Combat simming is about the here and now, not about an alien invasion centuries from now or a fantasy world from centuries past but about present day ground pounding, first person, in your face real-life action. Does this mean we have new super bosses to slay or does it mean that finally shooters are going legit? The fantasy ones are still there and will continue to be but we're also getting to see real-life modeled shooters now. Will this trend continue? Let's hope so...

For too long combat simming has been synonymous with flight sims, not that I have anything against combat flight sims. I've done my share of hours in a bunch of sims and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Falcon 4.0. But the thing I've been yearning for all these years is a serious, realistic first person shooter that was based around small unit tactics. The last time I played a game like that was EA's Seal Team, where you controlled a Seal Team squad on missions in Vietnam.

While that game is now very dated in look and feel it still warrants a mention and possibly even a good play now and again. (Game companies could look to it for inspiration and pointers for future games. You can pick it up in the bargain bin under EA Classics for about $5-10 at your local software shop.)

In Seal Team after being given your mission orders you could choose the loadouts for each individual team member, pick your insertion point (even do fake insertions) and from there could carry out your mission. For years this was the only 'serious' shooter we could find as we were deluged with the Wolfenstein/Doom era and all it's beautiful and ugly children.

Not anymore! It seems that finally some upstarts and newer developers are leading us away from the sci-fi/fantasy "sure-thing" Doom/Quake clones. Either way I don't care as it means I'm getting what I've been eagerly awaiting for too many years already: real-world modern shooters with an emphasis on small unit tactics.

First was Zombie and their quasi-realistic but very entertaining "Spec Ops", with the expansion "Ranger Team Bravo" with full multiplayer support due shortly. Next were Redstorm and their CT sim "Rainbow Six" that has headed up the charts. And coming soon is Novalogics' entry into the fray, "Delta Force" and upstart TS Group's "Private Wars" early next year. Another is Yosemite Entertainment who are currently at work on "Navy Seals", based on the exploits of the Rogue Warrior himself Richard Marcinko.

Finally it seems we're getting the games we've wanted and they are reaching the same legitimacy once reserved for flight sims only. I think the delay has been for several reasons, some of which were due to hardware restrictions and others that are painfully obvious. The painfully obvious ones are that those Quake/Blood/Duke etc ad nauseum sell, so when a formula works the attitude of the PC gaming industry has been to exploit it for every drop of green possible. Why invent or challenge the genre when there's already a winning style gamers are buying?

Now the winning style has evolved, which is why we'll start seeing more 'real-world' based shooters come out, trying to cash in on the new found popularity of this style of game. But as with the Doom/Quake rip-offs I'm sure we're bound to see some games that will be less than stellar as developers will try to cash in on the trend.

Hardware limitations have also been a major contributor to the delay of more of these serious shooters as well. With the previous 486 and early Pentium processors the processing power just wasn't there to deal with the AI routines and graphics needed for a good shooter. The AI that you see in games like Quake/Doom etc isn't really intelligent is it?

Those games rely more on 'hit points' similar to an RPG than a real world based wounding and kill score table, so the enemies don't need to be intelligent they just need a lot of 'hit points' as well as being ugly enough to scare the begeezus outta ya. Up until now the market on shooters has been action based as this is what it seemed gamers wanted, to be the one bad assed dude that kicks ass and takes names. Hail to the king, baby! Right?

With the PII processor having pretty much entered the mainstream now and most gamers at least on higher end straight Pentiums, the processing power is there and so is the memory now that those prices have dropped also. 3D acceleration has pretty much become standard fare for gamers and not many gamers don't have at least a Voodoo 1 card in their machine. Now that the hardware is in place, the software is following hot on its heels.

Good enemy and friendly NPC AI takes some serious processing power, more so than I think a lot of gamers appreciate. I myself have gotten quite an education in the process through speaking with different developers and now have a greater appreciation for their work. Just think about the different routines a single tango in Rainbow Six runs through before taking an action. Multiply that by however many tangos are in a given mission and you can see the amount of routines that need to be processed through to an action, then add on to that your friendly teammate AI and you got a lot of work cut out for your Pentium.

Not all actions in that game are aggressive as they've tried modeling more human reactions instead of the standard invincible monster reactions shooter fans have become used to. I've wounded tangos and seen them drop to their knees and put their hands behind their heads in supplication. Of course being a good operator I leave nothing to chance, so I drop them. Change of mind when my boys in black come calling Mr. Tango? Sorry, shoulda thought of that earlier!

How about wounding them and seeing them flee from you to alert other tangos? I've put a couple non-lethal shots into tangos and raced after them to only face them again. Wounded, bloodied and pissed off with a couple of their buddies and now I got a dumptruckload of lead headed at me, duck!

How about the friendly AI? Ever think you could preplan a takedown in a blueprint and watch it unfold before you without your direct intervention and micromanagement for every move? Very impressive AI to do that, and thanks to todays PC's it can happen and it'll just get better. Don't get me wrong, nothing's flawless and sure there's a lot of improvement that can be made in the AI in R6 and other games, but just look at the leaps and bounds developers have made thus far.

Maybe we have tended to overlook the work behind the process. Modeling human actions and reactions is a daunting task at best; it's no longer a machine vs machine situation as in a tank or flight sim. Now we're seeing real people modeled in realistic ways and that's a helluva lot harder than modeling a strogg baddie by far!

