Full Spectrum Warrior

Last updated
Full Spectrum Warrior
FullSpectrumWarriorPC.jpg
Developer(s) Pandemic Studios [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) THQ
Director(s) William Henry Stahl
Designer(s) Laralyn McWilliams
Programmer(s) Fredrik Persson
Artist(s) Rositza Zagortcheva
Writer(s) Paul Robinson
Composer(s) Tobias Enhus
Engine Havok
Platform(s) Xbox, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2
ReleaseXbox
  • NA: June 1, 2004
  • EU: June 25, 2004
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: September 21, 2004
  • EU: October 1, 2004
PlayStation 2
  • NA: March 22, 2005 [1]
  • EU: April 1, 2005
Genre(s) Real-time tactics
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Full Spectrum Warrior is a real-time tactics video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for Xbox, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2. A sequel titled Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers was later released.

Contents

Gameplay

Full Spectrum Warrior is a squad-based game in which the player issues commands to two fireteams, Alpha and Bravo. Each fireteam has a Team Leader equipped with an M4 carbine. The Team Leaders also carry a GPS receiver, which can be used to locate mission objectives and enemy locations, and a radio for communication with headquarters. The second team member is the Automatic Rifleman, equipped with an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, used to lay suppressive fire on the enemy and assigned to take command if the team leader is shot. The third team member is the Grenadier, equipped with an M4 with an M203 grenade launcher attachment. The last team member is the Rifleman, equipped with an M4 carbine. If a member of the team is wounded, another member of the team will carry them. Lieutenant Phillips is the team commander and the player will usually find him with the CASEVACs, which are healing and ammunition points. Each fireteam has a limited amount of fragmentation and smoke grenades, in addition to the M203 grenades. Occasionally throughout the game, there will be a third asset designated as Charlie Team, ranging from anti-armor engineers to US Army Rangers.

Throughout the game, the player does not directly control any of the fireteam members; instead, orders are given using a cursor that projects onto the environment, letting the player tell his/her soldiers to hold a position and set a specific zone to cover with fire. It is also possible to order them to lay down suppressive fire on a given zone to cover the second squad's movement, or to reduce incoming fire.

Gameplay revolves around the concept of fire and movement, with one team providing suppressive fire while the other moves. The basic gameplay mechanics remain the same for the retail version of Full Spectrum Warrior, which was released on the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Windows platforms. The retail version places much more emphasis on aesthetics; it possesses substantially improved graphics and sound. Cut scenes and voice acting are also characteristics that distinguish the retail version from the military version.

Multiplayer

Full Spectrum Warrior includes a cooperative mode that was designed to take advantage of Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service through the use of voice communication. In co-op mode, two players are in command of their own fireteam and must work together to accomplish the goals of the level.

Plot

Background Story
A dramatic wave of terrorist attacks sweeps Europe and Southeast Asia, particularly targeting US and UK interests. After months of intense searching, US intelligence has tracked the source of the attacks to the tiny fictional nation of Zekistan in Central Asia.

U.S.-led operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have forced rebels and loyalists to flee, seeking refuge in the nation of Zekistan by invitation of the nation's dictator, Mohammad Jabbour Al-Afad. His tyrannical regime houses death camps and training centers for the terrorist networks, and promotes cleansing of the ethnic Zeki population. After several failed diplomatic solutions and repeated warning by the UN, NATO votes to invade Zekistan to remove Al-Afad from power.

Pakistan grants US access through its airspace, the invasion begins. The USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson launch aircraft to airstrike Al-Afad's air, armor, and bases across the nation. When the dust settles, infantry and armor from seven different NATO countries begin to land at southern Zekistan. Under the cover of darkness, the U.S.-led forces converge on the capital city of Zafarra.

Campaign Storyline
The story starts at the MOUT (if the player chooses to play the tutorial) in Fort Benning, as fireteams Alpha and Bravo of squad Charlie 90, B Company, 159th Light Infantry goes through the training at Fort Benning, Georgia as they prepare for their deployment to Zekistan as part of the NATO Invasion force sent to invade the country. When they arrived Zekistan, their first objective is to help secure the airfield, the main airport in the city, however, the route to the airport is crawling with resistance; the first few hours after they arrived, they were ambushed.

