FACT: Your children's toys are training them...

[Shibboleet The Annihilator]

...to use tomorrow's weapons.

[hunter s.durden]

Barbie teaches little girls to use sex as a weapon to obtain Corvettes.

[East Coast Hustle]

what does spongebob squarepants teach?

[Cain]

That gay people should attempt to live under the sea (ie drown themselves).

Anyway, given the realism of FPS games, I can totally believe that.

[P3nT4gR4m]

http://www.americasarmy.com/

[Cain]

Is it any good?  If I have the space, I may download it.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Never tried it I seriously can't be arsed with realistic weapons shooters. Pace is waaaay too slow for my taste.

Campershite can lick my balls!

[Jasper]

I've begun to dislike newer fighting games.

They tend to simplify things way too much, and can't possibly do enough to make it like real combat without going full immersion VR.

[Cain]

All true combat games are bullshit because of simplification.  I have no guarantee when I am in (x) reach of my enemy and I do techniques (y) and (z) that anything will happen.  Dim Mak tried to take that approach with martial arts and its probably laughed at as the biggest fraud out there.

When was the last game that allowed for weapons to jam or break?  Or for you convoy to be bombed by your own side due to a stupid mistake?  That factored in moral and fatigue and the physical effects of having your positioned shelled?  How many games will make it impossible for you to use your arm if it is shot?  Or blur your vision due to blood and sweat?

Of course, all this is irrelevant, because its not physical training that goes into this.  Its mental, mainly pseudospeciation.  If you get used to killing the "designated enemy" without a thought as to why, you're going to be a better soldier, once your combat training is completed.

[Jasper]

Agreed, and with all that said, I've recently been enjoying the Linux game "Konquest".

You conquer the "galaxy" planet by planet with a simple fleet system.

[LHX]

America Army was developed by the US Army

it is the most real-to-life game currently available on any platform anywhere



apparently

[Lies]

Yeah, one of my best friends from highschool played "America's propaganda machine" and decided he wanted to join the army. 6 months later he commited suicide.

I can't help but feel that if it weren't for that stupid game he'd be alive today.

[P3nT4gR4m]

When was the last game that allowed for weapons to jam or break? 

I've played a couple and, whilst it's good for lulz it kinda screws with the flow of play

Or for you convoy to be bombed by your own side due to a stupid mistake? 

Most multiplayer games have a serverside friendly fire option. If it's on then your own team mates can indeed blow the piss out of you by accident. It kinda ballses up things like railgun assists (where you're team mates can give you a speed boost by shooting you in the back) and on pub servers it means accidents between allied strangers can result in funny but kinda counter productive infighting.

That factored in moral and fatigue and the physical effects of having your positioned shelled?

morale issues occur in team games. I've seen clans crumble under pressure, sometimes just because of the rep of the opponents. Being surrounded or under heavy fire is a 'pressure' situation, not a matter of life and death but you know how it feels when you're about to lose a fiver at pool if you don't pot the black.

How many games will make it impossible for you to use your arm if it is shot?  Or blur your vision due to
blood and sweat?

Some shooters factor in wound effects, including loss of mobility, fatigue and blurred vision. Campershite Source has a rather natty concussion grenade effect, complete with timitus (which is really convincing with a decent set of headphones) Most of these are gimmicky and, once more all it really does is fucks with the flow of deathmatch. I don't wanna be disabled - I wanna be killed and respawn, right now. Back in the fight and ready to claim the point back.

Of course, all this is irrelevant, because its not physical training that goes into this.  Its mental, mainly pseudospeciation.  If you get used to killing the "designated enemy" without a thought as to why, you're going to be a better soldier, once your combat training is completed.

There's also a strong tactical element, again much more pronounced in multiplayer, thinking creatively, on your feet. Reacting to a fluid battle simulation. Securing areas, suppress and flank, all that bollox. Lotta beginner fps players online don't see that - they think it's all down to who can twitch a headshot the quickest. That shit counts but not nearly as much as locking down the armour and powerups.

But it aint war - it's a game. Realism scenarios are not realistic enough for me to bother with because the trade off is speed, fluidity and adrenaline rush. Yeah, that's right, there's enough sensory stimulation to fool your body into upping the pulse rate. The more frenetic the pace the better the buzz. I've played league team matches in quake 3 and ut2k3 & 4 where the combined headcount was in the hundreds shared between a dozen guys all dying and killing over and over again - that's a fun game to play. I've come out of matches actually sweating when the final score was tied and it goes into sudden death. Gimme one life  to last the same 20mins and the whole thing becomes slow and painstakingly careful. Realistic? Slightly more so. Game? Boring.

Essentially tho I agree with your last point - US Army want to teach kids that the guy with the turban on his head is a target, not a person. Personally I could just as well be playing tennis all I'm doing is enjoying myself practicing hand eye coordination, reaction time and strategic thinking.

[hunter s.durden]

Gears of War was a pretty cool game.

If you want realism though, see your local recruiter.

[P3nT4gR4m]

egg zactly!