U.S. Army Announces America's Army 3
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: America's, Army, PC, Game | Themes: Digital Entertainment
This afternoon the U.S. Army announced that the third installment of its FPS franchise is heading to the PC sometime this year.
Six years ago, the U.S Army launched the America's Army franchise, aimed to not only deliver an authentic and entertaining Army experience to gamers, but to use its PC games to entice and recruit hopeful soldiers. Grabbing wannabe soldiers by the eyeballs through a first-person perspective, players quickly discovered what it was like to virtually endure training and career advancement experienced by Army soldiers in the real world.
Now the U.S. Army stands poised and ready to announce its third installment in the America's Army series. This time around, the Army utilizes Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 technology, currently used in many first-person games on the PC as well as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. However, the Army states that the third installment will be easier to play, easier to install and easier to download.
“In AA3 we've taken all of the best features in AA2, incorporated feedback from the AA community and added the latest technology to develop a high-tech game that can be customized by the player to create a much more detailed interactive experience,” said Michael Bode, executive producer of the America's Army game. “One of our key design philosophies is to make the game easily accessible to a new player, while at the same time keeping a deeper layer of complexity for the more advanced players to discover and take advantage of.”
The Army placed a lot of emphasis on realism, claiming that the development team worked closely with "Subject Matter Experts" to ensure that everything is as realistic as possible, from training exercises to weapon detail. According to the Army, Epic's Unreal Engine 3 brings it all to life, sporting realistic environments, animations, lighting effects, and team-based experiences.
Different aspects of the Army come into play in the third installment, including Army Values, Warrior Ethos, career opportunities, and the lifestyles of soldiers while off duty and on duty. The FPS will also have RPG elements, allowing the player's persistent character to "level up" so to speak, taking cues from other military-based games including Battlefield: Bad Company and more. Although bound by rules of engagement, players gain experience playing team-based multiplayer sessions and rising up the ranks.
"In the game, as in the Army, accomplishing missions requires teamwork and adherence to the seven Army Core Values," states the Army in a recent press release. "In the game, a player's actions and demonstrated Army values will have consequences that are integral to success in gameplay and will affect a player's career progression."
Initially, the gameplay focuses on an Infantry Soldier (11B), allowing players to choose a base class of Rifleman, Automatic Rifleman, Designated Marksman and Grenadier. As players gain experience, they pick up a "specialty," first as a Combat Medic and then additional specialty classes (aka Cross Train) that will be announced later on.
Look for America's Army 3 to appear on the official website this summer.
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looking at the screen shoot it looks like counter strike source
thats my opinion...dont flame haha
The Army should just repackage COD4:MW and give it out for free.
This is so low. Propaganda to get young people to go to war. To "protect" their country on the otherside of the earth and perhaps lose their lives.
So low.
Serving in the military is an honor, and you sir (Zoonie) dishonor that. If you live in America, then you should be grateful for those that HAVE already lost their lives for you.
For thousands of years people have gained honor, respect, and purpose by joining their countries military. If the US military is able to provide a safe and fun way to glorify the virtues that make the Army something great to be apart of, then they're doing an awesome job. Zoonie, get off your anti-war drugs and realize that this world isnt going to stand by while you and everyone else wish for peace.
Will the Army be putting out a Linux version of America's Army v.3 like they did with v.2? I heard rumors that they might or they might not- anybody have any real info?
Hmmm Curnel, military virtues???
I think Tolstoy said it best when he said " What are the habits of the military? The aim of war is murder, the methods of war are spying, treachery, and their encouragement, the ruin of a country's inhabitants, robbing them or stealing to provision the army, and fraud and falsehood termed military craft. The habits of the military class are the absence of freedom, that is, discipline, idleness, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery and drunkenness."
I agree that the military performs a necessary service for now but I think my text wall kinda bums the idea of military virtues up the ass xD.
@MU_Engineer:
They are not planning on creating a Linux version. The fact that the game is only being developed for Windows was established early on. However, it may still be possible to run the game using WINE.
@ Skatagon
There has always been and will always be world conflict. This is a fact of life, and isnt going to change. But despite all of this, there is still such a thing as chivalry.
This would be completely different if we were discussing a military that sets goals only to steal, murder, and destroy those who dont uphold certain ideals. But we're not. We're talking about a military who does what it can to repair the problems not only that caused conflict, but also the damage they've done as well.
The fact that you view all military as "undiciplined, lazy, irnorant, cruel, and immoral" only goes to show your own ignorance and narrow mindedness.
@MU_Engineer:They are not planning on creating a Linux version. The fact that the game is only being developed for Windows was established early on. However, it may still be possible to run the game using WINE.
There are rumors to the contrary:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?p [...] &px=NjcxMA
It's just a funding issue that halted maintenance of the port of the original. The Unreal engine is cross-platform. PunkBuster isn't a problem either as it was used in Doom3 and Quake4 on Linux.
As a person who served in the US Army my opinion of this game is very negative. War is NOT a video game and it is nothing like the real thing. The fact that they dare say that the game is realistic and authentic is insulting.
I dont think the deveopers are trying to subject it's players to the harshness and brutality of war, NuclearShadow. It's simply a tool on a popular media to raise recruitment.
