MARSOC: US Marine Corps Special Ops

Man down! Man down!

PLANNED RELEASE 2010 / FORMAT PS3 / DEV ZOMBIE STUDIOS 08

An ambitious third-person tactical shooter from Zombie Studios, this was inspired by popular titles such as Gears Of War and Call Of Duty, and based on the MARSOC, a unit of the US Special Operations Command. The storyline would set you within the lawless port of Massawa, Eritrea, where you’d take control of a four-man MARSOC detachment team to hunt down a dangerous warlord named Limbano.

Each team member would have a specific role, including machine gunner, rifleman, radio operator, and sniper, all with differing skill sets useful in certain situations. You’d be able to swap between characters at any point (which Zombie often referred to as “man jumping”); when you weren’t in the driving seat they would be controlled by AI. As well as the main mission, there were plans for multiplayer modes including basic deathmatch, capture the flag, and assault modes, and there were plans to make it possible to play the entire campaign with friends online.

After producing a ‘vertical slice’ prototype showcasing four to five minutes of action and key engine features, Zombie began pitching to several publishers. Sega UK signed up and funded development for a further six months, until having a rather dramatic change of heart. Feeling the project was too ambitious, Sega could not agree internally on continuing funding for the game.

With no other publisher subsequently willing to take on the shooter, Zombie decided to move onto other developments, with parts of MARSOC repurposed into titles such as Special Forces: Team X and Blacklight: Tango Down.