Gameplay Edit

Development and release Edit

America's Army: Rise of a Soldier Edit

America's Army: Rise of a Soldier was released for Xbox on November 2005. According to the press release, the game features "all the action-packed realism that players have come to expect from the America's Army game brand" and "offers the most true-to-life Army experience, allowing players to create a soldier and lead him through the excitement of an Army career".[37]

America's Army: Special Operations Edit

In February 2007, Gameloft and the U.S. Army released America's Army: Special Operations for mobile phones. The game features two types of gameplay. Players can man an armored vehicle or serve as an infantryman. According to Mobicritic.com, "Gameloft does a great job with this game and the only fault one could find is that the game is too short. It isn't, really: you just won't realize how fast the hours of play have passed, as this game really gives the term 'action packed' a new meaning."[38][39]

Arcade game Edit

The arcade version of America's Army was developed by Global VR and released on July 2007.[40] It is billed as a "realistic and engaging game centered on exciting training exercises and includes a significant amount of authentic Army videos".

America's Army: True Soldiers Edit

America's Army: True Soldiers was released for the Xbox 360 on November 2007. It had both a single-player campaign and multiplayer features on Xbox Live. True Soldiers focused on the army's "core values" by incorporating gameplay based on mission accomplishment, teamwork, leadership, and rules of engagement.[41][42]

Real Heroes Edit

Government applications Edit

In 2005, the America's Army developers partnered with the Software Engineering Directorate and the Army's Aviation and Missile Research Development Engineering Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to manage the commercial game development process and use the America's Army platform to create government training and simulations. "America's Army has pushed to reuse the same elements for many purposes," said Colonel Wardynski, originator of the game, "We can build one soldier avatar and use it again and again. When we build something in America's Army, the U.S. government owns it completely ... and [it] can therefore be used for any application or use of the game. So costs keep going down. " After AA went live, requests started coming in to use the game for purposes other than recruiting, such as training.[45] The partnership with SED, an army software lifecycle management center, allowed the development team to repurpose the commercial software to meet the needs of soldiers preparing for deployment. SED engineers developed customized applications used by many different Army and government organizations including the JFK Special Forces School and the army's Chemical School. They are used to provide training in use of rare equipment such as PackBot robots, CROWS, and Nuclear Biological Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicles.[citation needed] Virtual Army Experience Edit The Virtual Army Experience (VAE) was a mobile U.S. Army simulator that launched in February 2007. The VAE, enclosed in a 10,000 sq ft inflatable dome, was displayed at public events across the U.S. such as NASCAR races and air shows and allowed participants to virtually experience aspects of soldiering. The core of VAE was the America's Army game reworked to provide a variety of scenarios. The VAE could be deployed in a single full scale rendition or split into two smaller versions enabling it to appear at separate events. During its lifetime, the VAE hosted over 130,000 participants at more than 100 events.[46] Army Experience Center Edit From August 29, 2008 to July 31, 2010, the U.S. Army operated the Army Experience Center, a facility where visitors could virtually experience many aspects of army life. Located inside the Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia, the 14,500-square-foot (1,350 m2) facility featured a number of interactive simulations and online learning programs to inform visitors about army careers, training and educational opportunities.[47] Pete Geren, Secretary of the Army, said "Potential recruits are afforded a unique opportunity through the Army Experience Center to learn what it means to be the best-led, best-trained and best-equipped Army in the world by allowing them to virtually experience multiple aspects of the Army."[48] The head of Army Recruiting Command, Major General Thomas Bostick, called the AEC "a learning laboratory" — but not just for those who are thinking of joining. "It's incumbent upon the American public to know about their Army," Bostick said.[49] In July 2010 the Army closed the center at the end of its two-year pilot program.[50] Technology Education Program Edit Launched in 2007, the Technology Education Program provided real world applications of classroom learning that augmented the curriculum in academic areas including math, physical science, physics, chemistry, technology, computer science, art, animation, graphic design, social studies, anatomy, physiology and psychology. Army experts and Soldiers worked with students to teach them about robotics; optics; missiles; video games; and intellectual, emotional and physical development.[51][52] In April 2008, Discovery Education featured America's Army in a live webinar in which over 1000 students and educators participated with AA game developers and software engineers.

America's Army comics Edit

The America's Army comics series allows readers to further explore the America's Army universe and delve deep into the lives of Soldiers who are deployed or at home station. Readers learn about Soldiers and the missions they do, their values, jobs or Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), the high-tech equipment they use, and about the vast team of support on which they rely. The comics are free and available to read on browser or mobile device (iOS or Android) through the America's Army website or through IDW publishing using comiXology, Apple iBooks, on the Nook, Kindle and others. The AA comics tell the story of U.S. Soldiers deployed to a tiny foreign nation in the middle of a chaotic conflict. The description for the series reads "From the seemingly insignificant country of Czervenia, President-General Adzic and his army set upon a campaign of annihilation against the neighboring Republic of the Ostregals, setting in motion a mysterious plan that could change the course of world power forever. America's Army must create new experimental combat teams, forged together in secret Proving Grounds, and uncover the General's insidious plot before time runs out."[53]

Reception Edit

Controversy Edit

See also Edit