The next-gen platforms—the PS4 and Xbox One—are set to receive a new simulation/action game in the form or Rainbow Six Siege, a game in which you take on the roles of SWAT team members, or hostage-taking bad guys. It harkens back to the old SWAT series of games and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series, both of which were visceral simulations of military and police tactics. We look forward to playing it. In the meantime, check out what games you can pick up at the present in the genre.
In the genre of military shooters, these gamers are being serviced by features that give a game a sense of heightened realism that regular shooters just can’t (or simply choose not to) deliver. A type of game where running and gunning won’t work, where advancing through unknown terrain has to be taken slowly, where a single shot can kill.
These games are relatively young in comparison. While there have always been shooting games with what I like to call “military flavor”, very few tried to get close to “what it’s really like”, with most of the earlier shooters going for a “what it looks like in the movies” type deal.
That all changed when Operation Flashpoint came along in 2001. While not being the biggest financial success in gaming history, Operation Flashpoint showed that there was indeed an audience for military games that were a lot more heavily grounded in realism. Let’s take a look at some more of those titles.
The godfather of the “battlefield simulation” genre, Operation Flashpoint (OFP) simulates infantry on the ground. The game’s plot takes place during the 1980s on a fictional island whose name English Lit majors will love, and pits the player as an American infantryman against the Soviet Union. Instead of individual levels, the whole island is one huge level, while the game itself is split up into discrete missions. The island can be traversed in various vehicles as well. The open level design and the huge open space were revolutionary at the time.
Operation Flashpoint’s little brother. Ghost Recon, the first game in what has now become a long running franchise, was a variation on the realistic, close quarters tactical combat focused Rainbow Six games, created by the same developer, Red Storm. Ghost Recon instead focused on large, outdoor levels with slow, stealthy approaches and team tactics. However the simulation aspect of the title wasn’t quite as prominent as in OFP.
In the mid 2000s, Bohemia Interactive, creators of Operation Flashpoint, parted ways in anger with publisher Codemasters. This left the OFP license with the publisher and the developer with a half finished successor to their 2001 surprise hit. So eventually BI found a new publisher, and rebranded the game, which resulted in the birth of the ArmA franchise. Armed Assault follows the same pattern established by OFP. An enormously huge island level, a fictional, contemporary conflict, relatively open ended mission structures.
While being a fairly realistic game, this one isn’t really a simulation. And if we’re honest, it’s more of an elaborate advertisment than a game. But the US Army spent top Dollar on this one, and so it is a bit more than just your regular advergame. America’s Army offers insight into the action in the field, while introducing players to the Army’s core values. Essentially, this is a fairly realistic team based tactical multiplayer shooter, that’s supposed to make the Army interesting for young men. Given that there were two sequels and console ports, it must have had an impact on recruit numbers.
This one doesn’t simulate anything military, but oh boy does it ever simulate a gun. Firing guns in shooter games is a fairly simple affair usually. Point and shoot. Not with Receiver. Take out the magazine, replace the bullets, put the magazine back in, cock the hammer right and turn the safety off and THEN you might be ready to get a few shots off. Maybe. If you didn’t forget anything. Receiver is a procedurally generated game with few real objectives, but the focus is indeed on the gun simulation. And as such it is quite successful. And a pain in the butt.
Another classic, and the allfather of the realistic-style shooter. Rainbow Six was a hardcore game for hardcore people. One shot and you’re down. Not too long and your entire team is down. Waste ammo? Too bad. No refills. Plan an assault, execute it slowly and thoughtfully and then maybe nobody has to die. Well, except the bad guys. The game was developed in close cooperation with military fiction author Tom Clancy, who’s novel of the same name was actually only finished after the game had gone gold.
Another classic from back in the day, Project IGI was a rather story driven game that dished out truckloads of up till then unseen realism in games. Soft cover, realistic weapon handling most noticeably. Taking shelter from enemy fire in a wooden hut wasn’t much of an option here. Also the game took some hints from Rainbow Six, requiring the player to operate tactically, without going overboard with guns blazing.
Occupying a strange position, Rainbow Six Vegas was the long awaited awakening of the Rainbow Six franchise from cryosleep. This one however is markedly different from the earlier, much more realistic games, insofar as it plays more like a regular shooter on very high difficulty without any focus on realism. The game boasts just enough realism to be fun, the emphasis is on preparation and tactical movement, with careful preparation before entering any new room in the game.
The competing product to Bohemia Interactive’s spiritual successor Armed Assault, the official successor to the 2001 OFP wasn’t very warmly greeted by fans and critics alike. While ArmA sure also had it’s share of problems, it was still seen as a game with its heart in the right place, whereas this second Operation Flashpoint was received rather badly, especially since it seemed bloodless, pale and even more bug ridden than the already problematic ArmA. However over time the bugs were fixed and the game got a lot more playable, selling some more copies and eventually getting expansion packs and another sequel - which was also received rather badly.
Developed by Bohemia Interactive, Arma 3 is set during the mid-2030s during the fictional Operation Magnitude, a military operation launched by NATO forces fighting in Europe against “Eastern” armies lead by Iran, hell-bent on world domination.
Lifesized battlegrounds, one-hit kills and all manner of logistical considerations make the game a seriously enjoyable experience for gamers who are dying for a realistic experience in a first-person shooter. Arma 3 is that game, and it’s nothing short of spectacular.
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