Can FPS games prepare you for the real thing?

Have you ever wondered if all those hours spent playing shooters like Call of Duty 4, Rainbow Six and Battlefield would give you an advantage in a real life situation over people who don’t play any games? Of course you have.

The guys from OXM magazine went on a day at a place called WarFighters, where you can get proper instructions and training from military beefcakes and then run through realistic scenarios as a squad using BB guns that are capable of firing through plywood (yikes!).

So then, how did it all pan out?

The article itself is mostly and fittingly written from a first person perspective and is both interesting and funny. Just to give you an idea, here is a small excerpt from the article:

“Finally, I feel my gaming experience kick into gear – Call of Duty says run up and kick it away! Counter-Strike says look elsewhere before it goes off! I have a number of options! I’m still thinking about these options as the flashbang explodes in my face.”

The article does ultimately show that the writer as more confident and better prepared for the scenarios thanks to his experiences with multiplayer gaming. Sure, you will never be prepared for the physical strain and the adrenaline thats pumping through your body like crazy, but I think that if anything, multiplayer shooters teach us how to communicate and work together.

Give the full article a read, it makes us gamers feel less useless, which is probably a good thing.

Source: OXM via N4G

Last Updated: July 21, 2008