The World of War and Gaming
“Blasting pixilated space ships can be mighty fun, as anyone who's ever played Galaga can tell you. The Air Force thinks it can put all that joystick time to good use, too -- by using games to help airmen prepare for real-life outer space combat” – so says an article on one website that specializes in reporting on military activity. While space war may be a new thing to combat and military training, army games have been used for years to train the military for real-life on-the-ground combat. First-person shoot-em up games have been used and have proved effective in helping soldiers familiarize themselves with combat territories, air offensives and use of weapons. In addition, they have also been used to train apprehensive soldiers take a gun and actually kill.
Army games however are not limited to just the military. They have seen their way into the mainstream video game market with countless titles like ‘Special Operations’, ‘Desert Storm’ and ‘Metal Gear Solid’ becoming best sellers. Controversy continues over whether army games are capable of desensitizing a normal person to violence. Some players say that they have been playing for years and do not feel anything. While it is true that some people rarely exhibit signs of violent behavior, some people, on the other hand, show increased violence when exposed to army games and the like.
Army games are also being considered as military recruitment tools and as gaming platforms to train basic army skills. Some of these games are manuals in themselves. For example a system called CROWS allows soldiers to manipulate a Humvee that has been mounted a variety of weaponry. This system is aimed at training soldiers to handle the sniper threat in Iraq and has already proved to be a popular game with the troops. The game has been praised for its optics, zoom and thermal capabilities. The game, now available under the title, Overmatch, allows players to operate the system exactly as it was intended to be used in real-life.
In recent years, the world of gaming and the world of war have gotten even closer since combat has become more of a matter of pushing the right buttons and seeing the action take place. In addition, games have become more realistic creating a virtual experience that is hard to forget. Army games will likely continue to be used in both training and recruitment and you can expect that mainstream gamers will see a share of the action as well.
“Blasting pixilated space ships can be mighty fun, as anyone who's ever played Galaga can tell you. The Air Force thinks it can put all that joystick time to good use, too -- by using games to help airmen prepare for real-life outer space combat” – so says an article on one website that specializes in reporting on military activity. While space war may be a new thing to combat and military training, army games have been used for years to train the military for real-life on-the-ground combat. First-person shoot-em up games have been used and have proved effective in helping soldiers familiarize themselves with combat territories, air offensives and use of weapons. In addition, they have also been used to train apprehensive soldiers take a gun and actually kill.
Army games however are not limited to just the military. They have seen their way into the mainstream video game market with countless titles like ‘Special Operations’, ‘Desert Storm’ and ‘Metal Gear Solid’ becoming best sellers. Controversy continues over whether army games are capable of desensitizing a normal person to violence. Some players say that they have been playing for years and do not feel anything. While it is true that some people rarely exhibit signs of violent behavior, some people, on the other hand, show increased violence when exposed to army games and the like.
Army games are also being considered as military recruitment tools and as gaming platforms to train basic army skills. Some of these games are manuals in themselves. For example a system called CROWS allows soldiers to manipulate a Humvee that has been mounted a variety of weaponry. This system is aimed at training soldiers to handle the sniper threat in Iraq and has already proved to be a popular game with the troops. The game has been praised for its optics, zoom and thermal capabilities. The game, now available under the title, Overmatch, allows players to operate the system exactly as it was intended to be used in real-life.
In recent years, the world of gaming and the world of war have gotten even closer since combat has become more of a matter of pushing the right buttons and seeing the action take place. In addition, games have become more realistic creating a virtual experience that is hard to forget. Army games will likely continue to be used in both training and recruitment and you can expect that mainstream gamers will see a share of the action as well.
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