Men of Valour: The Vietnam War is a new first-person shooter set during the controversial and bloody war on Communism. The game is being developed by 2015 and Sierra Entertainment Inc.
So is it going to be any good? Well, I've checked out 2015's C.V. and my mouth is definitely watering. The developers are behind the magnificent Medal of Honour: Allied Assault. I think that's enough to make me believe they know what they're doing.
The action begins in 1965, when the US began its major ground force commitments, and ends in 1968 with the Tet offensive, the turning point in the war. Every mission in the game is based on an historical encounter from those time periods. You start the game as a private in the US Marine Core (USMC), 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines. As in the Medal of Honour series you gain rank by completing tasks and progressing through the game. Because of the historical content of the missions you are moved around units so you can get involved in the juicy stuff.
To tackle the serious nature of a war like Vietnam the designers have tried to incorporate a sense of the tragedy suffered by the people involved. You have a squad of AI team-mates who join you along the way. If they are killed they are not available for the rest of the game. This means you learn to value the people around you and mourn their loss. This adds to the games realism and takes some of the glory out of war. Your AI colleagues act like real soldiers by seeking cover from enemy fire, covering other soldiers movements, recovering wounded soldiers on the battlefield and other helpful tasks to save your ass.
Men of Valour: The Vietnam War uses the Unreal Engine to produce fantastic visuals and smooth gameplay. The recreation of the humid tropical jungles of Vietnam is breathtaking to say the least. The gameplay varies from intense jungle fighting, to manning guns in helicopter raids, and using a riverboat to manoeuvre to enemy shores. These missions incorporate the usual search and destroy, rescue, and recon elements associated with the genre.
The arsenal of weapons available is a bit more up-to-date than WWII so you can get your hands on automatics, such as the M16A1 assault rifle, M79 grenade launcher, M21 sniper rifle and the M60 machine gun. The enemy will also be well equipped, especially the Russian manufactured RPG grenade launcher.
The game features Xbox Live for competitive play and 4-player co-op. This means you and your mates can experience the action together for the entire tour of duty. Or, if you fancy blasting their brains out you can play against them in competitive objective based multiplay. With this you can choose to be the Yanks or the Viet Cong added to the balance of playability. These multiplayer levels will also be historically accurate scenarios, such as laying ambushes on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
This game looks set to build on an already solid formula of gaming. It also brings with it a sense of vulnerability and heroism on the player's part, as well as an exhilarating ride through a brutal and difficult conflict. With 2015 manning the guns this almost definitely wont be FUBAR (if you don't know look it up - don't ask your mum!).
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