Developed by Atomic Motion, Raven Squad puts players in control of two groups of mercenary squads who crash land behind enemy lines in the Amazonian jungles. It will require tactical planning and a liberal amount of brute force to escape to safety. Each of the eight squad members possesses distinctive skills and weaponry that the player will have to use wisely to progress through the game's story driven objectives. Raven Squad sets itself apart by allowing players to switch freely between real-time strategy and first-person shooter gameplay. Only by mastering both of these modes of play, and becoming adept at switching between the two, will players make it out of the jungle alive.

Name: Martin Blackwell
Call Sign: Paladin
Expertise: Heavy Gunner
hometown: Creston, Iowa
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Traits: Gambler, reliable, bull-headed and arrogant.
Role: The main character of the single player campaign, Paladin is the one who usually commands both squads. However, he is known to heed the advice of Raider from time to time.

n a lot of ways Blackwell was born to be a gambler. During his early childhood, he studied a lot of games and by the time he was 21, had became somewhat of a star in Las Vegas. However, living the high life and rolling hard began to catch up with him. He began to lose - badly. He lost most of his fortune and in a final game of poker against a prominent godfather of the Las Vegas underground, he found himself in debt and running for his life. With his last remaining cash, he moved to England and joined the army; where he found his true calling.

Through basic training he worked his way up to squad leader and after a short tour managed to get into the SAS. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was a Master Sergeant in charge of an elite squad behind enemy lines. However his bull-headed nature led him to disobey a direct order, which put his squad in a dangerous situation. Blackwell ordered his men to evacuate civilians from the combat zone rather than destroy an enemy munitions dump. While saving the civilians, his squad got pinned down by Iraqi snipers and he lost one of his best men. With no sign of help in sight, pinned by snipers the squad had little hope. However, a nearby special operations team lead by Joshua Raider managed to pick off the snipers and save the squad.

Afterwards, both Blackwell and Raider were court-martialed for disobeying orders. They were stripped of their ranks and discharged from the army. Blackwell returned to the States and worked as a bodyguard in Los Angeles. He eventually met up with Raider again, and they became partners working in their own private security firm. After a few years the call of the battlefield was back on both men’s minds. Blackwell and Raider founded a mercenary group of two squads.

Blackwell is a tried and true gambler; he likes to take chances, and usually bets on everything he can. His gambling addiction, in addition to his somewhat arrogant style can be annoying to squad-mates sometimes but they cannot deny his leadership skills. Since the incident in Iraq he usually doesn’t care about anything other than the mission and won’t bother with civilians, or anyone else for that matter. In his mind, he’s afraid of losing another member of his squad. In reality, he is a reliable person who never lets his teammates down. He is tremendously stubborn and once he’s decided on something, it’s hard to make him change his mind.

Name: Eduardo Martinez
Call Sign: Oso
Expertise: Grenadier
hometown: Navarra, Spain
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Traits: Proud and impulsive.
Role: Grenadier, and all-around support role.

As the only son of a Spanish terrorist leader, Martinez was more comfortable with his fists before he could pick up a book or pencil. Most of his childhood was spent in training for “a greater purpose.” As he progressed, Martinez spent plenty of time around Mercenaries in his father’s camps. When he came of age, Martinez decided it was time for a change and moved to Columbia; delving deeper into the world of mercenaries. With some luck, Martinez ended up in a local mercenary group and discovered his true calling. He spent the next twelve years of his life fighting for the highest bidder.

At this point, Martinez had spent a majority of his life fighting in South America. He met Bowman by chance in Venezuela – as his adversary. The two battled against one another and Bowman was impressed by Martinez’s tenacity in battle and grenadier skills. At the conclusion of the conflict, Bowman asked Martinez to join his squad. Martinez accepted the invitation and as the last person to join the team, he is viewed as somewhat of the “new guy.” At the start of Raven Squad’s campaign, Oso is just a few days into his new job.

Martinez is an impulsive and proud man. He's an excellent fighter with many years of experience in the mercenary business. However, his proud demeanor sometimes comes to the surface and causes him to lose control of his temper – which rarely ends well.

Name: Ivan Sergeyevich Leonid
Call Sign: Thor
Expertise: Anti-Tank
hometown: New York, United States
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Traits: Impulsive and rash in decision-making.

Blackwell’s partner in crime, Thor is a warrior who all too often acts before he thinks. His expertise lands in the area of anti-tank, but he’ll gleefully destroy anything that moves with his rocket launcher. As a personal side-note, Thor loves making wise-ass comments in the heat of battle.

Leonid is the son of Soviet Union deserters who fled to the United States to escape the tragedies of the Cold War. Bronx-born with an attitude to match, Leonid gained a reputation as the “tough guy” in the neighborhood at an early age. His childhood and adolescent years are pockmarked with legal interludes and bar-brawls. Leonid has a nack for finding trouble, a trait that landed him in some hot water after a particularly nasty incident with the police. Soon after the “event,” Leonid enlisted with the US Marines and took it on the road.

Seeking an escape from a troubled life Leonid wanted to be free from the rules and regulations of everyday life. The Marines helped Leonid hone his skills and allowed him to broaden his horizons beyond simple hand-to-hand combat. However, he soon found he wasn't the obedient type the Marines were looking for. He was discharged after punching a superior officer in the face after a training mission. With nowhere to go, Leonid returned to New York. It didn't take too long for him to end up in the holding cell of a police station. However, it may have been fate that brought Leonid to that station.

As he sat behind bars, Leonid saw a gentleman by the name of Martin Blackwell, who was running errands for a security company. Blackwell, being a saavy recruiter himself, took a few minutes to chat with Leonid. After a quick discussion, Blackwell recognized the redeeming qualities Leonid had to offer, saw some potential and offered him a spot on his mercenary team. Leonid accepted the offer and Thor was on board.

Always quick tempered, Leonid rushes into the action - sometimes too soon. His impulsiveness often gets him into the trouble and he tends to need to be saved the most during conflicts.

Features:

• Set in the Amazon in the year 2011, players will experience lush jungle visuals, haunting ambient sounds, changes in the weather, and an enemy in their home element
• Featuring the best of both worlds, Raven Squad has core FPS and RTS gameplay combined, for a new type of experience
• A multiplayer co-operative campaign that allows players to take control of a squad and play through the entire game with a friend online
• Multiple solutions to every conflict - every battle can play out differently and be resolved in many different ways
• 8 characters with their own unique backgrounds, personalities, behaviors, weapons and skills
• Players can order their squads into vehicles and take the wheel in first-person mode

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