I was cruising one day, playing meaningless shockwave games, when I came across a most curious game: Quake. Well, not exactly. The Quake engine maybe, but not Quake. It's a free first-person shooter the US Army is using as a recruiting game, with the idea being that prospective recruits can see what the army is like. The game really hasn't been compared yet to such games as Quake and Half-Life, but you can't beat the price. Needless to say, I twice sweated out the three-hour download and finally installed the game. After going through the mandatory training, I was out on the servers, getting shot. It's really fun, getting shot. You too can wait three hours to get shot by going here.

In all seriousness, it's a fun game, once you get past the point when your squad leader says you can be useful running away from the main attack, yelling"medic!" and firing your gun into the air. The Army tries to emphasize teamwork and completing objectives in the game rather than killing everyone in sight, and maps tend to include a lot of strategic thinking. The game is constantly being expanded, and so far it has combat medics and one map where the assault squad goes in by parachute. Also, the presence of an anti-material sniper rifle suggests that vehicles might make an appearance in the future.

In all games, the player's team is a squad of the US Army, and the enemy is OPFOR, or OPposing FORces. OPFOR are your generic terrorists, "punks with guns" (in the immortal words of Tom Clancy) that make up the militias of totalitarian states; in short, anyone who threatens the security or interests of the United States. Since your opponents on OPFOR see themselves as US soldiers and you as the terrorists, teams are instead divided into team assault and team defense. In all games, Team Assault's job is to do something, and Team Defense's job is to keep them from doing it. Let the battle begin.

Before we launch into the game, we'll go over the roles and weapons employed by each side, as well as the game interface. Here goes:

M16A2 Combat Rifle

The M16A2 Rifle is the standard combat rifle of the US. It fires a 5.56 mm standard NATO round from a 30-round box clip, and can be fired either in single shot or in 3-round burst. The M16's primary advantage is that it is extremely accurate, capable of hitting targets at up to 800 yards. Initial problems of jamming in earlier models have been largely cleared up. However, the small bullet limits the weapon's firepower, and the M16 lacks an automatic setting, which is a serious handicap in close quarters.

M4 and M4A1 Carbine

The M4 Carbine is a shortened version of the M16 mainly used by special forces. Though its shorter barrel means for slightly less muzzle velocity and therefore less accuracy at range, it's a more compact weapon. The A1 variant also has a fully automatic setting, which makes up for some of the defiencies in close quarters.

M203 Grenade Launcher

The M203 mounts to the bottom of an M16 rifle and launches a 40-mm fragmentation grenade at high velocity. They are deadly weapons, particularly at medium to long ranges. Grenades can actually be shot far beyond the range of sight, which means that some players will practice and "dial in" their grenade launchers so they know exactly how to hit a target they can't even see. Because the terrain of each map creates certain patterns, a grenadier can move and fire like clockwork.

M249 SAW

The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, or SAW, is nothing more than a light machine gun, but that in and of itself makes it a formidable weapon. Like the M16 and M4, it fires a small 5.56 mm cartridge, but it does so at a rate of fire that makes the guns in "Goldeneye" look like single-shots. It is air-cooled and fully automatic, and can lay down a devastating field of fire that can stop enemy advances cold. Indoors it can spit out a flying storm of lead enhanced by narrow hallways and small rooms, but the weapon is deadly all the way through its range.

M24

The Remington M24 sniper rifle is a highly accurate, bolt-action rifle that can hit someone with a 7.62mm round at over a kilometer. Not only does it have the best scope in the game, it comes with a bipod for more stability. Snipers, pick your weapon.

M82 Barrett

The M82 Barrett is also a sniper rifle, only its intended use is against vehicles and the like. To take out that pesky truck loaded with Kalasnikov-wielding fanatics, it fires a .50-caliber bullet. That's some firepower considering that in WWII .50 machine guns were on airplanes. If vehicles make it into the game in later versions, this will be one useful weapon.

M-67 Fragmentation Grenade

The M67 frag grenade is the second most useful thing a rifleman has. It can be thrown over roofs and bounced around corners, and packs a load of high explosive that sends shards of rending steel through the air at high velocity. Useful for wiping out tough pockets of resistance. Pulling the pin and "cooking" the grenade for a few seconds before throwing it allows you to create an airburst.

M-8 Smoke Grenade

The M8 smoke grenade is a nonlethal but still useful grenade. It's used to send signals, cover advancing soldiers, or create a diversion. On one map, they are a sine qua non, because you get slaughtered if you don't use them.

Flashbang

Most useful in indoor spaces, the flashbang is operated in four simple steps:
1)Open door to room
2)Pull flashbang pin
3)Toss flashbang grenade inside room
4)Quickly close door
A flashbang produces a blinding flash of light and a huge BANG sound that is meant to disorient an enemy. Indoors, if you catch the full effect of a flashbang going off, you're all but out for a loooooooooong time.

