Marine Flashpoint
US Marine Corp training with modified Operation Flashpoint
The US Marine Corp will be using a modified version of Operation Flashpoint for training exercises, according to the game's publisher Codemasters. Created by American contractor Coalescent Technologies in association with the game's developers Bohemia, Virtual BattleField Systems (or VBS1 to its friends) adds modern weapons, vehicles and uniforms to the chart topping Cold War combat sim. Flashpoint was apparently picked out thanks to its squad control system, flexible scenario editor and the ability to include land, sea and air vehicles alongside infantry in a vast outdoors setting. "The USMC and other branches of the Unites States Armed Forces are constantly investigating new and alternative tools to incorporate into the current training regimen", Coalescent program manager Michael Woodman is quoted as saying. "Our job is to research these tools and determine if they are, in fact, useful in training. In the case of the first-person military simulation games the research has shown that they are useful tools and Operation Flashpoint is the most valuable product we have found to date." The US military has a long history of using computer games as training tools, from the famous "Marine Doom" mod to a recent partnership between Sony and Battlezone developers Pandemic to design military simulators for training officer candidates. In this case though the game will remain limited to the US military, although some of the new units and features included in VBS1 may be patched into Operation Flashpoint in future. Related Feature - US Army funds Future Combat
