Six Days in Fallujah is a Realistic FPS Releasing Later This Year

Six Days in Fallujah is an upcoming tactical FPS developed by Highwire Games. This game actually retells actual true stories from real Marines during their stay in the Middle East starting in 1968. The game will be narrated by the actual people who were there, giving this game a sense of gravitas that never was established in a military FPS before. What sets this game apart from other titles like Call of Duty and Battlefield is the new “Procedural Architecture System.” This is a new rouge-like program that changes the interior of buildings with every playthrough. All of the rooms, including enemies hiding in certain locations, will be randomized. Therefore, simply memorizing the layout of an area will no longer be a factor. Players will need to carefully retread through the different missions as if they’re doing it for the very first time. For some added depth, players will also be able to give commands to their squad, giving a new sense of responsibility and strategy to the game.

Orders will be executed through the push of a button. Simply tapping a button will command the squad to give suppressive fire, while other commands can let them redirect their attack, among others. There is more to this new title than what was initially shown in its early footage. Given the fact that Six Days in Fallujah is based on true incidents, players will certainly see this game from a different perspective. It has been in development for some time and currently, this new title is planned to have both a campaign and multiplayer component. The story is supposed to be about the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines being forced to spend six full days in Fallujah during November of 2004. Konami was originally going to publish this game but canceled it due to the controversial nature of its content. It looked like this game wasn’t going to see the light of day, until Highwire Games picked up this project, aiming for a release later this year.

Brothers at Arms

Six Days in Fallujah will mark as the first game of its kind that focuses on the Iraq war. The idea behind this title actually came from a Marine, Eddie Garcia, that was at Fallujah, who wanted to share his experiences through the video game medium. Considering that be people behind this project at actual veterans, they are attempting to craft the most realistic tactical military shooter ever made. There have been quite a few FPS and even TPS military shooters released over the years, however very few managed to capture the sense of stress, dread, and desperation that actual soldiers needed to endure. This game will be using the likenesses and real names of the Marines who battled in Fallujah, basically giving gamers a first-hand experience of what they went through. Even though there have been a number of movies that centered on the Iraq war, it’s just a fleeting, linear experience. With video games, players actually interact in this environment, being forced to make decisions themselves. Which is a whole new feeling.

In a strange way, Six Days in Fallujah will play more like a “survival-horror” game. Carefully treading through the buildings and streets in Fallujah and not knowing what’s behind the corner can make a very immersive experience. Perhaps, there will also be a limited inventory to manage, forcing players to make tactical decisions on the fly with the little tools that they have. There will be moments of bombastic chaos, followed by tranquility which will allow gamers to gather their thoughts. It’s also worth pointing out that this game will also have a new “environmental destruction” mechanic. The most notable would be with the Frostbite engine which the Battlefield games are known for. According to the developers, this new mechanic is going to surpass that. This new engine is for strictly tactical reasons, as opposed to something that just “looks cool.” Blowing holes through walls with C4 for an improvised entrance, and perhaps even raining down debris on top of insurgents could be a possibilty.

Remember November

It has been noted that Six Days in Fallujah will come with two different campaigns. One side of the story will put players in the boots with a squad of Marines as they try to survive the hostiles in Fallujah. The other side will center on an Iraqi family trying to escape the city while avoiding dangerous situations. Even though video games are an entertainment outlet that needs to make a profit to ‘break even’ with their development cycle, Fallujah is a little different. A large portion of this game’s proceeds will go to charity and toward the families of all the soldiers who were interviewed for this project. The actual soldiers that experienced this situation feel that this is an important story to tell. Hence, the best way to tell it is through the interactive medium, which is actually more profitable than movies and television these days.

In any case, Six Days in Fallujah had a rather turbulent development cycle, with the talent behind the project coming and going. Things seem to be finally coming together and it is interesting that Highwire Games will be implementing new engines into this project to make it truly stand on its own. There is obviously a lot of care and time being put into this story and hopefully, gamers are taking notice of it. This will be a very intimate story, about the psychological effects of war and the brotherhood within the battalion of Marines players will be joining. There is no doubt that the developers have interesting ideas with this game, that maybe will be utilized with future military games this generation.

A Long Way

Despite the long production, Six Days in Fallujah has endured, there is still a spirit to deliver this game to this world behind the developers. There are some rather nifty new engines being put in place in this title that might set the new benchmark for future military shooters. Additionally, giving that the proceeds for this game will be going to a good cause is a nice sentiment. Six Days in Fallujah is scheduled to be released at the end of this year for the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Perhaps, it will be released this November to mark its anniversary, of course, that’s just a mere guess.