America's Army 3 - Free FPS game

(Free to download, Free to play - No army recruitment BS, just a solid FPS game for free - The AA3 forums ask you to skip the "training" part at the moment until they release the next patch which will hopefully fix that element of the game.)


Hey all,

I stayed away from the first 2 America's Army games because I thought they would be too stiff and seem more like a training camp than a game. But a few months ago my friend suggested I try out the new America's Army 3 which was just being released. He said he had played America's Army 2 before and loved it.

I was a bit skeptical at first, since its from the Army, but I downloaded it through Steam, for free of course, and its been amazingly pleasing to me.

I would describe the game as sort of like a more tactical Counter-Strike and CoD mix. The emphasis is on team, squad based play. Using tactics: proper use of smoke grenades to confuse enemies and cover your movement; calculated use of a frag grenade before entering an enclosed area you suspect there is an enemy in; flash bangs before heading around a corner, etc.

In the game the sounds make for a pretty realistic fighting environment which immerses you into the game, more than most any other FPS multiplayer game I've played. The weapons seem to function at an agreeable level of accuracy based on how you fire, if you use burst fire or just spray etc.

Like I said, the emphasis is on Team Play and tactics. No running head first to the capture point, or the objective - that'll surely get you killed by a few stray bullets or a grenade being thrown in advance of an assault on that position. The idea is to play by using cover of the walls, corners, cars, stairs, etc around you. Sometimes setting up ambushes for the enemy, sometimes moving as a squad into an enemy occupied area after throwing a smoke grenade and having 2-3 other team mates help you secure the room as you enter. Its a really fun experience to be part of sometimes, and at the worst times you'll be cursing your own ambitious plunge forward without your team mates or you'll be upset over the fact that you didn't look around properly before rushing from one cover, then across the street to another you'd planned.

The bullets can be deadly in the game, as I think they should be. I played CoD4 with the option to make the bullets exceptionally potent, a few shots will kill, and that was very enjoyable to me. This game is the same way. Aside from the hit boxes being off now and then due to development issues, if you are scoped in and do a three round burst from an assault rifle into the chest of an enemy, he will fall down, at least critically wounded.

Also there is the option to have your team mates stabilize and even "patch" you up, reviving you with limited mobility and very reduced life - but enough to stand guard at an objective or to limp around a corner and get off the final kill that wins the match.

The game is pretty dynamic, changing with each match and each map sometimes drastically. Also each server and set of team mates you get changes the pace dramatically.

All in all, I'd definitely check out this free game, give it a shot. You can download it from Steam. Got nothing to lose really 'cept a few hours of downloading time. The release of the game and the following weeks were pretty terrible - they released it way too early - but since then the developers have continually released patches and kept the players up to date with work they're doing or have done to improve the game. It's still not perfect (like the occasional hit box issue mentioned above) but its good qualities far outweigh the slight annoyances now and then - probably mostly because it is free to download and free to play.

Give it a shot! Hope to see you in the streets!

 

is it free to play?

 

completely

 

Yeah, we know, it's been out for a couple of months already and while it was very buggy and the online multi-player was sketchy as first, it's been patched up really nicely. Yes, it's free, courtesy of the United States Army.

 

If I'm really good at it, will they want to recruit me for the armed forces?

 

LOL...no, but you could always enlist if you want.

 

They always want to recruit you... even if your not good at anything.

 

Very true. Someone has to do the crappy jobs in the Army.

 

Those one-liners could be used as slogans lollll. Who would have thought this thread would turn out like this!

 

Thats what im worried about, i dont have to enter my name or address if i play this game?

 

glitchy game, I got 100% on nade training and it says I failed

 

I used to play America's Army back in the day from '03-'04. Oh man was that fun. I wonder how much different it is now than it used to be? I could play it on a geforce 4mx IGP.

 

The graphics seem to be greatly improved over the older games. Nothing breath taking though.

 

I'm wondering about gameplay though. They were always adding bits and pieces and making it more complex back then. I wonder how far that has come along.

 

Yeah, there are still some glitches that the are working out (They still advise not to go through the training mode as they're having issues having the progress you make get updated with the authentication servers) but really if you just do the multiplayer is great.

Its absolutely free! And they don't ask for any information any more than some random game you bought off a shelf asks for. They make you register an online account where you need an email. I've never gotten a recruitment email or anything. And it feels more like a game than a training sim, so I doubt they're going to want you if you can play a video game well, lol.

 

This game is fun if you are semi-decent. If not it is boring as you will be dead fast and have to watch the round which can last pretty long. It is a nice game though and fun to play with friends as no one has to pay a cent.