That's why I really felt Redstorm did such a great job with Rainbow Six, they went for the gusto, modeling the human factor, and did it very well enough that other developers can sit up and take note of their success and hopefully emulate it. We've seen the in-game characters do some excellent things and expect even more, and you will see more and better AI as more games come out. Never before have we had a shooter this strongly based in reality and for their reality based shooter Redstorm chose one of the most difficult types of military operations, Counter Terrorism.

I can still remember the shock I felt at first seeing this one at E3 and again the shock I felt as I sat here at my keyboard heading into a room to rescue a hostage, only to be greeted for my efforts by the tango quickly spinning on the hostage and shooting her through the head as I stitched him up the side. Now that's realism and immersion!

Immersion has been the debate among many for a while now, including the writers here at Combatsim. To me immersion is being completely sucked into the game world, easily forgetting that 'it's just a game'. Through the simulated 'eyes' of the PC screen the developers must immerse you in a world that is believable on many levels, not only in look but in 'feel'.

By feel I mean realistic actions and responses of not only your own character but those of your enemies and of your AI teammates, not just the graphical look of the world. R6 has that depth of immersion, so much so that I can overlook the smaller imperfections, such as the questionable AI when I take out a guard and his buddy dumbly looks on while wearing his partners grey matter on his shirt, until I drop him too. But as I said these are just the first steps into a brave new world of shooters and it's just gonna get better. Another cause for delay for realism based shooters is the fact that in the actual world of military operations (be they CT or just plain special operations), no job is done by one man alone. Special operations rely on a team of highly trained and motivated men with specialized skills, unlike the Hollywood stereotype of the one-man 'Rambo' scenarios we've grown accustomed to seeing and believing. Up until now almost all shooters were based on one character (the gamers character) going up against an unbelievable number of foes.

While this made for great gameplay it was not in the least bit realistic, as no one could survive fighting that many enemies. For that reason the genre has become so used to 100 point health packs and 200 point armor suits and other such 'power ups' lying everywhere in situations that were up until then never encountered by man.

As a result, this is one of the obstacles games like Rainbow Six has had to overcome, especially in the multiplayer arena where gamers are used to non-stop gibbing, constant respawns and mega frag counts. If a game doesn't have good multiplayer capabilities today it's just gonna gather dust on the shelf.

And now with a new style of realism based shooter comes a change in multiplay tactics. In the new shooters you are no longer given a 'freebie', if you get hosed you're out of that game. It's not just a twitch match anymore: you've gotta use your noggin' along with teamwork in multiplayer, and your 'life' does really depend on your buddy and vice-versa. Doing a real world shooter effectively meant no second chances.

Coming in at the right time for these styles of shooters we have Shadow Factor (http://www.shadowfactor.com) and their excellent vox utility Battlefield Communicator. I urge you to go and download this now if you haven't already: it will change the way you play games.

In a reality based shooter team comms are vital to everyones survival and ultimately your teams' success; no longer do you have to 'die while typing'. In its beta stages now, it only supports peer to peer comms, but the full versions and server version are due shortly and I think they're going to explode on the scene with a flurry. Given the bandwidth hogging voxware support in Rainbow Six, BC is a welcome alternative and one that should be on every multiplayer fans hard drive.

Earlier I mentioned Novalogics soon to be released shooter Delta Force. After having played around with the demo I'm eagerly awaiting the final, this one looks to have some great gameplay as well. There's a post in the strategy game forum about playing DF with a headset, and I must stress that this is true. Without a headset you're missing out on all the directional sound effects that are abundant in this game and are essential to survival. They suck you right into the game.

I've found myself in deep kimchi a couple of times, utterly surrounded by bad guys and drooling from the awesome directional sounds in this game. It reminded me of the D-Day scenes in "Saving Private Ryan," how you just feel like you're right in the thick of the action with the bullets zinging over your head. Nothing gets you motivated to move more than hearing and seeing rounds splashing in the dirt around you, not to mention the heart pumping adrenaline surge you get as you lowcrawl your way through it all to safety.

The only drawback I've found so far is the very slow frame rate and absence of 3D accelerator support due to the use of the Voxel Space engine. I've never been a big fan of Voxel Space and this game might surely suffer due to it. I've heard the code's been reworked to enhance frame rates and gameplay but we'll just have to wait and see on that, I'd hate to see this game suffer due to unplayable frame rates. It reminds me so much of my old fave Seal Team, and with the engrossing sound immersion I've gotten from playing multiplayer I'd love to see the graphics department keep the pace as well.

Whether you agree or disagree with the AI routines in Rainbow Six, or with those in the upcoming Delta Force, you must agree that finally shooters are anchored firmly in reality. Now we shooter fans can play a "sim" instead of just a "game:" strategy is replacing twitchy fingers and in multiplayer you'll find a quick thinking mind as well as well rehearsed teamwork can be your best weapon.

Mind you, I still love a quick game of Quake just like anyone else, but when I play it I come away with a feeling similar to having had a snack when I wanted a meal. Now I don't have to do this .. Heh.. gotta run, it's time for dinner. I'll start with a nice Spec Ops appetizer followed by a Rainbow Six entrée and top it all off with a nice helping of Delta Force for dessert!