After the Airport is successfully captured, Charlie 90 is tasked with infiltrating Al-Afad's palace and eliminating him. They trek through the city and make it to the palace. While they manage to capture one of Afad's top lieutenants, Afad escapes. The members of Charlie 90 also witness one of the Joint STARS planes crashing into the city. The squad is then ordered to rescue the crew of the downed plane before they can be captured by Afad's men.

Charlie 90 secures the crash site, but the crew of the plane is taken hostage by Afad's men. Charlie 90, with the assistance of two Ranger snipers, finds and rescues the crew. Charlie 90 then track Afad down and find his SUV in an old train yard. Charlie 90 must then call in an airstrike on the SUV before it escapes. If the player orders the strike in time, U.S. gunships swoop down and destroy the SUV, eliminating Al-Afad.

Epilogue Missions
Despite the death of Al-Afad, propaganda broadcasts were made by a surviving group of Al-Afad soldiers called the Black Wind Brigade, headed by one of Al-Afad's sons Al-Hamal. As a way of repaying the Army Rangers from Mike 25 a debt for saving them in a parking lot, both Alpha and Bravo team from Charlie 90 were "on loan" to them to participate in unofficial assignments. In the first mission, both teams were to mark a radio tower for an airstrike to end the propaganda broadcasts. On the second epilogue mission, both fireteams, with assistance from Staff Sergeant Hackett, were sent to a mosque to take out the Black Wind Brigade. Although Al-Hamal is killed by an airstrike during a firefight, the younger brother, Colonel Samir who was presumed to be dead assumes the role as ruler, willing to work towards democracy and stray away from his father and brother's tyrannical regime.

These missions were released as DLC for the Xbox version and are included in the PC and PS2 versions by default and unlocked from the start, however the game still goes to credits after the last "Normal" mission and the player must manually start them from the level select.

Development

In 2000, the U.S. Army's Science & Technology community was curious to learn if commercial gaming platforms could be leveraged for training. Recognizing that a high percentage of incoming recruits had grown up using entertainment software products, there was interest in determining whether software game techniques and technology could complement and enhance established training methods.

Having established a U.S. Army University Affiliated Research Center (the Institute for Creative Technologies – ICT) in 1999 for the purpose of advancing virtual simulation technology, work began in May 2000 on a project entitled C4 under ICT Creative Director James Korris with industry partners Sony Imageworks and their teammate, Pandemic Studios, represented by co-founders Josh Resnick and Andrew Goldman.

At the time, there was a great deal of interest in leveraging the stability, low cost and computational/rendering power of the new generation of game consoles, chiefly Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox, for training applications. Legal restrictions on the PlayStation (using the platform for a military purpose) combined with the default Xbox configuration “persistence” (i.e. missions recorded on the embedded hard drive for after-action review) led to the final selection of the Xbox platform for development.

A commercial release of the game was required for Xbox platform access. The team, however, quickly concluded that a viable entertainment title might differ from a valid training tool. The exaggerated physics of entertainment software titles, it was believed, could produce a negative training effect in the Soldier audience. Accordingly, the team developed two versions of the game. The Army version was accessible through a static unlock code; the entertainment version played normally.

The most radical decision in the game's development was to limit first-person actions to issuing orders and directions to virtual Fire Teams and Squad members (see Gameplay). Given the popularity of the first-person shooter genre, it was assumed that all tactical-level military gameplay necessarily involved individual combat action. The application defied conventional wisdom, winning both awards and commercial acceptance. The game's working title evolved to C-Force (2001) and ultimately Full Spectrum Warrior (2003).

As work progressed on Full Spectrum Warrior, ICT developed another real-time tactical decision-making game with Quicksilver Software entitled Full Spectrum Command for the US Army's Infantry Captains Career Course, with the first-person perspective of a Company Commander. As the application was designed to play on a desktop PC (unlike the Xbox), no commercial release was necessary. Full Spectrum Command gave rise to a sequel developed for the US Army and Singapore Armed Forces (version 1.5). A related ICT/Quicksilver title, Full Spectrum Leader, simulates the first person perspective of a Platoon Leader.

