Six Major Wars Overlooked by the Shooter Genre

• by Patrick Shaw
• November 13, 2009 12:31 PM PST

We take a look at several wars and examine some of the reasons why we haven't seen more games based on them.

From Call of Duty to Medal of Honor (and countless other realistic military game franchises), it's no secret that World War II dominates shooters based on real life wars. In fact, WWII is just about the only war recreated in games, but why is that? Occasionally, someone will come along and put a new twist on the subject (Call of Duty: World at War), but fresh approaches are few and far between.

In this article we look at several major wars that have remained virtually untouched by developers and explore some of the potential challenges that can arise when attempting to turn conflicts like the Vietnam War and the First World War into video games. We also contacted several experts including Army Sergeant and decorated Iraq War hero Tommy Rieman, who worked as a military advisor on games such as the America's Army series, as well as the project leads for several war-themed games like Theatre of War and NecroVision for their thoughts on the matter.

• 6
• Revolutionary War

Empire: Total War (PC)

April 19, 1775 - September 3, 1783

Important battles: Battles of Lexington and Concord, Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Long Island, Siege of Yorktown

Games that tried it: Empire: Total War, Campaign 1776: The American Revolution
While no shooters have tackled The American Revolution, a number of tactical turn-based strategy games for PC have, such as Sega's Empire: Total War. The game received high-praise from critics for its riveting depictions of historical battles including many from the Revolutionary War. Unlike previous games in the Total War series, Empire allowed players to also engage in naval battles, which was a crucial part of the war.

Why it's a big challenge to make a game about the Revolutionary War:
Arguably the biggest reason we've yet to see a first-person shooter centered on the American Revolution boils down to the weapon technology available in the late 18th century. During the war to establish the American colonies' independence from Great Britain, soldiers primarily fought with cannons and flintlock muskets, which aren't conducive for delivering fast-paced action. But as Wojciech Pazdur, project lead on NecroVision (a game that takes a supernatural approach to World War I) points out, modern weaponry isn't essential to delivering a compelling shooter experience. "I have no doubts that games set in these times are worth pursuing. Look at the latest Call of Juarez. It proved that it's possible to have great gameplay when working with classic weaponry. Who cares how accurate their depictions of Gatling guns and other weapons are? It's fun in the game and that's really all that matters." Pazdur believes that the shooter genre has room to expand even further into other time periods and genres. "For example, we're now playing with the idea of a shooter placed in a medieval fantasy setting, and believe me -- everybody here thinks it has tremendous potential."

• 5
• The Civil War

The History Channel: Civil War

April 12, 1861 - April 9, 1865

Important battles: Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Chancellorsville, numerous others

Games that tried it: The History Channel: Civil War - A Nation Divided, Darkest of Days (alternate history depiction)
Though Cauldron HQ made a solid effort to bring the bloodiest war in history to the Xbox 360, PS2 and PC, The History Channel: Civil War suffered from bland gameplay and a lack of any form of multiplayer support. Darkest of Days, which allowed the player to travel to a variety of time periods (including the Civil War), received much harsher criticism, mostly for its severely broken A.I. and clunky controls.

Why it's a big challenge to make a game about The Civil War:
For some of the same reasons we've yet to see a first-person shooter that takes place during The Revolutionary War -- such as being limited to using weapons that take forever to load -- the Civil War has seen little in the way of well-executed action outside of strategy titles for the PC. Cauldron HQ's Civil War game, which bravely tackled the subject, wasn't a complete catastrophe. It had some interesting moments and they were the first to explore this new territory. It's possible that developers will learn from its missteps and eventually deliver a Civil War shooter that's closer to the caliber of Call of Duty or Battlefield.

• 4
• World War I

NecroVision

July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918

Important battles: Verdun, Battles of Marne, Battles of Ypres, Somme

Games that tried it: Red Baron series, Darkest of Days (alternate history depiction), NecroVision (alternate history depiction)
So far, no one (other than a now cancelled game from 2007 titled To End All Wars) has even attempted to realistically portray the First World War in an FPS. But there are some games that have featured WWI settings: the popular Red Baron flight simulation series for PC, and NecroVision, which wove horror and the supernatural into its alternate version of World War I, much like id's Wolfenstein series has done with WWII.

Why it's a big challenge to make a game about World War I:
"World War I is not covered often enough in entertainment. Masterpieces like Hemmingway's A Farewell to Arms and Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, two novels set during World War I, don't resonate with today's audiences as much as more 'thrilling' works based on World War II such as Saving Private Ryan," explains David Philippov, project lead on CDV's realtime strategy title, Theatre of War. "But going back to games, WWI itself was not action packed. For instance, there were no mass-produced automatic weapons and trench warfare does not give much opportunity for developers to present the events in interesting ways. In our World War I game, Theatre of War, we had few military vehicles and inactive gameplay. As a result, the game turned out to be not that great."

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