It almost seems hard to believe that first-person shooters started off as arcade-style games that you played from a first-person perspective using a variety of guns to blast everything in sight. This is especially true in light of the successful launch of NovaLogic's Joint Operations earlier this year--a team-based, online multiplayer shooter that features real-world weapons, drivable vehicles, and the very impressive option to host as many as a whopping 150 players simultaneously in a single game. And the developer is getting ready to jump right back into the fray with a new expansion pack later this year. Joint Operations: Escalation will add new vehicles, new maps, new gameplay options, and even improved graphics. We recently had a chance to try out an early version of the game, and we have much to report.
The upcoming expansion will continue to focus on near-future conflict in Southeast Asia. However, where Joint Operations might have included a few skirmishes in the region, the expansion, as its name suggests, will feature escalation into all-out war. This is most clearly reflected in the new vehicles and weapons, like the 7.62mm caliber G3 assault rifle--a more heavy-duty assault weapon, and the devastating Javelin antitank rocket launcher, which can put down most ground vehicles in a single shot.
Read More
