Shrapnel Preview

The newest military buzzword is MOUT. It stands for Military Operations on Urban Terrain and represents a significant change in the military's war tactics. The Pentagon knows that the battles of the future will not be fought in remote jungles or deserts - they'll be fought in an urban environment. In cities and towns, in streets and subways, the battlefield of tomorrow is close to home. The military must be trained to fight effectively on urban terrain, and that's exactly what MOUT represents.

As the name suggests, MOUT 2025 takes place 25 years in the future. Ripcord predicts that by that time MOUT will be a common military occurrence, with teams specializing in MOUT warfare. You'll control one of those teams and will be responsible for completing different missions in MOUT 2025's urban environments. Just as in Ripcord's other Spec Ops games, MOUT's focus is on realism. The game is uncompromisingly realistic when it comes to inflicting and taking damage. Enemies can be felled with one bullet to the head, and team members are just as easily killed. The game will make you exercise your whole team and take full advantage of your MOUT tactics.

While no solid details have been announced, the game will probably run on an enhanced version of the Dreamcast Spec Ops: Omega Squad engine. However, the differences in graphics and appearance will be rather noticeable. As the name suggests, all the environments in MOUT 2025 will be in an urban setting. Skyscrapers will replace mountains, and subway tunnels will replace foxholes. No solid details have been announced about the sound in the game, but expect audio cues to play an important part in the game.

Although Ripcord's team-combat simulations are painstakingly true to life, Ripcord is allowing a bit more liberty with the weapons in MOUT 2025. The game will feature many futuristic weapons that, while based on current military prototypes and designs, are completely fictional. Still, the technology in the game sounds very cool. Each member of your team will be wearing a combat helmet fitted with a special HUD capable of triangulating enemy positions based on data from other team members' helmets. A well-placed team member can alert you to activity behind walls and can even help spot immediate threats. Additionally, the game will feature upgradeable weapons, such as grenade launchers that can be refitted with prototype grenade rounds.

One of the more interesting aspects of MOUT 2025 is its online capabilities. In conjunction with Ripcord's pledge to make games that take advantage of Sega's gaming network, MOUT 2025 will be Internet multiplayer compatible, featuring up to eight-player cooperative and deathmatch play.

MOUT 2025 is scheduled for an October release. We'll have more details as they become available, but in the meantime check out these early screenshots of the game in action.