AK-47 Kalashnikov

Enter the AK. The Kalashnikov fires 7.62 mm rounds in either single-shot or full auto, and is fed from a 30-round box magazine. On the pro side, the AK has a high rate of fire and excellent stopping power. On the con side, the muzzle velocity is low and the accuracy at range doesn't match up to the M16. Take your pick of rifle, but I prefer the M16 at long range and a captured AK-47 up close.

GP30 Grenade Launcher

The counterpart to the M203. I have no idea what the difference is.

RPK-74

This is the OPFOR counterpart to the SAW. It fires a heavier round (7.62mm) but is probably, like the Kalasnikov, less accurate at range. Take your pick.

Dragunov SVD

Sniper rifle with a weird hollow stock.

Mosin-Nagant

Another OPFOR sniper rifle, this one yet again fires 7.62mm bullets, and is the OPFOR counterpart to the M24.

Bridge Crossing

The featured map is Bridge Crossing, a great beginner map as the terain is not complicated. All there really is is a bridge across a very deep chasm. If you fall, you die. Both ends of the bridge are flanked by hills that command their half of the bridge, and a grenadier standing on one can send an M203 grenade all the way to the other hill. The ends of the bridge sport two towers that allow for heavy weapons-equipped soldiers to take potshots at each other (and the unlucky souls on the bridge). between the two is a central arch accessible by ladders, which allows both teams to set up a fire-support base on the top. On both sides of the bridge run catwalks that afford some cover from certain enemy firing positions. Both sides get sniper support from the M24 or, if there are enough players, the M82 as well. In my personal opinion, this map has a slight bias towards defense because an attacker can't outflank a strongly emplaced enemy and is forced to make a costly frontal assault. However, done right, an attack will often succeed, though it has to be done with guns constantly blazing and liberal use of smoke grenades. The objectives are simple: assault has to get one man across the bridge to a point about 400 yards northwest of it, and defense has to keep them from doing it.

Logged on as celeritertace I side with assault, sensing something (or maybe just seeing that they've won two games already) despite my view that assault has a natural disadvantage. Soon, the previous game ends and I'm in as a fireteam leader, armed with an M16, assorted grenades, and a pair of binoculars. Right off the bat our sniper, Bowan, finds a victim as half the squad sprints up the assault road to the bridge. Here they split, some going straight down the main road while others, including me, take the right-hand catwalk. Already bullets are flying from machine guns as one of our SAW gunners begins to lay down suppression fire.

As I reach the middle of the bridge I climb a ladder from the catwalk to the main bridge, a plan forming in my mind. I turn to the ladder leading up the central arch and climb, dropping prone as soon as I hit the roof and bringing my rifle up towards the defense's tower.Getting up onto the center arch is a gamble, particularly if the OPFOR defenders are good shots. The roof of the arch is flat and even, and the only thing between you and them is a brick parapet. That said, the center arch can be converted into a powerful forward support position, with a commanding view of the enemy half of the bridge and tower. Often a gun battle erupts between the defenders in the defense tower and the forward attackers, involving sniper rifles, grenade launchers, and SAWs.

Illustrated at right are positions that give defenders commmand over the west (defense) half of the bridge: the hill to the north lacks coverage of the south side of the bridge, but a grenadier who knows what he's doing can hit the arch and west bridge blind. The tower windows often come under murderous grenade fire, but it's still a favorite spot for snipers. If it gets too hot in the tower, the stairway on the south side also offers several firing positions, but it's also quite exposed. As a fourth option, going to the side of the stairs gives a good view of the south side of the bridge, but is also a very exposed place when it comes under fire. The red line represents the trajectory of a bullet fired fom an M24 sniper rifle from the assault tower, which can hit someone in the defense tower. However, the defense can do the exact same thing.

The blue shaded area represents the fire field offered by the defense positions. The red field shows the field of fire from the tower, and the purple area is where they overlap.

I take up a position laying down on the right side of the arch, deciding to cover the tower windows and the stairs, tying up the defenders so my comrades can cross the bridge. I bring up my M16's iron sights and wait, spotting a hostile soldier peeking over the stair railing (sorry I don't have pictures of me shooting, but when you're a newbie like me it's hard to shoot an assault rifle and a camera at the same time :P Meanwhile, more of my buddies have rushed the arch and are opening up a can of ownage on OPFOR: grenades are mercilessly pounding defensive positions while tracers from the SAWs are cutting swaths of death across the bridge. I see the head of my target over the banister and open up with a savage volley: keep your head down, boy!

I see our riflemen reach the other side of the bridge. So far, our casualties have been surprisingly light: few are even wounded, while the OPFOR death toll is starting to mount. My opposite on the stairs pokes his head up for the final time as a series of 5.56mm bullets spells his doom. One of our soldiers reaches the objective and our victory is secure, US Army fashion: blow your enemy to pieces aggressively, with barely a scratch on you.