Gaming News - May 2004
West Point, NY (May 3, 2004) - The U.S. Army announced today that it
will showcase at the upcoming E3 show the rigorous training, high-tech systems,
and new technologies that place the Special Forces at the forefront in the
Global War on Terrorism.
From US Army:
The new game features are part of a series of highly-anticipated Special
Forces games that include America’s Army: Special Forces (Overmatch) as well as
the America’s Army: Special Forces (Qualification Course) game which extends
gameplay from last fall’s release, America’s Army: Special Forces (Special
Forces Assessment and Selection). Together, the games showcase the training and
capabilities of the Army’s elite and highly skilled Special Forces Soldiers.
“The Army’s Special Forces continue to be one of the key elements in the Global
War on Terrorism,” said Colonel Casey Wardynski, project originator and Project
Director of the America’s Army game. “The America’s Army: Special Forces game
provides an inside look at the types of missions ongoing worldwide. With the
Overmatch version America’s Army now demonstrates the ability of our Soldiers to
use their specialized training and weaponry to defeat forces of far greater
sizes. Based upon the realistic experience afforded by America’s Army Recruiters
report that the game has markedly increased interest among young Americans in
these world-renowned forces.”
The game provides civilians with an inside perspective and a virtual role in the
U.S. Army. One of the top online action games on the Internet, the game has more
than 3.3 million registered players who have completed 60 million hours
virtually exploring the Soldiering in America's Army: Special Forces. Building
on this success and in order to broaden the game’s reach, the Army recently
signed an agreement with UbiSoft to deploy America’s Army to consoles and other
game platforms.
At the Army’s E3 booth (1080 in the South Hall) the Army will showcase the new
Army capabilities and technologies that players will find in its upcoming
versions of America’s Army.
Combat Overmatch Capabilities
Drawing upon actions in the Global War on Terrorism, America’s Army: Special
Forces (Overmatch) incorporates key aspects of Special Forces operations drawn
from the Global War on Terrorism. In Overmatch players will be able to explore
first hand the combat overmatch capabilities of Special Forces Soldiers in which
a handful of U.S. Special Forces Soldiers can engage and defeat armored forces
of greatly superior
numbers. Based on recent Special Forces operations, Overmatch drives home the
unparalleled capabilities the Army achieves by melding top-tier leadership,
teamwork, technology and training to create small units of action.
Special Forces Q- Course
In America’s Army: Special Forces (Qualification Course) players progress
through specialized language, survival, and weapons training to take on new SF
roles including 18D - Medic, 18C - Engineer, 18E – Communications Sergeant, 18F
– Intelligence Sergeant and 18Z – Operations Sergeant. E3 attendees will get a
sneak peek at missions that America’s Army players will experience later this
summer. Within multiplayer maps players will be able to virtually experience a
new range of devices used by the Special Forces -- including the PDM (Pursuit
Deterrent Munition), the Door Breacher, and the BDM (Bunker Defeat Munitions).
Also, upcoming versions of America’s Army will
incorporate new systems now joining the Army as modeled by the America’s Army
Future Applications team. This team, which joined the America’s Army effort in
2003, uses America’s Army as a platform to model future weapons systems
prototypes for virtual experimentation. Visitors to E3 will be able to employ
the Combat Talon robot on the display floor and within America’s Army.
Andromeda New Tournament System
The Army is co-developing a data driven game middleware solution named Andromeda
for implementation within America’s Army. Andromeda is a set of services that
includes a detailed statistics package, a single sign-on facility and a unique
authentication system designed to make game server hosting and administration
easy. Andromeda will warehouse game data ranging from basic authentication
information to full player
settings. It will also incorporate features that will allow players to establish
Official Honor servers on the fly.
Live Demonstrations
The Army will continue to capture the attention of E3 attendees with precision
demonstrations such as aviation presentations and rapelling. These events will
take place several times each day at locations within and in front of the Los
Angeles Convention Center. The Army will demonstrate an urban tactical scenario
featuring the 19th Special Forces Group with air support from the 140th General
Support Aviation Battalion. In the South Hall, Green Berets from the Army’s 20th
Special Forces Group will present their skills in a Gabriel team capabilities
demonstration and discuss their role as subject matter experts in making
America’s Army: Special Forces the most realistic Army game experience.
Finally, the Army will conduct live tournaments, including the final match
between a team of four civilians and four active duty U.S. Army Soldiers in the
AMD America's Army: Special Forces Tournament which is sponsored by Ultimate
Arena.
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