I hope this is better than the old America's Army. That game sucked and was riddled with bugs so you couldn't get past the training missions. I never was able to play online because of the intense glitches. Maybe they fixed it in this version. I just can't stand all the training bull crap to get into the actual game. It is afterall a game, adding the whole moral aspect might ruin it for me. I play FPS games purely to kill people. Honor, respect...?? Who needs that crap. That's for 3rd grade japanese students. Kamakazi and crap.
I played the original version until it bacame apparent that it was severely hacked. Setting up ambushes was useless when the opponent could see through all walls and pinpoint enemy locations.
NukeShadow, AA was the most realistic when compared to all the other FPS games out there. How many rounds are you going to be able to take before being incapacitated? Usually only one, but other games let you take many and keep on fighting. At least AA modeled that part somewhat correctly. I don't think anybody believes that a game can realistically convey the whole aspect of a real warzone. The best you can hope for is realistic weapon damage/reliability and strive for realistic tactics.
@Animebando & @curnel_D
There is definitly NOTHING wrong with joining the army to protect and defend your country! Don't make it sound like I'm dishonoring that.
But I don't see any glory or honor in putting young people on the other side of the earth because of false reasons, when the goal really is resources and political objectives. There is no way any country in the world could actually do any harm to US soil. There are actually defenses against remotely launched robots.
In the name of "protection" - is it ok to send people to their deaths and make it look cool with a game? Yeah honestly, it's people like you who actually start wars. Why don't you talk to a couple of Vietnam vets and see what they think of your "honor"?
Whatever country that US army goes to, has an army of its own, and they have no other orders than to "protect & defend" their own country, by killing the people who has landed on their soil - yes, the US army! People shooting eachother half-a-planet away from US soil. That's called defending the homeland alright.
Nowadays 'invasion' and 'protection' seem to have equal meanings.
And this "game" my friends are nothing but propaganda for politicians to get their political views realized.
Army toys are really cool, I do agree, that's why we play games like COD4. Using an M16 to put 30-40 soldiers to sleep makes you feel good before dinner. In reality, however, you'd be killing someones son, someones father, someones husband.
Games should stay what they are, namely, GAMES.
I have no problem with an individual, of sound mind, deciding to defend their country and beliefs by serving in the military. What I have a problem with is the Army glorifying the service by associating it with a video game.
"Are you dumb enough to think that serving in a real military is comparable to a video game?" "Did you get your first frag and think: 'God, I would really love to shoot someone in real life!'?" "Then the Army is for you."
I think people need to be made aware of the personal sacrifice and dedication it takes to serve, and the risks involved, not just how important teamwork is.
On the otherhand, anyone juvenile or naiive enough to be conviced to join the military by a video game could probably use the order and discipline instilled by a tour of service.
Known about this for a while, the series never really interested me and I bet a thousand people can guess why.
I name it "Devil Army".US army do not protect country but protect profits of military industries,petrol industries and everywhere that billionaires have a reason to change situation.
Here's what AA is about. You need to complete the training to help with the team based aspect of game play, it's not a run and gun game.
You get more Honor points for completing objectives not killing. It brings in a lot of real military players and none of them say battle is like the game. They do tell the people that ask the truth.
Now people like Calyman is the type of person that will cuss the US military about how bad they are. Now if he is in the USA then he can do it openly without repercussions. But in other countries he would be killed. Like the guy that threw the show at Bush. He now has the freedom to throw a shoe at the person that set in motion the action that freed him. Ain't America great, if he had done that to Saddam he would have been killed.
Calyman please step away from the Kool-Aid of what your smoking please. You have killed way to many brain cells.
If the game is so realistic do your best friends die beside you? I'm sorry, but I do NOT like that the army want to mix "fun" and war. If you serve in the military than I praise you for your virtue. However, to make a game about this to try to make military service "fun" is too far. I can't help but feel that this is disrespecting the brave men and women who found the strength to risk their lives for their country. Regardless of what their country is having them do, right or wrong, it is still a great honour and a great sacrifice for these people to be doing this. There is NOTHING FUN about the military, there is only responsibility and sacrifice. Don't cheapen that with a game and don't try to lure those into the military that do not understand it fully by making it look "fun". These people will only get themselves or others killed.
There are rumors to the contrary:http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?p [...] &px=NjcxMAIt's just a funding issue that halted maintenance of the port of the original. The Unreal engine is cross-platform. PunkBuster isn't a problem either as it was used in Doom3 and Quake4 on Linux.
http://forum.americasarmy.com/viewtopic.php?t=260588
I dont think the deveopers are trying to subject it's players to the harshness and brutality of war, NuclearShadow. It's simply a tool on a popular media to raise recruitment.
And that's the problem is its a recruitment tool and its a dishonest one. No one comes back from war the same they may be able to hide it but it alters you forever. People should know this before they make the choice of enlisting instead our own military is trying to teach that its just like a video game.
How is a game a "dishonest" tool? It's like the free caps, shirts, and backpacks that are given out for spending the time to learn about the military services. While a recruiter might be "dishonest" by saying that the military is a bed of roses or that service is just like a game, it's unlikely that a recruiter will take that particular tack or that a potential recruit would even give it credence.
Calling a GAME "realistic" or such is not the same as saying that the game is the same as war. Such adjectives are regularly used to promote FPS games, airsoft guns, and any number of toys. Your argument is ultimately invalid because you make the assumption that the military is teaching that war is like a video game.