Joint Task Force (video game)

Joint Task Force
Developer(s)	Most Wanted Entertainment
Publisher(s)	HD Publishing Sierra Entertainment,
Designer(s)	Attila "Maci" Bánki-Horváth
Version	1.2
Platform(s)	Windows
Release date(s)	September 12, 2006
Genre(s)	Real-time tactics
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer & co-op
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen
Media/distribution	CD-ROM Steam

Joint Task Force is a PC real-time tactics game where players command military forces in combat situations based on modern day conflicts.

The game includes officially licensed vehicles and weapons systems from major defense contractors including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Sikorsky.

Joint Task Force was developed by Most Wanted Entertainment and was co-published by HD Publishing and Sierra Entertainment in September 2006.

Setting

Joint Task Force is set in 2008. In the single-player campaign, players follow the JTF first battalion and its commander, Major Matthew O’Connell, in a fight for order and stability in missions based on actual combat situations. The single player campaign consists of 5 scenarios set in Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Colombia and Iraq.

Plot

The story begins in war-wracked Somalia, where the most powerful warlord in the country, Akil Farrah, has managed to overthrow the ruling government and proclaims himself President. He establishes a dictatorship, targeting ethnic minorities. The game itself opens in a destroyed town, where Farrah's troops are shooting at fleeing civilians. Farrah arrives on top a tank to watch one of his men execute a captured man, possibly a prisoner. Unbeknonwst to them, the act is videotaped by a reporter in hiding, and the tape is shown to Major O'Connell during a briefing. His superior, General Cleveland, informs him that he and the JTF First Battalion will be sent to Somalia to remove Farrah's regime, and grants him the jurisdiction to do whatever it takes to succeed. Cleveland reminds him that this is the first JTF operation, and that no mistakes are allowed. During the scene Cleveland informs O'Connell that he is aware of 'certain missions' he had accomplished there before. Later, while O'Connell is being flown in towards his first mission, a monologue reveals that O'Connell had previously fought for Farrah as part of a black ops operation supported by the government, aimed at reinstating the Resources for Aid program. O'Connell is remorseful of what he did there, and is determined to make up for it by removing Farrah's brutal regime.

In the first mission in the game, O'Connell successfully secures a cargo ship suspected to be used as an arms transport at Port Mogadishu. However, he discovers that whatever cargo the ship had been holding had been removed, and only finds a laptop and documents. During later missions in Somalia Cleveland informs O'Connell that Intel was able to find little information from the laptop, save email exchange over a 'Product 7' being shipped out. During a mission, the JTF captures a convoy which had been transporting the materials brought in by the cargo ship during the first mission. O'Connell informs Cleveland that the convoy was carrying HXE explosives, a state of the art explosive more powerful than C4. Unfortunately, not all of the cargo were present in the convoy.

During another mission in Mogadishu itself, the JTF is able to capture Farrah's arms minister Mahmoud Abbas, who later reveals the location of Farrah himself. At the same mission, one of O'Connell's troops is shot dead when attempting to evacuate a reporter who refuses to leave. Cleveland informs O'Connell that the reporter in question is Pepper Morgan, a world renowned war-reporter. The JTF is able to infiltrate Farrah's position close to the Kenyan border, but halfway through the mission Cleveland informs O'Connell that instead of capturing Farrah as originally planned, he is now ordered to kill Farrah. An upset O'Connell protests, saying that 'I joined the JTF to leave that kind of work behind', but is only rebuked by an angry Cleveland. The mission is a success, with Farrah killed when his tank is destroyed. Back at base, where the JTF troops are celebrating, O'Connell sits alone in a dark locker room, where he guiltily remembers having fought in a battle in Somalia way before with another man. Running low on ammo, O'Connell is ordered by the unknown man to booby-trap a prisoner with a grenade, before both of them flee.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Joint Task Force is focused around tactical decision making.

Instead of resource collection, players get money to spend per mission and per objective. Troopers and equipment are assigned at the beginning of each mission, and more may be ordered by helicopter and trooper transport. Heavily armoured vehicles such as the M1A2 Abrams tank and the M2A3 IFV are airdropped in by a Hercules transport plane onto a captured runway. Therefore if a player wants the upper hand in a mission, he must capture and control the runway for armoured support.

Troopers also gain experience and can be promoted to officer status. Officers have a skill tree that can be improved over time, similar to popular role-playing games. These officers will then give you a massive advantage on the battlefield depending on their speciality. For instance, a vehicle crewman gets a lot of experience from a mission, and is eligible for promotion, this now makes him an officer and is most combat effective when in a vehicle.

The singleplayer campaign can be played cooperatively with another player.

The game also features a 'Skirmish' mode where the player can choose one of three factions: JTF, Terrorists or Dictators.

System specifications

Minimum system specifications

• Windows 2000/XP Home or Professional/x64
• Intel Pentium 4 2 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 2000+
• NVIDIA GeForce 4 (non-MX) or ATI Radeon 9500, DirectX 9.0c compliant videocard with 128 MB RAM
• 512 MB RAM
• 3 GB of uncompressed hard drive space
• DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
• DirectX 9.0c (included)
• 4x CD/DVD-ROM drive
• Microsoft-compatible mouse and keyboard
• 56 kbit/s dial-up modem for online play; 10 Mbit/s for LAN play

Recommended system requirements

• Windows XP Home or Professional
• Intel Pentium 4 3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 3000+
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT video card with 256 MB RAM
• 1 GB RAM
• 24x CD/DVD-ROM drive
• Broadband connection for online play

Reviews

• Gamespot: 6.5 (Fair)
• GameSpy: 2.5/5
• IGN: 5.7

See also

• Sierra Entertainment
• List of strategy video games
• Real-time tactics
• Windows 2000 (Minimum suggested system requirement.)

External links

• Official Joint Task Force Website The official game website maintained by HD Publishing.
• Sierra Entertainment The official website of publisher Sierra Entertainment.