Close Combat: First to Fight Preview

Many of you may remember an RTS game from a while back called Close Combat. Atomic Games released the title in the now distant 1996. Six years later, with the newly-formed Destineer, Atomic is reviving the franchise. This time around, however, they’ll be doing it with the help of the U.S. Marine Corps. They will attempt to create two nearly identical combat simulators - one intended as a training aid for U.S. Marines (a more feature-rich iteration that will include options specifically requested by the people from the Corps), and the regular gamer-friendly version, which we’ll all get to play on the PC this fall.

Obviously, the emphasis in Close Combat: First to Fight is on the proper execution of Marine combat tactics in a virtual environment and for that, Marine Corps has "donated" some 40 Gulf War II veterans, fresh from combat duty that will give their input on the specifics of the terrain, the nature of the enemy and so on. This is not the first such example of video games being used as recruiting material for the US Military. Other such examples include the free Unreal-powered title, America’s Army and the recently released tactical shooter on the Xbox, Full Spectrum Warrior.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. The first thing you need to know about Close Combat: First to Fight is that, unlike its predecessor, this game is a tactical shooter with strong emphasis on team work and the elusive term of in-game realism. Unlike Full Spectrum Warrior, however, the game will be played from the first person perspective. Players will find themselves in charge of a four-man Marine squad assigned to literally be the first to fight in a Middle-Eastern war zone. It has not been determined, as of yet, whether the in game settings will be based on actual locations or fictional ones. Details remain sketchy about the storyline, but from what we’ve heard, First to Fight will follow a Clancy-like narrative that will offer more details about your reasons and motivations for being in the region.

Bear in mind, however, that aside from the storyline, First to Fight will have very little in common game play wise with the Rainbow Six series. After all, we are talking about a game here that will be used as a tool to train marines for real combat conditions. It would hardly be realistic for the game characters then to just follow a linear path from point A to point B and get shot in the process.

If we’re to believe the developers; and the fact that they have marines fresh from gunfights in Iraq and Afghanistan giving them pointers; Close Combat: First to Fight should offer the type of game play that strictly adheres to the doctrines of Marine warfare, while ensuring that the game is still very fun to play. The plan is to make this happen by using intuitive controls and some of the most advanced AI routines I’ve heard of being executed in a PC game.

But first about the Marine combat doctrines... first rule of thumb is that you should ensure maximum safety for both you and your fellow squad mates. No kidding! And to do that you’ll have to follow the Marine Corps system of movement in specific formations and a set of urban warfare tactics known as Ready-Team-Fire-Assist. The term is essentially related to the position of each of the members of your four-man squad, and the formation they assume while moving in urban areas populated with hostiles. The ready man is the rifleman who’s covering the team leader, across from them at the fire position stands a marine armed with a Squad Automatic Weapon, while the assist man stays at the back of this formation covering their rear end. A marine squad will move in this way while trying to ensure that all possible angles of fire are covered, ideally in a 360 degree radius.

This is where the advanced team AI routines come into play. Unlike in R6 games, your team will not mindlessly follow a certain path. They’ll tend to recognize objects in the environment by their height and variety, and based on these and other parameters, determine if they would make good cover, while ensuring also they all play out their role in the Ready-Team-Fire-Assist (RTFA) formation. So if you order your team to move to a certain location on screen, they will not simply walk or run over there - they’ll try to assess the terrain, look for possible objects to be used as cover and make sure they are covering all possible angles while moving in a hostile area. The idea here is to have self-reliant AI squad mates that will not only apply military theory to practical use, but also make the in game action a lot more fluid and intense by allowing you more time to concentrate on the problems at hand. Naturally, you can still send your boys to their death by ordering them to move out in the open while the enemy is taking pot shots at them, and they’ll follow your command, but if more than two of them die during combat, the mission will be over and you’ll have to restart (And GySgt R. Lee Ermey will personally break his foot off in your asshole! - Six). The potential for error is always there, but that will mostly have to do with your competence as team leader. On paper, the team AI should be good enough to provide you with actual honest-to-goodness help and cover during tough missions.

The second Marine Corps doctrine used in First to Fight is closely tied to another (and probably the most exciting) feature in the game - the game’s psychology model. When your team of marines is faced with overwhelming odds or a well entrenched enemy, they will be allowed to call in for MAGTF (Marine Air Ground Task Force) support. In other words, they will be able to radio in for assistance from M1 Abrams tanks or Cobra attack helicopters. The ‘big guns’ will provide both destructive artillery fire and also work on decreasing the enemy morale by inflicting the kind of shock and terror that will make them either panic and slip up or just tuck their tail between their legs and run. After all, any serious military doctrine will always worry about the safety of its personnel first, and if you have the advantage of heavy duty machinery such as M1 Abrams tanks and Cobra helicopters, why not use it to your advantage?