Virtual Combat Journal: Conflict Global Storm

"Aside from the firearms, what works for the military works for us"

For the last week, the last hour that draws an end to our work day is awash with anticipation. As the sun prepared to dip into the horizon, our team (my dear wife included) gets ready for another LAN adventure with a new game, Conflict: Global Storm.

It's a fun and fresh departure from our previous game, SWAT 4. This time, there's no restraint to the amount of firepower we let loose, no shouting challenges at suspects and no caution taken for where our bullets land. No suspects to arrest, hardly any hostages to rescue, no weapons to report in as evidence. Being military is so fun, the rules of engagement becomes less restrictive.

In C:GS, all of us play a specific role that more often than not, overlap. My role as a sniper sometimes gets switched to CQB mode and out comes the silenced MAC-10. The others slid right into their role: Rifleman and Demolitions. My wife however, had to spend more than a few sessions of LAN sessions with me before finding the SAW soldier, Connors, her character of choice.

Playing C:GS with more relaxed parameters by no means make this a game for heroes. No one goes wandering off on their own, the sniper still has to provide accurate fire, the SAW gunner must lay down suppressive cover, the rifleman becomes an effective point man and the demolitions expert saves valuable time attaching C4 charges speedily.

It's always fire and maneuver, setting up overlapping fields of fire and looking out for each other because if one of us goes down, one of us has to be right there under a hail of enemy bullets to apply first aid. Wait too long and the soldier dies, we ALL fail the mission.

Achieving complete success in each mission requires coherent tactical gameplay. Working as a team is key, rather similar to real-world video production where teamwork and a complete understanding of each individual's role and his contribution to the team can make a significance difference in a project.

This game reflects the way WolFang Digital works, as a cohesive tactical unit where our areas of expertise and responsibilities overlap and benefit each other and the company in particular. Each one of us are trained in a selected field and cross trained to achieve a smooth workflow at any one time for any situation.

Using a cross training concept, our videographers become good video editors who create top-notch motion graphics. Aside from firearms, what works for the military and games like Conflict, works for us.

Virtual Combat Journal: Major

I was promoted to Major yesterday in Call of Duty 4, after some brutal online firefights. In one particular game I remember my AK-47 running out of bullets. There were no weapons lying around from downed warriors so I had to go at it with my silenced pistol. I managed to down two of the opposition, at a longer range than the USP was comfortable with, before succumbing to my wounds. What a game. I remember it was the map called Pipeline (it's a sniper's paradise).

Only a few days ago I found out that my AK attached with an ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Guide) could double up as a sniper's rifle. What it lacked in accuracy it made up for in comparatively low recoil and a high rate of fire. Picking the right hide for this kind of technique is tricky.

On a few occasions, I had a nail biting time waiting for my teammates to call in a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) while I was prone on the ground, exposed to enemy fire, poring over the map hoping for the UAV to reveal the enemy so I could call in an air-strike. I was rewarded when the planes screeched by raining death to the opposition and experience points for me!

Upon my promotion, the sniper rifle R700 was unlocked to me. I've never heard of this particular rifle. The COD4 charts say it's a really accurate piece but with a slow rate of fire- bolt action, of course. Time to do some research.

Virtual Combat Journal: Captain

Yesterday, I finally made Captain in Call of Duty 4. The innovative thing about this First Person Shooter game that sets it apart from the rest is its online ranking system.

You start out as a lowly Private and work your way up to General...? How does an enlisted personnel get to become an officer and then climb all the way up to General? Apparently, after First Sergeant, one gets bumped to 1st Lieutenant, bypassing the Sergeant Major ranks.

Well, that's how the game works and that's fine by me. With power comes... great pressure. I'm now expected to perform better than those below me. What's worse, the opposition will be hunting for me on the battlefield!

There's nothing worse than looking at the scoreboard after the game and discovering you fared no better than a Corporal.

Virtual Combat Journal: Sniper scourge

The most noble act in the virtual battlefield:
To discover and dispatch a sniper who's been harassing your team with his well-placed and generally fatal shots from his bolt-action rifle.

The most humiliating death in a virtual battlefield:
As a sniper deceptively concealed in the undergrowth, to be knifed up-close from behind like the coward you are!