While I am still waiting for that 'next big game' (and it seems nowhere to be seen as yet!) I have been dusting off a few of my older games to keep me entertained. Among these is the expansion pack for EA's Battlefiled 2 called 'Special forces'.

I never fully understood why the expansion packs for BF2 weren't more popular than they were, but at the time of their original release there was a huge amount of groaning an whining among BF2 players about the way EA decided to do the BF2 expansions. Personally, I thought they were good value for money, and added some very nice touches to the original game to keep it fresh and exciting. But, sadly, the actual effect was to splinter the BF2 community, and eventually - to all intense and purposes, the expansions were largely ignored and forgotten.

Having said all that, there was always a hard core within the community who recognized that 'Special Forces' was one of the better expansions, and that it added some really nice maps and features. Because of this there has always been a underground following if you look about the servers.

So what's so different about Special Forces?

The main differences between vanilla BF2 and SF were - of course -  the maps, locations and 'armies' that were added. For a start and for the first time, British players now had the chance to actually play British forces, in the guise of the SAS!

Armies added: British SAS, Russian Spetsnaz, US Navy SEALS, MEC Special Forces, Russian Rebels, Middle Eastern Insurgents

Kit wise it all seemed to be something of a mixed bag, with two steps forward and two steps back! There were some nice unlocks, but the unlock system seemed hamstrung because the inventory didn't actually provide you with all the weapons that you had in BF2. But, it did add some excellently amusing bits of kit, like the grappling hook, zip wire and - my favourite - tear gas.

Above: Two of the more exciting vehicles deployed in Special Forces; the Russian Hind and the American Longbow. What a pity they didn't retrograde the vanilla BF2 with these fantastic helecopters!

But best of all were some of the maps. Two in particular have become firm favourites within the BF2 community; 'Ghost Town' and 'Warlord', and these remain very popular on the servers today.

I was a little amazed that the unusual night map - 'Devil's perch' - which featured in the very impressive movie trailer of Special Forces was so heavily criticised when the expansion was released. I found it a very exciting map myself, but night vision just seemed to turn a lot of people off.

What's it like today?

Well, obviously, BF2 is now getting a little long in the tooth graphically (comparitively speaking). But having said that there are enough very well modeled pieces of kit and unusual locations in Special Forces for you to forgive it's ageing visuals (compared to, say, CoD4) and to not let that detract from the quality of play.

I was actually amazed in how much play style differed between the vanilla BF2 and Special Forces. I am not a bad player (not terrific either), and I would expect these days a game score of around 100 points in a BF2 game. So imagine my surprise when I was absolutely thrashed in my first game of SF, and even now - after a dozen games or more, I still think myself lucky if I break 40 points.

Part of this is the unfamiliarity with the maps, part of this is the fact that I'm working alone and not in a familiar team, but most of all it seems to be to do with the speed of the play.

Special Forces just seems to be a faster game to play in. There seems little of the thoughtful and measured tactical pushing that you can get in BF2. Instead there is a manic, full speed ahead rush - and sometime a game ends before I feel I have played any really significant part. This *may* be to do with the fact that on the servers I have played SF on so far I have not seen a lot of team play or teams. It seems to be more of an individual battle for points - with little importance placed on supporting a team win - that seems secondary and a side effect rather than a main objective.

I am sure team games do go on in Special Forces - I just haven't seen any yet! (Compare that to a vanilla BF2 server like UKSF for example, where on most days you can see small cohesive squads forming, and some semblance of teamwork tactics in play.)

However, having said all that, I did enjoy my re-visit to 'Special Forces'. There are enough unique parts of this game to make you feel a refreshing buzz about playing it. And if nothing else, you have the added novelty of being able to play a British force and earn some new badges (if that's your thing)!

Recommended servers:

= 22nd = SAS Regiment 24/7 Warlord - 193.93.47.91 - Infantry only

= SPM = Special Forces 24/7 Ghost Town - 84.244.186.87 - Infantry only

Battlefield 2 seems to have been around forever now, to the point where you forget what a absolutely fantastic bit of programming it is (people tend to forget games are 'programs', and so forget what a huge amount of work goes into them).

As I am still house bound at the moment, I decided to have a bit of a bash at BF2 again - jumping into a German public server that wasn't too busy. And feeling a little lazy I decided to command, as no one else seemed to want the role!

What transpired was a 2 hours marathon of a game, which became a really fierce battle for Wake Island. An unusual aspect of this particular game is that the German clan who owned the server had a strange rule I had never come across before: 'Commander must not become involved in fighting' - in other words, if you choose commander, that's ALL you do.

It actually makes sense really, as you then have to concentrate on serving others to get your points, and don't take the eye off the ball by being concerned with your own personal survival. It was a bit different but really rewarding.

As I said, it turned out to be a very long game as none of my team seemed to have heard of defence (we played USMC on the attack), and they consistently lost back flags to the tenacious Chinese team and had to repeatedly go back and re-capture flags.

I spent most of my time as the commander spotting for Chinese 'flankers' who sneaked round the back of our lines and frustrated our advance by taking rear flags. I did this from the safety of the carrier, sitting in the AA gun - as in the beginning the Chinese kept attacking our ship with their bombers until we eventually took the airfield.

An unexpected result of all this 'back seat driving' was that I accumulated quit a few points and awards, which was a nice perk. Additionally, this game recaptured all the early excitement I remember having when I first began to play BF2 (as it seems that a lot of the annoying little frag-bunnies have moved on to frag fests like CoD4)! 

