A few hours with the Colonel

I'd never been to HMS Belfast before - I'd always wanted to go, for no reason in particular except that it's there - and a very big there at that. When Ubisoft invited me to their press event for Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, which would be on board the mighty warship, I thought I may as well kill two birds with one stone.

I was prepared for the enormity of the place, the bumbling 'crew' and the reams of tourists that blight my home town of London so. What I wasn't prepared for was the Colonel.

Yes the Colonel.

Colonel John Anstal, a retired US army vet of over 30 years, is doing the PR circuit for the games upcoming release. Gearbox (of Halo on the PC fame) have made him a full-time executive in charge of getting all the military stuff exactly right.

A couple of things about the Colonel first. He's very American, and very Colonely(?). He's in your face, loud, abrasive, over the top, enthusiastic, compelling and lovable all at the same time. He's exactly the kind of person you want on a press tour publicising your game, and exactly the kind of person to win over all the cynical game hacks that sat around the briefing table on board HMS Belfast on Wednesday afternoon.

Here's my interest - Ubi claim the game is the most authentic/realistic tactical action game ever. And it's all down to the good Colonel. He put the poor Gearbox dev team through basic military training so they could better express the reality of war to gamers. He advsied on tactics. 'Flank him!' he kept shouting as we bumbled our way through a playtest. He researched the event in WW2 that the game is based on - a period just after D-Day. He even chose the real-life soldiers the games central character is based on. Most impressive, and, in my opinion, necessary, the Colonel has the backing of vet's associations, thus minimalising accusations of trivialising the war.

And so, it seems, games are becoming a valid method for telling historical stories. Forget documentaries and historical textbooks, I'm comparing these games to films like Saving Private Ryan, which, although not telling a true story, are based on fact, and really give the viewer a sense of what it was like to be at war. This game, Colonel Anstal would have us believe, is the best game available to this end. It will be a very interesting feature, I think, that discusses games as storytelling mediums.

I questioned the Colonel on these subjects. His dialogue is full of slogans - 'brilliant software', 'excellent representation', 'this is why I believe . . .', but underneath all the fluff, he genuinely believes in the game, and has a passion for it. Nothing can give you the interactive experience a game can and thus nothing can give you the feeling of being at war as well as a game. With graphical power rapidly improving, military advisors being employed to make sure everything is as accurate as possible, you can learn a lot about humanity's brutal past from electronic entertainment.

Of course, Ubisoft's main concern is to make a fun game, and, from my playtest, that remains a sticking point. But the good Colonel seems to have done his part. Leaving a windswept HMS Belfast, I felt like I'd just had a history lesson, and it didn't bore me at all.

I'm a zombie and need sleep

Right, since I've managed to pull myself away for five mins, I may as well let you know how it's going -

I got WOW on Staturday night and it feels as if I haven't slept since. I wouldn't have bought the game if it wasn't for a mate of mine. I've never played an MMO before, and I think they can be quite intimidating to the uninitiated and solo players.

So, wanting to play with my mate, I did the same as he had, (he had been playing since the games release on Friday).

Night elf, priest, herbalism, alchemy, pvp Shadow Moon server.

That was Saturday night.

Now - Level 16 and more spells than you can shake a mystical staff at.

The game's amazing, utterly depressing and completely addictive. I'm not going to go into the functions of the game etc, but why this is the most addictive game I have ever played.

There seems to be a constant competitive streak among many players, in that they do not want to be left behind. I've seen players in the level 30s, which blows my mind - they must not have slept one hour, or have jobs, or have girlfriends, or need to eat or drink.

In other words, I play all the time so I can keep up with my friend, and all his other friends, so we can quest together and generally be on a level playing field.

It's a curious, and utterly new feeling for me in a game.

Then of course, there are more traditional gaming thrills to be had, like the moment you learn a new spell, and kill a beast three levels higher than you with it for the first time.

Or when the sun is coming up over the horizon in real time, just as the sun is coming up outside my window, during a gaming taht has seen the last seven hours lost in an eyes blink.

Then, there is the pleasure only an MMO can give - like running into Horde territory with two mates and taunting other players into a duel, only for them to sound the alarm and draw a huge mob that runs you out of town.

Savage.

Utterlly compelling, sad and wondrous. Fuck the server problems - wipe the next year off my life.