Men of Valor First Look

World War II and Vietnam Conflict remain a major source of inspiration for video game makers today. Significant historical war simulations of the missions and epic conflicts are key elements that can easily be turned into a thrilling gaming experience, regardless of the genre in question (RTS, FPS, action/adventure, etc). Using these guidelines effectively, and borrowing a few touches from the movie Saving Private Ryan, the development team at 2015 crafted Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which turned out to be a new sensation in the world of first-person shooters. Presently, there probably isn't a gamer alive that doesn't know about Medal of Honor, to this day the game still stands as one of the best FPS's on the market. Proving their worth and potential as an exceptional developer on the rise, 2015 has begun work on Men of Valor, bringing the tension and horrors of war to our monitor screens once more.

Knock it off private, we’re not on a duck-hunt!

I wonder what this thingy does...

Rather than telling a simple clichéd story of a macho hero type singled-out on a dangerous undercover mission, Men of Valor takes us to a slightly different type of setting. Players are actually going to feel the seriousness and strain of soldiers that experienced historical conflicts throughout the territories of Vietnam. Your tasks are simple - survive the war, take care of your fellow soldiers, and get back home in one piece. The game is set in the year 1965, and you're a soldier in the US Marine Ground Forces. You're priorities are to complete a series of historically accurate missions; which encompass clashes around the Dan Nang air base, the Tet Offensive, and the counter-attack on Hue. As a member of the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, and your job is to keep an eye on your comrades and see to it that the main mission parameters are reached as quickly and efficiently as possible. Basically, that's the whole plot. No superhero stuff. No bosses. Just you, your platoon, and swarms of enemy soldiers hiding in the brush...

Your duties won't be to shoot your way recklessly through the jungle, but to take the best possible care of your teammates and issue orders out so the mission can be completed with minimum casualties. Yep, you've guessed it. Apart from featuring standard objective-based FPS combat, Men of Valor also brings forth intense squad based gameplay. This is where the greatly enhanced AI steps in. In most FPS's, players are used to being supported by CPU-controlled teammates that are endowed with restricted movement and behavior patterns. Where as in Men of Valor, friendly AI units can be directed and controlled, thereby assuring an effective and straightforward completion of mission goals. An interesting innovation was made with carefully designed character profiles, which create a compelling psychological effect, consequently causing a stronger bond between the player and other members of the squad. You begin to experience and sympathize with the pain of your fellow combatants, hence there's definitely a sense of camaraderie conveyed in the game; which is, you've got to admit, an important part of in-game realism, both for single-player as well as multiplayer modes. So, when you see one of your teammates take a bullet, you'll actually begin to feel the dismay and pressure of true-to-life combat. In other words, if you take the time to conjure up an appropriate combat strategy and carefully issue out orders to your squad, you could pass the mission with very few losses. Still, sudden twists and surprises are inevitable throughout war, so it'll usually be very hard to distinguish which tactic is suitable.

Flavoring the gameplay even further, the developers have promised to incorporate a wide variety of authentic army vehicles and weaponry. First off, as you all probably know, the Vietnam-based setting offers the regular arsenal - you know, AK47, M79 grenade launcher, and all that stuff. Next to the standard U.S. Army-issue, players will be able to pick up Communist bloc weapons from deceased enemy troops. Moreover you may also get to operate gun turrets in choppers and on ground. And, like I said, using vehicles will be extremely valuable in certain missions. Throughout combat you occasionally get to control an M113 armored personnel carrier, the UH-1 helicopter, a jeep, or even a motorcycle. If the going gets very, very, tough and the player stumbles on powerful enemy defense lines or fortifications, it will be possible to call for backup. This is where the heavy stuff comes in, such as mortars, heavy artillery, napalm, and the works. Sounds cool doesn't it?

Tell me where you’ve hidden all the Mars bars.

Boy, that vehicle sure looks tempting enough to ride on.

One of the most challenging aspects throughout the creation of Men of Valor was designing the incredibly complex environments that are a trademark of Vietnamese territory. Thick brushes, huge and dense jungles, were very hard to portray. Transferring such a rich and multifaceted world of flora and fauna turned this project into quite a serious endeavor. Luckily, with the help of the Unreal technology, the team at 2015 was able to integrate an impressive amount of details into the locations we'll be seeing in Men of Valor. Another difficult task was to re-create the ambiance of war-stricken Vietnam, so putting in authentic plants and trees was just part of the task, after all, it all had to look like it did back in the 60's.

Some of the huge explosions, caused by napalm and heavy air-strikes, called for some serious and intricate terrain modification. According to the designing and programming team, the Unreal engine was highly customized to allow numerous special effects, such as various terrain alterations, authentic explosions, realistic-looking particle effects, highly detailed models and objects, convincing character animation, etc. Also, apart from the forests and jungles, you'll be making your way through beaches, underground tunnels, temple ruins, different urban setting, and so on.

Brace yourselves lads and lassies, for Men of Valor will include a selection of multiplayer modes that are also objective-based. This is indeed a good move by the development team and will surely add more zing to the multiplayer atmosphere. Before engaging in multiplayer combat, players may choose to fight on either Allied or Communist sides. The game consists of classic Deathmatch and CTF modes, but, the best part is, that the single-player campaign can be completed in cooperative mode. Sweet!

The game is being developed for Xbox and PC platforms separately (emphasize the word "separately"). Men of Valor will be out some time during 2004. Once 2015 has released the Xbox version, they aim to tweak and upgrade the PC port, relying fully on the unique capabilities of modern graphic cards. So, it won't be just another lame console port.

Keep watching those soon-to-be-unleashed E3 updates, for they may bring more juicy tidbits on this project.