The 'Nam: Vietnam Combat Operations

The Nam: Vietnam Combat Operations is a freely-downloadable real time strategy game about the Vietnam War released in 2020.^[1] It is a Vietnam War RTS that recreates company-sized combat operations covering Vietnam's various conflicts with America, Cambodia and China.

Game cover for The Nam: Vietnam Combat Operations

Development

The game was developed over the course of 20 years,^[2] by amateur developer Tiger Yan using the Command and Conquer engine, and completed during the COVID-19 lockdown.^[3]

Originally covering just the American War from 1965 to 1975, its twin expansion packs, The Nam: Wider War and The Nam: Tour of Duty,^[4] were released in 2021 to add new units, music and maps while expanding the game to include operations in Laos, Cambodia, the air war over North Vietnam and the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979.

Gameplay

 

A heavily-laden US Marine convoy rumbles down a dirt road in I Corps, South Vietnam. Most of the game's battles take place in this region, where US Marines clashed with some of the most battle-hardened regular units of North Vietnam.

Players can play as either a US Marine Lieutenant Colonel commanding a full battalion, or a North Vietnamese Colonel commanding a full regiment. The US Marines can draw support from additional service branches like the Army for Special Forces (SF) troops, the Air Force and Navy for land and carrier-based air support, the Navy and Coast Guard for riverine warfare ships, South Vietnam’s Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and even various tribes as mercenaries.

The expansion packs give Vietnamese Communist players access to more units, including the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the Pathet Lao in Laos and even China’s People’s Liberation Army, who briefly invaded Vietnam in 1979. These subfactions can only be accessed either by Americans or Vietnamese upon capturing special buildings.

 

Promotional graphic featuring an M48A3 tank, heavily-used by US Marines during the Vietnam conflict.

The game has various units including Marine riflemen, Vietcong guerrillas, villagers, and animals, realistically representing combat in the Vietnam theater.

References

1. Lai, Adrian (2020-10-09). "Pinoy Finally Completes Vietnam War Game After 17 Years. And It's Getting Good Reviews". IGN Southeast Asia. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
2. "Pinoy finishes video game about Vietnam War after 17 years". l!fe • The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
3. Rodriguez, Mia (October 16, 2020). "After 17 Years, Pinoy Game Developer Completes Videogame During the Quarantine". spot.ph. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
4. Bashir, Dale (2021-09-02). "Pinoy RTS 'The Nam: Vietnam Combat Operations' Celebrates Anniversary With New DLC". IGN Southeast Asia. Retrieved 2022-06-13.