Recenty we acquired a late December beta of Spearhead, the latest effort from Zombie Interactive. Mark Long, co-founder of Zombie Interactive, is an ex-Army Ranger whose other project in the works is Special Ops. Note: screen shots are from an early stage, and final terrain will look even better. Here is Neils hands on look at a work in progress.

Spearhead is the first tank simulation designed with multiplayer gaming in mind from the outset. When I first talked with John Williamson - Spearhead's producer - about it, it was clear that Spearhead was a game that he took great pride in. John wants to create a fun simulation that will do justice to the M1A2, have unparalleled multiplayer aspects - in the tradition of SIMNET (the US Army's "multiplayer" simulation network) - and still be a top-notch single-player game.

During development, though, there were two types of players that had very different ideas on what a fun tank game should be like - especially in the context of multiplayer gaming. One group tended to be action junkies, and wanted things kept as simple as possible so that the game would cater to their "first-person shooter" tastes, and some others (including John himself) still wanted the game to be an accurate recreation of the tank itself. Traditionally, these two sides are always at odds with each other, and resolving their nearly contradictory goals can be quite a challenge.

So is Spearhead an action game or a simulation? So far it seems to have elements of both. In the simulation category, it covers some ground far beyond previous existing tank sims. In the action category, gameplay is fairly streamlined and pays considerable homage to the Novalogic style of mission design.

The extra touches are very impressive. As one might expect, the game models such things as thermal sights, laser rangefinding, as well as HEAT and Sabot ammunition. However, it takes details further than that. Much further.

Take for example, the driver's station. Not only does the game model engine start and stop - complete with engine management updates - it also includes such considerations as drivetrain transmission settings, engine governor override, and even a parking brake. This sounds much more promising than the typical action game controls that tank games are usually limited to. Terrain rises and descents have a strong affect on both the tank's momentum and the required throttle settings to successfully clear them. Bad driving can potentially result in a damaged track. When you're on flat roads, you can override the engine governor if you're feeling adventurous to try to squeeze out a little more top-end.

One of the more fundamental issues with a tank sim is being able to coordinate the direction the tank is driving with the aiming of the turret. Spearhead keeps things as simple as possible by putting an attractive display in the upper right hand corner that acts like a "birds eye view" of the M1's heading and turret angle. While technically unrealistic, this deflects quite a bit of potential confusion without making sacrifices in overall gameplay realism.

Gunnery is simple, but has some nice touches. One button will take the laser rangefinder reading, and the other will fire the gun (on a two-button joystick). What's interesting is that the targeting computer - and hence, autostabilization - can be turned on and off at will. Unlike previous attempts at autostabilization, the gun doesn't stay magically lined up - the computer has to race to keep things straight. It handles the job just fine over smooth terrain with minor undulations, but put it over really broken terrain and rough transitions, and the gun tube will momentarily be misaligned until the system can properly compensate. Seems very simple, but it is an important facet in making the sim behave more like a tank and less like an arcade game.

The commander's CITV is shaping up to be the most realistically modelled yet seen in a simulation. Other tank sims seem to make some strange interpretations of the operation of the commander's station, and as such they don't seem to be very useful in the game at all. Spearhead now makes the commander's station much more potentially useful without it overshadowing the other positions.

How does this work? As one may expect, the commander's CITV view sits over the turret and can be rotated independently of the turret itself, although it's direction is affected by turret movement. As commander, you can spot targets independent of the gunner and order the gunner to aim at the target - during which time, the view might be temporarily lost as the CITV and turret both try to simultaneously align with the target. Alternatively, as commander, you can override the gunner's controls and lay the gun on target before handing it over to the gunner. This would be even more ideal in a multi-player/single tank configuration, but it is most likely that the multi-player/multi-tank setup will be preserved to satisfy deathmatch play requirements.

Spearhead is looking to have quite a lot of potential both as a internet multiplayer game and as a mission-based singleplayer sim as well. With multiplayer technology actually based on the SIMNET DIS model, 3dfx (possibly also Rendition) support, authentic sound effects, and realistic yet simple play, Spearhead looks set to be one of the great sleeper simulations of the year.

To read our interview with the Producer go to Spearhead Interview

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