of the largest and best first person
shooter games, is proud to bring to the gaming community
the ability to rent their own servers running on state of art
high performance computing technology through
<http://www.goamericasarmy.com>www.goamericasarmy.com. It is with great 
pride that we
bring yet another first from the United States Army in
enhancing the community and their gaming experience.


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And the review:

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GameZone.com - America's Army Review - PC Game
 <http://www.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r20650.htm>http://www.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r20650.htm

America's Army
by U.S. Army

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Reviewer: Kevin “BIFF” Giacobbi
Review Date: 10/31/2002


"Probably the best free military game out there"



We have seen some great military FPS games in the last
couple of years from many various developers.  Now the
Government has stepped up to the plate and has hit a
homerun.  AA is probably one of the most realistic army
simulation/FPS on the market.  To top it off…it's free
for the taking!

The game is designed to communicate information
about the many opportunities that the Army has to
offer; it is a 3D first person shooter that offers players
to immerse himself or herself into the world of a US
elite soldier

In Operations players progress through single player
basic training missions in preparation for online
multiplayer missions ranging from defense of the
Alaskan Pipeline against terrorism as a member
of the 172nd Infantry Brigade to training exercises
as a member of the 10th Mountain Division (light
Infantry).  Mirroring the progressive training available
to soldiers, players proceed to more advanced training
by attending a virtual representation of the Army's
Marksmanship School, Airborne School and Ranger
School.  Successful completion of each of these
schools presents players with new assignment
and adventure opportunities.

Team play is emphasized and important once you
enter the online games.  Its not just about killing the
enemy but also completing mission objectives and
watching your team mates backs.  My advice is to
play as a team and do not try and finish the level
solo.  It really is supposed to be a team game,
and there is no "I" in team.

The graphics were quite beautiful.  The maps are
not really big, in fact they are quite small, but
beautiful none the less.  Though your drill instructors
mouths did not move when they were barking at you,
the animations and the environments were top notch.
The sounds were realistic from the ringing in your ears
from close fire to superb voiceovers that usually lack
luster in other titles.  There is not a whole lot of key
commands that you have to memorize, so even the
novice game player should be able to be up and
running in no time.

Overall this seems to be a solid game, and as
the community grows and more missions become
available this should be an outstanding title for
years to come.  The best thing is it's free.
You can download it from <http://www.americasarmy.com>www.americasarmy.com
or from what the press release boasts, you can
pick up CD versions from your local Army recruiter.




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