Just in case the draft is reinstated. NAME and DOWNLOAD LINK: America's Army: Operations DESCRIPTION: Big budget military training and operations "game." SIZE: 281.5MB, self-executing. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: Win98/ME/2000/XP, 766MHz Pentium III, 128MB RAM, DirectX 8.1, 32MB 3D Graphics card supporting hardware transformation and lighting, 600MB disk space, compatible sound card, 56Kbps+ modem. COMMENT: In an effort to recruit more bodies for a volunteer Army, the government has gone all out to develop what may be the most sophisticated, detailed, free download ever. This multiplayer, first-person shooter challenges you right from the gung-ho. Don't think for a moment you're going to jump right into a shoot-'em-up. Basic training is mandatory, a record of which is maintained on an online server. You get to do squat until qualified. More advanced positions, such as sniper or airborne, require additional training. As the engagements are squad-based, there's a certain degree of pressure not to screw up when confronting the enemy. So be prepared to spend hours drilling. For example, you may want to memorize the nearly 30 keyboard strokes used in combat. While you don't suffer the physical indignities of the real thing, you are soundly criticized by drill instructors for errors and moving too slowly. Since the Army takes some 30 pages to explain this "game" there's no way we can do justice to it in a few paragraphs. A sample: Walking is the slowest method of movement, but is quieter than the other forms of movement. Running is the default speed at which you move about the world. You can toggle between walking and running by pressing the Shift Key, and your movement icon will display your current speed in the bottom right corner of the screen. Sprinting is the fastest method of movement available in Operations, and you can toggle to sprint mode by double tapping and holding your forward movement key. Note that while you are sprinting, your weapon accuracy is extremely limited, and you would be more prone to an accident. To prevent this from happening, your weapon is automatically lowered when you enter sprint mode, and will remain temporarily unavailable to you until you return to a running or walking state. Your overall speed of movement will also be affected by the encumbrance of the weapons and inventory you are carrying, as well as the extent of any current injuries. We can warn you, however, the system requirements are not flexible. We had to download a new driver for our high-powered video card and the most current DirectX file before even starting the program. In addition, your patience is tried right off the bat by having to download 11 separate files, though some sites allow you to burn directly to a CD. Since it's DOS-based, the action is fast and furious, filling your entire screen with somewhat less than realistic military personnel. But the weapons look great, spewing forth Hollywood-quality flames and sounds. The home page posts patches and upgrades as developed, along with a chat room, forum, and news from those who've recently been in harm's way. RATING: Even conscientious objectors may find this irresistible.