 
By Darren Gladstone
Uncle Sam wants you…to play America's Army, the government's new soldier simulator. That's right, rather than drafting you at 18 or plastering more "Army of One" ads all over TV, the powers that be are placing new video games at your fingertips. And, as part of a major publicity effort for the U.S. Army, the new titles will be distributed for free to all PC gamers. If you can deal with some not-so-subliminal recruiting methods, you're getting a rock-solid game for nothing. That is, unless you count the taxes that you paid last year.
The new recruits About three years and $6.3 million in the making, America's Army enlists you into a virtual fighting force. Why are your tax dollars financing this effort? I, for one, think that this is a better idea than spending $10,000 on a toilet seat, but Lt. Col. Casey Wardynski, the project's originator and director, had a much better answer. He explains that many people are already into multiplayer war games such as the popular Counter-Strike. So, why not have the U.S. military get in on the action? After all, Wardynski said, these games are an extremely effective way to present the values of what it takes to be a solider. Simply put: The U.S. Army hopes that the games will get more people interested in military service.
Are U.S. Army-sponsored titles going to send gamers scrambling down to the local recruitment center? Well, not unlike that terrible '80s movie, The Last Starfighter--in which a goofy teenager gets a high score in on an arcade game and is recruited to fight in an interstellar war--I'm already envisioning the Army handpicking top players to lead the next assault into Afghanistan. Thankfully, the focus of these new games isn't just about setting your sights and pulling the trigger.
Based upon real-world weaponry and situations, America's Army is split into two parts: Solider and Operations. While most games throw you headlong into the action, both of these titles start you with the basics. Soldier focuses on character development and interpersonal relationships, and, most importantly, attempts to teach you what it means to be a soldier. That ambitious goal will hopefully be achieved through a free-form role-playing experience that looks like streaming video but is actually all randomly assembled on the fly. By interviewing hundreds of soldiers about their experiences, the Army put together a complex storyline that evolves depending upon the decisions that you make. For instance, if your character acts like the wisecracking Private Joker from Full Metal Jacket, be prepared to get dressed down by a pixilated full-motion video drill sergeant. (That's just great, my computer hasn't called me a maggot for some time now.) What's impressive about Soldier is that the story elements are stashed, spliced, and reassembled so that you won't wind up with the same adventure every time you play. Think of it as a hopped up version of those ancient Choose Your Own Adventure books.
Soldier is still in development, but the combat component--Operations--looks ready for action right now. In the software's effort to be all that it can be, Operations uses the new Unreal Tournament 3D engine to drive the game. After some basic-training levels, you'll fight against generic terrorists, or, as they are called in the game, "hostile forces"--no countries or affiliations are named, although I guess we have to keep our options open as the "Axis of Evil" expands or contracts. Unlike other combat games, Operations does not allow you to play as a terrorist. I recently had a chance to give Operations a shakedown run, and it is looking very impressive. Weapons jam as they would in real life, you need time to properly reload your arsenal, and stealth is often the best course of action. Want to master special skills on the battlefield? You'll need to go into training first. To gain specialties, you need to take your character to ranger or sniper school.
While both parts of America's Army seem realistic, this still isn't the real world, kids. "If there was a greater correlation between playing games [with a keyboard and mouse] and using real weapons, the U.S. Army would be spending a whole lot more on PCs for training," says Wardynski. What games such as these do teach, though, is teamwork. The most important thing is being able to watch your squad member's back. Other key skills that you pick up are the abilities to prioritize objectives, assess threats, and improve communications during chaotic situations.
The plan of attack Throughout the summer, more missions will be slowly rolled out until the full version of America's Army officially appears in August. You'll be able to download the game for free from any number of Web sites (including www.americasarmy.com), or you can find it bundled with gaming-enthusiast magazines this September. Then, with updates starting at the end of the year, you'll have the ability to work with specific army divisions. There's even talk of letting characters achieve higher ranks to command troops. Xbox owners might eventually be eligible for the draft as well, but that is much further down the road. Editor's note: The most surreal part of assembling this story had to be PR people telling me, "I'm sorry, [Wardynski's] been busy at the Pentagon. He'll get back to you very soon." I mean, how often do you get to hear that in a lifetime?
Darren Gladstone is a senior editor for electronics coverage at CNET. Got questions for him? E-mail us.
 
Console system hacks
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Pocket raider
Lara Croft will be raiding a whole new domain soon--Pocket PCs. News has come from Eidos Interactive UK that you'll be able to buy a handheld version of the original Tomb Raider exclusively from Handango in July for about $30. Check out these screenshots on display at Chip Online.
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As amazing as it may seem, this title has managed to successfully take levels from the PC game MOH: Allied Assault and actually improve upon it. The Normandy Beach landing sequence is a stunning example of what the PS2 can do, and it helps convey the chaos of war with crisp visuals and stellar audio tracks that make you want to duck for cover.
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One of the more grisly games on the market, SOF2 has you globetrotting to stop a clandestine plot. The onscreen results are brutal, with realistically modeled damage and body physics. A personal favorite feature is the well-conceived multiplayer modes, including a random mapmaker so that the challenge never ends.  The latest
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