Introduction

Developer: OC Incorporated
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Interactive
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Modern War

There's a hole in the gaming market right now -- modern military real-time strategy games. Most RTS games fall into the fantasy/sci-fi genre (Red Alert 2, Warcraft III, Sacrifice), while others fall into the hardcore Panzer General category. Lately games that involve M1A1 tanks and A-10 Warthogs put you in the driver's seat, not in the general's chair. There's nothing out right now that lets you control a modern military in a real-time strategy game. Nothing until Simon & Schuster releases Real War, that is.

Artic map

Christmastime!

Government Mule

Who better to simulate real-world military equipment than a U.S. government contractor? That's what OC Incorporated (OCI), the developer of Real War, does from day to day. OCI develops strategies and educational programs for coordinating all groups of the armed forces - Air Force, Navy, Army, Special Ops, and Marines. Until the Vietnam War, the U.S. forces didn't coordinate when engaging enemies.

What does this have to do with gaming? A few years ago, OCI developed Joint Force Employment, a government-only military simulator in the shape of a real-time strategy game. Military academies use it to teach military tactics to young officers. Imagine taking a class where the homework assignments involve playing RTS games for a few hours and discussing them in class the next day.

OCI Rendered

That's what they told us.

Joint Force II

OCI had such a good time developing Joint Force that it decided to make Real War, a commercial version of Joint Force. The single-player campaign takes place in 2007. The U.S. is the world's enforcer, and pokes around in everyone else's business. A terrorist group emerges from the Eastern hemisphere and attacks a U.S. naval base; the U.S. retaliates by bombing the group's base, only to find it booby-trapped with nuclear bombs. The U.S. is accused of a launching nuclear attack against the base, so an alliance forms against the U.S.

The full story isn't set in stone yet, but it will involve terrorists, multi-national armed forces fighting the U.S., and a group described as a "Russian war machine funded by Islamic terrorists." Gamers will be able to play either side in the war, with 12 missions per campaign.