Full Spectrum Warrior relates to the Army's program of training soldiers to be flexible and adaptable to a broad range of operational scenarios.

The game's budget was $5 million. [2]

Reception

At the Game Critics Awards of E3 2003, Full Spectrum Warrior was awarded "Best Original Game" and "Best Simulation Game."[ citation needed ] The staff of X-Play nominated Full Spectrum Warrior for their 2004 "Best Strategy Game" award, [29] which ultimately went to Rome: Total War . [30] It was also a runner-up for Computer Games Magazine 's 2004 "Best Interface" award, [31] and for GameSpot's annual "Most Innovative Game" prize. [32] During the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Full Spectrum Warrior for "Console Action/Adventure Game of the Year" and "Computer Action/Adventure Game of the Year". [33]

The Xbox and PC versions received "favorable" reviews, while the PlayStation 2 version received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. [5] [3] [4] According to The NPD Group, Full Spectrum Warrior sold roughly 190,000 units on the Xbox by the end of its debut month. Analyst Michael Pachter described this as a commercial success. [34]

The game sold nearly 1 million copies for Xbox and PC. [2]

Full Spectrum Warrior became the subject of some controversy shortly after it was released. The two primary complaints aired were that the United States Army was not using their training version of the game because it was not "realistic enough". [35] Secondly, the United States Army had been short-changed. [36] There was some discussion in the press regarding whether the government had either wasted money on the project, or if they had been taken advantage of by Pandemic Studios, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, their partner on the project.[ citation needed ]

Notes

  1. Ported to PlayStation 2 by Mass Media Games

Related Research Articles

<i>Tom Clancys Ghost Recon</i> (2001 video game) 2001 video game

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon is a tactical shooter video game developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubi Soft in 2001 for Microsoft Windows. It is the first game in the Ghost Recon series. It was ported to Mac OS, Xbox and PlayStation 2 in 2002 and to the GameCube in 2003. Ports for N-Gage and Game Boy Advance were planned, but later canceled. Unlike Clancy's other tactical shooter series, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon is not based on any of his books.

<i>Tom Clancys Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield</i> 2003 video game

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield is a 2003 tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubi Soft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the third entry in the Rainbow Six series. The game's plot follows Rainbow, a secret international counterterrorist organization, as they respond to a wave of terrorist attacks threatening South America.

<i>Pro Evolution Soccer 4</i> 2004 video game

Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is the fourth installment of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer football simulation video game series. It's the first game of the series to appear on the original Xbox, with online gameplay. The cover features Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, AS Roma forward Francesco Totti, and world-renowned Italian referee Pierluigi Collina. It was the first game in the series to feature licensed leagues.

<i>Madden NFL 2004</i> 2003 video game

Madden NFL 2004 is the 15th installment of the Madden NFL series of American football video games. Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is on the cover.

<i>Prince of Persia: Warrior Within</i> 2004 video game by Ubisoft

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Ubisoft for GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox on November 30, 2004. A port for the PlayStation Portable developed by Pipeworks Software, titled Prince of Persia: Revelations, was released on December 6, 2005. Two mobile versions of Warrior Within were published by Gameloft for the cell phone and iOS in 2004 and 2010, respectively. Due to issues with the in-game menu, the iOS version was pulled from the App Store for two weeks, re-releasing on June 18, 2010.

The Creative Assembly Limited is a British video game developer based in Horsham, founded in 1987 by Tim Ansell. In its early years, the company worked on porting games to MS-DOS from Amiga and ZX Spectrum platforms, later working with Electronic Arts to produce a variety of games under the EA Sports brand. In 1999, the company had sufficient resources to attempt a new and original project, proceeding to develop the strategy computer game Shogun: Total War which was a critical and commercial hit, and is regarded as a benchmark strategy game. Subsequent titles in the Total War series built on the success of Shogun: Total War, increasing the company's critical and commercial success.

<i>Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005</i> 2004 video game

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 is a sports video game developed by EA Redwood Shores for the GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions, Headgate Studios for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X versions, Sensory Sweep Studios for the Nintendo DS version and EA Canada's Team Fusion division for the PlayStation Portable version and published by EA Sports for GameCube, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable and Mac OS X. An N-Gage version was planned but never released.

