America's Army invades your phone

While the world waits to see if George Bush's 'surge' strategy can turn the tide in Iraq, now's your chance to see how you'd fare in charge of the US army.

America's Army: Special Operations is the first official mobile game focussed on the US forces. It's based on a PC game that has racked up over eight million downloads since its release in 2002.

Gameloft's mobile version is centred on the fictional state of Corbalia, which has invaded a nearby country called 'Liberty', so needs to be handed its arse on a plate by the US army. I'm paraphrasing here, obviously.

You get to pilot an Apache combat helicopter, drive a Stryker tank, and run around as an infantry soldier as part of the battle. Oh, and you get to do some sniping too. The game has 11 levels in all, with missions including blowing up a radar station, rescuing engineers, and escorting a helicopter to safety.

Gameloft apparently studied real videos of the US army while making the game, which should make the operational cock-ups animation and tactics more realistic.

America's Army: Special Operations is out now, and not just in the US.