The New Video Game: The NATO faction

Hey all!

First off, happy holidays to everyone who reads the blog... I hope everyone has a lovely time celebrating family and eating like crazy!

Now... the blog has been super quiet recently, but a large part of that is because I (and a buddy of mine) have been hard at work on our new video game for the XBOX, Windows Phone, and eventually (fingers crossed) for the iPad.

It will be a tile based wargame in which you control one of three factions (NATO, the Dictator, or the Resistance) and try to take over the Middle East!

Anyway... the game is nearing completion, so I thought I'd take some time and show people a bit about it!

First up... a walkthrough of the NATO faction units!

First up is the lowly Police squad.  They are cheap, they have little equipment to choose from, and they die easy.  But when you cannot afford any of the regular (i.e. expensive!) NATO units, the Police can do a good job holding down territory and even hunting down enemy militias and insurgents when needed.

The Allied Infantry, troops from the home country, are very useful to the NATO faction.  They are cheaper than regular NATO troops (albeit not as effective) but still capable of bringing the fight to militias, insurgents, and a host of other enemy troops.  However, when you want troops that can REALLY roll, you have to go with...

... the NATO soldiers.  These guys are expensive, but they can go toe to toe with almost anyone, even enemy elites.  They have a wide range of gear to pick from (again, expensive, but worth it!) and excellent upgrades.  Plus, they can level up, and you can find yourself commanding The Big Red One or the Black Watch or any number of well known units

The NATO faction can also hire Marines.  The Marines are tough, aggressive troops, able to defeat any foe.  They are not ideal for taking and holding land, and require a large number of resources (including ever-precious oil) to maintain, but when it comes to a fight, they are almost unmatched.  Plus, they can level, and you can find yourself commanding the First of the First, various Commando groups, and even The Royal Gurkha Rifles!

NATO can also hire in Snipers.  Snipers are not great at handling damage (although Ghillie Suits and Claymore upgrades can help) but holy cow they can dish out PUNISHMENT.  Ideal for taking down militias, insurgents, and suicide bombers before they can attack up close.  Give them some big caliber rifles and they can even go after light enemy vehicles.  They also have the Infiltrate skill, which allows them to move past enemies in the same square, which is pretty rare in NATO units, who prefer a stand-up fight.

The cream of the crop when it comes to infantry for the NATO faction is the Special Operations guys.  They hit hard, they are hard to kill, AND they can infiltrate.  They can't wear the heaviest armor, but when it comes to killing enemies the SpecOps guys are the best of the best... and when they level, you can field the DEVGRU teams and SAS troops, among others.

NATO has two vehicle options as well (not counting drones and the helos for the Insertion Teams).  First is the Humvee.  It isn't a heavy duty vehicle, but it is still capable of wrecking enemy Technicals.  Now, it won't stand up to a BMP or, heaven forbid, a tank, but the Humvee is still the absolute workhorse of the NATO faction.

Finally we come to the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank.  The Abrams is a brute, capable of killing anything on the battlefield and capable of sweeping entire squares clear of enemies.  It costs an arm and a leg to maintain, but there is nothing capable of standing up to the Abrams.  Nothing, that is, except maybe a few units of Insurgents bristling with RPGs...

So those are the units in the NATO faction!  Next up I'll share a bit of their Upgrades, as well as the NATO Operations, including Drone Strikes and the ever-popular Helicopter Insertion!