<i>Americas Army: Rise of a Soldier</i> 2005 video game

America's Army: Rise of a Soldier is a game developed by Secret Level. In addition to containing the original America's Army, the game includes a single player mode based on Major Jason Amerine's experiences in Afghanistan in 2001. It was released in the United States on November 17, 2005 for the Xbox. The PlayStation 2 version was in development for some time, but was ultimately cancelled.

Marine Doom is a 1996 modification of the first-person shooter Doom II for the United States Marine Corps, which was later made available for download to the public.

<i>Madden NFL 2003</i> 2002 video game

Madden NFL 2003 is an American football simulation video game based on the NFL that was developed by EA Tiburon and Budcat Creations and published by EA Sports. The 14th installment of the Madden NFL series, the game features former St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk on the cover. This edition of Madden was the first to have EA Trax, the Mini Camp mode, and to feature Al Michaels as play-by-play announcer, who took over for Pat Summerall. Although it featured the expansion Houston Texans and the relocation of the Seattle Seahawks to the NFC, it was actually the second to do so. The game was released on August 12, 2002 for the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The PlayStation version also includes the Sega Genesis version of John Madden Football 93.

<i>Madden NFL 2002</i> 2001 video game

Madden NFL 2002 is an American football video game. It features former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper on the cover. Pat Summerall and John Madden are the commentators. The Madden NFL 2002 commercial first aired during Super Bowl XXXVI, three days after Madden NFL 2002 started selling in Japan. Notably, it does not feature the Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, who is included on later editions of the game as a roster update. It is also the first game to be developed by Budcat Creations.

<i>NBA Live 2004</i> 2003 video game

NBA Live 2004 is the 2004 installment of the NBA Live sports video game series. The game was developed by EA Canada and released in 2003. It is graphically similar to NCAA March Madness 2004 and has the same create-a-player models. It was the last EA game to include Michael Jordan. The cover shows Vince Carter as a member of the Toronto Raptors; in Spain it is Raul Lopez instead. This was also the first game to feature the Charlotte Bobcats, who would play their first season of basketball in the fall of 2004. Since the game's rosters were finalized before the Bobcats would host their expansion draft, the Bobcats' lineup consisted of players named after their specific positions; for example, the point guard was named "Point Guard".

<i>Enemy Territory: Quake Wars</i> 2007 video game

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a first-person shooter video game developed by Splash Damage and published by Activision for Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was first released in the PAL region on September 28, 2007, and later in North America on October 2. It is a spinoff of the Quake series and the successor to 2003's Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.

<i>NBA Live 06</i> 2005 video game

NBA Live 06 is a 2005 installment of the NBA Live series released on the Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 and Mobile. It was developed by EA Sports. The game features several game modes, including Dynasty, Season, Playoffs, or Free Play. It features Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat on the cover. This was the last NBA Live game on the GameCube and it also was the first NBA Live game on the Xbox 360 as a launch title and on the PlayStation Portable.

<i>Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders</i> 2004 video game

Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is a tactical wargame developed by the Korean studio Phantagram for the Xbox. It is the sequel to the 2001 game Kingdom Under Fire: A War of Heroes, and continues its storyline. Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders combines third-person action and role-playing elements in its gameplay, which differs from its predecessor.

<i>FIFA Football 2005</i> 2004 video game

FIFA Football 2005, also known as FIFA Soccer 2005 in North America or simply FIFA 2005, is a football simulation video game released in 2004. It was developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, mobile phone, Gizmondo, N-Gage and the Game Boy Advance. The tagline for the game was: "A great player needs a great first touch". FIFA 2005 is the twelfth game in the FIFA series, the ninth in 3D and the final game in the series for the PlayStation. FIFA Football 2005 marks the first time to include the seventh-generation handheld game consoles. The Japanese version of the game went by the name of FIFA Total Football 2 and was released on 9 December 2004. FIFA Football 2005 is the last licensed game to be released for the PlayStation in North America.

