Battlefield 1942
Electronic Arts Taiwan
Interface: English/Chinese
Release: Today
With the release of Flashpoint Operation by Codemasters last year, the first-person shooter (FPS) format for the first time allowed players to go beyond the handle of a gun and actually start controlling tanks and helicopters. Following this trend, Electronic Arts Taiwan released Renegade, an addition to the Command and Conquer: Red Alert series, which also allows players to make use of a wide variety of mechanized transport and weaponry.
But these games were still very much prototypes, and the model for combined air, sea and land operations in the FPS format didn't really arrive until Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault earlier this year.
With EA's release of Battlefield 1942 today, the full impact of modern mechanized warfare will be brought to the screen. The game gives players the chance to take part in the Normandy landing, drive a tank in the war in the dessert or fly in the Battle of Midway.
"Currently, it is the only first-person team game that places the player directly on a WWII battlefield, while at the same time providing the option of directing air strikes or fleet movements," said Jack Lin (林守杰), general manager of EA Taiwan.
"The use of mechanized elements is not just for added excitement," said John Chiang (蔣鏡明), chief editor of Net Game Biweekly and a FPS enthusiast, "For many scenarios the use of mechanized units is essential to the mission."
As to the all important question of online play, Lin said the game allows up to 64 players to take part, selecting from US, German, British, Soviet and Japanese forces. Players can also select to play special forces, medics, recon, anti-tank or engineer units, each of which have their own special characteristics. A wide range of realistic WWII battle scenarios provide the background to the action.
Team Factor
Interwise Multimedia Corp.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GAME MANUFACTURERS
Interface: English
Scheduled Release: End of Sept.
Team Factor, designed by Australian firm Acclaim, also seeks to break the FTS mold by incorporating role-play elements. To start, the player selects one of four character types -- soldier, scout, Ssniper, specialist -- who gains experience points by participating in missions. These points can be used to acquire new skills, with the aim of developing the ultimate killing machine.
The game is set against a background of conflict between the US, Russia and NATO, and while the battle grounds are fictitious, the weapons and accoutrements of the characters are closely based on modern state-of-the-art military technology.
In the tradition of Counter Strike, online play in which players are required to cooperate as a fire team is also emphasized.
"An added feature is that Team Factor allows two-on-one combat situations in which two teams might temporarily ally to destroy a third," Jay Huang, marketing manager for Interwise, said.
It is no surprise that Team Factor has strong support for online gaming, allowing up to 60 players at any one time. In such large combat scenarios, individual skills and team dynamics are equally important.
Interwise will also be releasing its already highly popular Delta Force collection with an expansion set titled Dagger which provides scenarios extrapolated from the current war against terror, with special forces engaged in search and destroy missions in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
Unalis Entertainment Corp.
Interface: Chinese/English
Already available
Soldier of Fortune follows a more traditional FPS format that emphasizes individual survival and actually utilizes the same game engine that powered Quake III with which it achieves impressive results in realism and atmosphere.
In this second edition, we again play John Mullins, an undercover agent engaged in recon and espionage assignments. This time, a terrorist organization is planning to use biological weapons: who is behind the plot? Where are the weapons stored? These are questions that players must answer before the terrorists achieve their goal.
The game, as with Battlefield 1942 and Team Factor also incorporates controlling mechanized units, so you are able to strafe enemy positions from a helicopter, for example. Another development is the simulation of injuries. This is based on a system developed by Raven Software for Ghoul II, and by providing 36 injury zones, where hits have different effects, greatly enhances the realism of the game.
A hit to the arm doesn't produce the usual splat of blood from the body, but the arm bleeds. The character's arm also becomes useless. If hit in the foot, the character falls, but is able to crawl and still fire a weapon. "The bodies response to the hits is actually registered," Chiang emphasized.
Medieval: Total War
Unalis Entertainment Corp.
Interface: Chinese/English
Release: Oct. 10
As the name suggests, Medieval: Total War brings combatants back in time. This is a development on the highly successful Shogun: Total War released two years ago, except this game is set in Europe rather than Japan, covering a time span from 1095 to 1450. In addition to battle, players build up power through trade and diplomacy.
The game's international distributor Activision and developer Creative Assembly both emphasize the upgraded 3D environment made possible by the game engine. In addition, siege warfare is incorporated into the play environment, allowing for volleys of arrows from protected positions or cannonades against castle walls.
"History is also an important part of this game," said Antonio Lu (呂維振), chief editor of Gamebase Website. "You have crusades, the 100 years war and 200 major characters of the period, ranging from Richard the Lion Hearted to Joan of Arc. The game map is twice the size of that in Shogun.
Lu added that the 3D has made the battle sequences even more exciting than those in Shogun, and with the ability to control up to 15,000 military units all displayed in 3D graphic, the game offers great complexity, but also has an artificial intelligence function that can take over large areas of game management.
Because of its setting in medieval Europe and the involvement of numerous "Christian" armies, Medieval: Total War is also being promoted by organizations such as Studio Classroom and other church organizations as a way of fostering knowledge about Chistianity.
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