Ground Branch - BlackFoot Studios


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After Ubisoft ruined it's original Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon games some years ago there is now some hope for fans of Realistic Tactical Shooters. This is a game from BlackFoot Studios, founded by former Red Storm Entertainment employee, and what i've read old RS and GR players shouldn't be disappointed.

Ground Branch Synopsis

Ground Branch is the premiere title from Blackfoot Studios. The term Ground Branch is a little known Military and Intelligence reference phrase for the paramilitary wing of the CIA. Ground Branch is composed of a Command that oversees operational teams which conduct military and intelligence actions in support of the goals specified by the National Command Authority.

These teams are not constrained by the law of land warfare that applies to military units. They operate under the radar and outside public knowledge, often conducting operations in conjunction with Special Operations Forces. Their members are drawn from the best former SOF operators from around the world including US Army Special Forces, British SAS, Australian SAS, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, and GSG9 just to name a few.

Ground Branch often operates in an area where there is no official or allowed military presence and utilizes the most advanced weaponry, intelligence and support mechanisms.

The story in Ground Branch opens with the expanding Chinese oil companies backing a guerrilla leader in Sumatra. The goal is the over throw of the West Sumatran government in order to allow China easier access to the massive oil strata discovered to the west of the country in Sumatran waters. Loss of communication with an advance Intel gathering team along with Guerrilla seizure of oil platforms and a bold move toward the capital of West Sumatra result in the CIA deployment of a Ground Branch 6 man team to gather intelligence and assess the situation in preparation for possible US Military intervention.

The Ground Branch Team enters the fray and the player begins a whirlwind experience where the battlefield evolves and the morality of right and wrong become a matter of choice. The gamer will chase a warlord and an elusive truth across a country while employing advanced techniques such as covert underwater scuba operations and high altitude parachuting techniques known as HALO to surprise a vastly superior enemy.

The basis for the Ground Branch game experience is, like everything else in the title, realism. There are legions of FPS fans that are constantly saying, ?I wish there was a game where I could do such and such just like the real world. With Ground Branch, they will. All the while getting their hands "dirty" and experiencing the visceral consequences of hard decisions made during desperate situations.

Edited by Joni_78
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This has been in development for a long, long time - and will most likely be in development for a long time yet... however, when it comes out - it is going to be amazing :D

Been following this one for quite some time, definitely worth a look if you are into tactical realism.

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I was hooked on OGR, game that got me into online gaming, and disappointed by the GRAWs, have had high hopes for this for 2 years or so. Delighted to see some actual footage even if it is pre-alpha. Thanks for posting

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Yeah I've also followed this couple of years and have high hopes for this :). I was totally addicted to original GR it's whole lifespan and haven't really found any game to replace it yet so I haven't played anything for years. I also made two weapons (Sako TRG-42 and Sako RK-95) with 3dsm for one of the popular mods, thats how addicted I was with it :D.

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  • 5 years later...

Three things jump out at me regarding multiplayer:

  • No unlocks and killstreaks
  • Dedicated server options
  • Password protected servers

All good stuff in my mind. That way even if you have people getting the game and trying to turn it in to another CoD, running around like kids on a sugar rush, the rest of us can have a proper tactical game without interference.

I have no idea how to read their roadmap. Have they got any thoughts on when this'll be available to others? I note that you originally posted about this 5 years ago, and apparently the studio has been around since 2004...either a release will be imminent or they are really taking their time. :s

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No idea, steam early access should be this fall.

I would have lost my faith in this a long time ago, but knowing that John Sonedecker was a level designer on Red Storm and made great maps on original Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon.has kept my hopes up.

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It does look interesting.  I REALLY miss playing GR with my clan.  Less and less people playing so most of them dropped it.

Me too, there was something special with OGR playing with clan. I've tried alot of "tactical" shooters over the years, but nothing lasted more than a day, dunno if I got old or if those games were really that bad. What clan were you in?

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