<i>Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers</i> 2006 video game

Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers is a real-time tactics video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

<i>Close Combat: First to Fight</i> 2005 video game

Close Combat: First to Fight is a squad-based military first person tactical shooter video game created by Destineer Studios for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh and Xbox. It was released in April 2005. The player commands a fireteam of three U.S. Marines in a realistic fictional, scenario where the United Nations sends Marines into Lebanon when their Prime Minister falls ill and Syria and Iran send forces to bolster certain factions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beenox</span> Video game developer, established in Quebec City, Quebec

Beenox Inc. is a Canadian video game developer established in 2000 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The studio became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision on May 25, 2005.

<i>Breach & Clear: Deadline</i> 2015 video game

Breach & Clear: Deadline is a 2015 post-apocalypse real-time tactics action role-playing video game developed by Mighty Rabbit Studios and Gun Media, and published by Gambitious Digital Entertainment and Devolver Digital. Home console ports released the following year. The title is a spin-off to the 2013 game Breach & Clear.

References

  1. Adams, David (March 22, 2005). "Full Spectrum Warrior Deployed". IGN . Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Army". Tampa Bay Times . February 20, 2005. p. 12. Retrieved February 27, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Full Spectrum Warrior for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 2016-01-24. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Full Spectrum Warrior for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2015-12-05. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Full Spectrum Warrior for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  6. Edge staff (July 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)". Edge . No. 138. p. 98. Archived from the original on June 30, 2004. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  7. EGM staff (June 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 179. Archived from the original on June 4, 2004. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  8. Reed, Kristan (October 4, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior (PC)". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  9. Bramwell, Tom (July 2, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  10. Kato, Matthew (July 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)". Game Informer . No. 135. p. 119. Archived from the original on March 24, 2005. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  11. Four-Eyed Dragon (June 1, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro . Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  12. Sanders, Shawn (June 16, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior Review (Xbox)". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  13. Kasavin, Greg (September 22, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior Review (PC)". GameSpot . Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  14. Kasavin, Greg (March 24, 2005). "Full Spectrum Warrior Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  15. Kasavin, Greg (June 2, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2015-11-30. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  16. Lopez, Miguel (September 23, 2004). "GameSpy: Full Spectrum Warrior (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  17. Lopez, Miguel (June 2, 2004). "GameSpy: Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  18. Raymond, Justin (October 11, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  19. Bedigian, Louis (April 10, 2005). "Full Spectrum Warrior - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  20. Bedigian, Louis (June 12, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  21. Adams, Dan (September 24, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior Review (PC)". IGN . Archived from the original on 2015-11-28. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  22. Sulic, Ivan (March 22, 2005). "Full Spectrum Warrior (PS2)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2015-11-28. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  23. Perry, Douglass C. (May 31, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2015-11-28. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  24. "Full Spectrum Warrior". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine . June 2005. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  25. McCaffrey, Ryan (August 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior". Official Xbox Magazine . No. 34. pp. 74–75.
  26. "Full Spectrum Warrior". PC Gamer . December 2004. p. 70.
  27. Walk, Gary Eng (June 18, 2004). "Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)". Entertainment Weekly . No. 770. p. L2T 20. Archived from the original on 2015-11-20. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  28. Herold, Charles (August 5, 2004). "GAME THEORY: O.K., Private, Give Me 50, Then Play This Video Game". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  29. X-Play Staff (January 18, 2005). "X-Play's Best of 2004 Nominees". X-Play . Archived from the original on November 7, 2005.
  30. X-Play Staff (January 27, 2005). "X-Play's Best of 2004 Winners Announced!". X-Play . Archived from the original on March 15, 2005.
  31. Staff (March 2005). "The Best of 2004; The 14th Annual Computer Games Awards". Computer Games Magazine (172): 48–56.
  32. "Best and Worst of 2004". GameSpot . January 5, 2005. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
  33. "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Full Spectrum Warrior". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences . Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  34. Feldman, Curt (July 20, 2004). "NPD: June game sales up 12 percent". GameSpot . Archived from the original on July 23, 2004. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  35. "Playing to win". The Economist . December 4–10, 2004. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  36. Adair, Bill (February 20, 2005). "Did the Army get Out-Gamed?". St. Petersburg Times . Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2009-11-18.