America's Army 3 announced @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on January 20, 2009

News: Are you ready to reenlist soldier?

The U.S. Army has announced that the third version of their America's Army game, America's Army 3, will be released on the PC in 2009. The game has already been rated by the ESRB (T For Teen), so a release date is probably imminent.

As always, America's Army 3 will be offered for free by the Army. It will be developed using the Unreal Engine 3 and new missions and updates to the game are already being planned. According to Michael Bode, executive producer of the game, America's Army 3 will take all of the best features from the previous game and incorporate feedback from the game's community "to create a much more detailed interactive experience."

As with previous games in the series, America's Army 3 will allow players to create an in-game character and take them through Army training. In America's Army 3, the training will work thusly:

Initially, the core of the gameplay focuses on an Infantry Soldier (11B). Players can select from a variety of roles that the 11B performs such as Rifleman, Automatic Rifleman, Designated Marksman and Grenadier. The first additional Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) players can explore is 68W Health Care Specialist (Combat Medic) which will be added this summer. Players who complete advanced individual training modules can take on new MOS roles that will affect gameplay. For example, by completing medic training players will be able to treat minor and major injuries in single player training missions and render advanced medical aid in multiplayer missions. In subsequent game releases, players who complete Combat Engineer training will be able to assist in mission pre-planning, such as emplacing an obstacle to impede the mobility of enemy forces.

Developer diaries, screenshots and other game details can be found at the America's Army 3 official site. We'll have more soon.