Special Force (2004 video game)
Special Force (named Soldier Front in North America) is an online free-to-play first-person shooter developed by the South Korean game developer Dragonfly. Dragonfly continues to expand the game around the world and plans to expand into the Middle Eastern, Indian, and Russian markets. The Indonesian version of the game was discontinued in March 2012. "Soldier Front" is currently being published by Aeria Games for North American users. In October 2009, a European server was added to this version of the game. The North American version of the game has been transferred over  to Aeria Games due to the acquisition of ijji by Aeria Games. In January 2016, Aeria Games announced that "Soldier Front" would be shut down on January 29, 2016. Gameplay. "Special Force" provides several game modes including team battle (bomb planting, escaping, object stealing, etc.), single battle, team death match, horror mode, and more. Most modes consist of a red team and a blue team, with the exceptions of single battle, training, and horror mode. The game allows for a maximum of 16 users to be in the same room playing together. Players have the ability to purchase from a  range of character forces including French GIGN, German GSG 9, Malaysian PASKAL, Republic of Korea Marine Corps, US Army Delta Force, Russian Spetsnaz, and more. Players are also able to rent equipment for speed and armor. A wide range of weapons is available including rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, handguns, shotguns, melee, and grenades. Weapons have durability and must be repaired often. Weapons are not mod-able like other first-person shooters, but once they are purchased, they are permanent and stay in inventory until they are resold by the player. Players rank up after receiving enough experience points, gained  after each match, with bonus rewards at certain ranks. Graphics update. On July 14, 2009, "Dragonfly" provided a patch to the Korean version which had a completely redesigned UI and reorganized game items for the celebration of the game's 5th anniversary. Along with this, many of the older weapons graphics looked outdated and were updated to a new and sleeker look to compete with newer games. This patch was applied to all other versions of the game in the following months. Game Modes. "Special Force" currently has 11 modes available in the North American version of the game. In  Single Battle, "Team Battle", and "Clan Battle", there is the option to allow sniper rifles only, but the host must have a premium item to do so. Sequel. The second iteration of the game, "Special Force II", uses Unreal Engine 3 and is currently available in Canada, USA, China, Europe, South Korea, and as of June 2012, Japan. Aeria Games announced in March 2013 that Special Force 2 would be released in the North American market as Soldier Front 2, in August 2015 Aeria Games closed the North American version of the game, in October 2016 the publishing rights for  the North American version of the game were handed to Gameforge and the game was re-released in North America under the same name as other regions. The European and North American versions of the game were owned by Gameforge until August 20, 2018, when the North American and European versions of the game were closed. Professional leagues. S.K.I.L.L. – "Special Force 2" is a professional league run by Electronic Sports League in Western Europe that began in 2013. The "Special Force II" Pro League in Taiwan that is run by Taiwan eSports League and broadcast on Fox Sports 3. The  inaugural season kicked off on October 2, 2015.