Chinese game takes aim at U.S. troops - Off Duty, Technology - Army Times

Chinese game takes aim at U.S. troops

Chinese soldiers have started playing their own version of the first-person shooter “America’s Army,” and guess who’s in the cross hairs? America’s Army.

Dubbed “Glorious Mission,” the new game casts U.S. troops as the bad guys in a training tool for the People’s Liberation Army. In game play shown on Chinese TV, real-life Chinese troops are seen playing the game, gunning down an Apache helicopter and laying waste to American troops.

The bloody shoot-’em-up looks to be on par with popular U.S. shooters such as “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” observers say.

“Glorious Mission” was developed by Giant Interactive Group, according to an account of the game’s release by People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.

Giant Interactive, which has produced some of China’s most popular multiplayer online role-playing games — from fantasy epics to virtual pet-raising titles — is represented in the U.S. by investor relations firm Taylor Rafferty. A company spokesperson was unaware of Giant’s latest title, however, and was unable to comment.

“Glorious Mission” was under development for two years, according to the Chinese Army. In the game, a soldier’s personal story provides the backdrop to a large-scale actual troop confrontation drill code-named Glorious Mission, according to PLA Daily. The game is broken into three parts, “including basic training, individual soldier’s task and squad-team confrontation.”

Up to 32 soldiers can log on and play together.

While it’s unlikely there will be a U.S. release, American troops shouldn’t be surprised if they see copies overseas: Chinese officials say they may lease rights to the game to other countries.