Ironically, having just re-installed the original (6 years old) 'Ghost recon', I have also just bought and installed the latest incarnation in the series: 'Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2'. 

Tonight I just finished the first mission --- Really enjoyed it, although it was mostly a learning exercise, discovering the key layout, etc. But generally, I like this game - it's still as 'recon' orientated as the first game - but with the added joy of better graphics!

Above: My squad - you can control these guys with a very easy to learn 'point and move' system OR a very nice command map system that makes the game almost like an RTS. You can let these guys do all the dirty work for you, they are quite intelligent.

The maps and missions are terrific (SP mode) - and I love the creeping about and getting the drop on the enemy. Don't get me wrong though, this is no Rainbow 6 or Splinter Cell, creeping around isn't the be all and end all...There is plenty of infantry action and shoot outs!

All this shooting is done by a gorgeous set of modern weapons. And you can customize your weapons with lots of different knick-knacks (and you don't even have to wait for unlocks!)

I haven't investigated the multiplayer mode yet, but the CO-OP mode - where you can play through missions against the AI team with your friends - sounds fantastic, and just the thing when there are only a few of you about.

I will add a follow-up when I have more fully explored the game 

Related links:

> UBISOFT official Ghost Recon web site
> Wikipedia: GRAW2
> Game.co.uk: GRAW2 - £14.99

In my New Year retrospective on the past ten years of computer games, I mentioned a game very dear to my heart - 'Tom Clacy's Ghost Recon'. This turned out to be a seminal game for me, which turned a pastime into a obsession, and set me on a long and torturous path of computer upgrades and increasing complex military first person shooters.

Well, despite it's age (7 years old now) this game has managed to retain a hard core community of players, developers and dedicated servers which are a huge testament to the immersive quality of the game play. So much so, that a new and exciting mod for the game was released just over the past month that has had me scrambling about in my attic for my old Ghost Recon CDs.

Called 'Udmurtia Spetsnaz', this game add-on supplies a completely new set of uniforms, weapons and special characters that represent a snapshot of modern Russian special forces.

"Udmurtia is a region in russia that lies in the southern ural mountains. The capital is izhevsk and there you'll find the ismash gun factory, home of many russian guns.

Many units from this region has seen a great deal of action in recent years. OMSN Sobol - quick reaction force (earlier the name was SOBR), Krechet - an elite unit within the MVD (can cope with the most situations really), and Udmurtia OMON - an elite police unit." Ingleloop, developer of 'Udmurtia Spetsnaz' mod.

What is nice about this mod - aside from the superbly textured uniforms and weapons - is that this completely revitalises the classic Ghost Recon with a completely up-to-date force with which you can battle with in single player or multiplayer modes.

For me, and my involvement in the Russian themed airsoft team - Team AKA - this mod allowed me to investigate some very obscure modern Russian weaponry and uniform loadouts. Indeed, inspired by this mod, I have now started collecting the gear required to play one of the characters from the game at South Yorkshire Airsoft.

If you haven't ever tried Ghost Recon, I don't think this one mod will have you hunting through eBay to secure a copy of the original game, but for hardened veterans like myself this new mod is a delightful reason to dust off the old disks and spin that oldie! 

 DETAILS OF 'UDMURTIA SPETSNAZ':-

Description: New Russian weapons and characters with a 5 mission campaign.

Author/Developer:  Ingeloop/Migryder
Released:  22/12/07
Current version: 1.2
Requires: Ghost Recon plus Desert Siege, Island Thunder expansions
File size: 99Mb


RELATED LINKS:

> Download the ' Udmurtia Spetsnaz' mod for Ghost Recon (PC)

> UBISOFT's official Ghost Recon series website
> GhostRecon.net download section for classic Ghost Recon
> Wikipedia: Tom Clacy's Ghost Recon

[I actually wrote this post for my gaming clan - BIG - as there are some gamers who regard those of us who also play airsoft with a little suspicion. But I thought it was worth posting up here as well as it is an interesting topic.]

I for one don't think it's at all strange that a gaming clan like BIG should have an airsoft section - as I have said before, airsoft is a natural progression of FPS and complements it nicely (as long as you don't mind getting off your ass and away from the comfort of you computer nest!)...

It's an interesting analogy that military computer gamers have long known that the real armies of several nations use games like BF2 and America's Army as training tools for real soldiers. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that playing TFPSs (Tactical FPSs) can give you a head start when starting to play airsoft.

A excellent example of how TFPS experience can have a positive effect on the field is Dewey & my teamwork last Sunday at South Yorkshire Airsoft. We drew on our work as team players of Battlefield 2 to effectively support each other tactically on the airsoft field.

You'd be surprised at just how many airsoft players don't have even the most basic tactical awareness - using cover, supporting each other and most importantly COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER!

Believe it or not, our [computer gamers] use of Ventrillo voice-comms gives TFPS players a big advantage in playing airsoft - we don't mind constantly chattering to each other about 'what's going on' about us (at a sensible volume of course!)...

I've followed other groups of airsoft players around the field, and have been very surprised by the complete lack of tactical communication - spoken or unspoken - that goes on. Many patrols are done in complete silence!

One of the greatest advantages of working as a team is that you effectively add extra sets of eyes - but if that additional visual awareness is not translated into the communication of information between team members, then you are no more than a big herd of individuals. And you're patrol will ultimately fail.

Computer games like Battlefield 2 can be seen as good training tools for airsoft teams to practise certain movement and communication procedures. And likewise airsoft is a great team building and fun activity that can drive home the important of being aware of your environment. As I say - both activities can complement each other.