America’s Army 2.1 was released late yesterday and was made official this morning. I had a chance to try it out briefly last night and noticed a few striking things.

• Stryker vehicles. They have put the Stryker vehicle in the game with the .50-caliber automatic rifle on top. The entry of the vehicle into the game adds a whole method of playing.
• Karma Physics. The new feature that the developers of the game are calling “Karma Physics” basically effects the way players’ bodies react to injury. Shoot someone at the top of the stairs, he’ll roll down them. The velocity and the size of the shell also effect reaction.
• New firing rates and muzzle velocities. Playing last night the first thing I noticed was the change in firing rates on guns like the M4 and the AK47. The guns now fire faster as the trigger is held (as they would in real life). They also fire a lot harder (the bullets travel faster).

These were some of the more prominent features that I noticed although I did not have the time to spend doing a complete investigation.

So if you want a free game that has great gameplay and awesome features, America’s Army is the way to go.