America's Army wasn't the first game released for free as a promotional tool, but while most promotional games don't get much attention, the high production values and the attention to detail that the Army's civilian developers put into the tactical shooter helped make it a tangible success. The game's unconventional distribution model--it's a free download and can be found on CDs at recruitment centers--has lent itself to a more continual development process than most retail games. In almost every month following the game's initial release, the Army has put out some sort of update for the game, including a number of new maps and mission types. But later this year, the game will see much more significant changes, with the addition of Special Forces content, combat medics, and vehicles.

　　The Special Forces missions are likely the most dramatic and immediately appealing addition. Want to be a Delta operative without going through the rigorous training? Well, you should try another game. In true America's Army fashion, all the new specializations require that you put some serious effort into qualifying, and the Special Forces training series is broken into a series of steps. Quite notably, America's Army only lets you use the weapons used by actual Army soldiers in a specific role, so it's only after qualifying for Special Forces that you'll be able to use the newly customizable M4 carbine, but it'll be well worth the effort.

　　The M4 is modeled in rigorous detail, with a full range of customization options. There's a whole new interface used to select the loadout for the M4's four attachment rails. There are several different scopes for the top rail, and the front, left, and right rails can be tricked out with range of attachments--laser pointer, flashlight, bipod, grenade launcher, and suppressor, to name a few. Each rail is assigned a key to activate the attachments. Elite Special Forces soldiers are allowed more personal equipment choices, which will be reflected visually by the variety of head and eye gear. Even the M4 itself can painted in a variety of camouflage schemes.

　　In another upcoming update, the Army will add vehicles to the game. The new Stryker vehicle that's on display in front of the LA Convention Center at E3 will be added to the game, and its .50-caliber cannon should be a significant threat, particularly given that the gunner is hidden safely in the interior and guides the weapon using a meticulously modeled remote camera and joystick system. To keep this balanced in multiplayer matches, an antitank weapon has been added--the AT4 portable rocket. The enemy equivalents that you'll see in the game are the RPG7 rocket (complete with its dangerous back blast) and the Russian VTR60 vehicle.

　　While many of these major additions are scheduled for release late this year, we'll see the addition of combat medics much sooner. Combat medics are fully equipped soldiers who have the secondary ability of helping injured soldiers regain some of their combat effectiveness. There's a new damage model that has a bullet impact take away a smaller chunk of your health points, with more health draining away over time due to blood loss. By dressing wounds, the medic can also increase soldiers' combat effectiveness meter, which has a direct correlation to accuracy and movement speed.

　　According to the game's producer, the upcoming expansion of player roles signals a subtle change in play styles, from a model that's much like Counter-Strike to something more like Day of Defeat. But at the same time, the development team is putting more effort than ever into simulating the noncombat elements of a soldier's training and life. The Army's planned Soldier game has been put on hold in favor of integrating those elements directly into the popular game. One example is the medic training, which takes place in a fully modeled medical facility and has you sit through a five-minute lecture that teaches actual skills and requires a multiple choice test at the end. There are also plans to expand the basic training to include much more downtime.

　　The America's Army updates will also include plenty of graphical and interface enhancements, as well as six to 12 new maps. There are new explosion and fire effects to accompany the new weapons and the new incendiary grenade, plus more texture detail when you view objects up close and new character animations. Look for all these enhancements to be released in a series of updates throughout the rest of the year.