It was May of 2003 in beautiful Los Angeles, California, only two years have passed since the horrifying terrorist attacks of 9/11. All the Gaming media, Celebrities, and Corporate Game Makers gathered for a convention know as E3 that was being held in the Los Angeles Convention Center. The sky was blue and sunny when suddenly a distant distraction came to everyone’s attention, the people could hear the echo of Black Hawk Helicopters soar through downtown LA, but that is what not had pedestrians worried having military helicopters fly through Southern California air was not an uncommon sight. Giving the strong Navy and Marine presence in LA’s southern neighbor city of San Diego which has one of the strongest military occupation in the United States. What had the locals and tourist alike worried was the fully-equipped Special Forces repel from the Army helicopters and into international gaming convention. The people wondered what was going on. Was there an impending terrorist attack, a sleeper cell, Anthrax, or some kind of other danger that required a full military operation? Keep in mind that this is also after President Bush declared victory in Operation Iraqi Freedom, had our enemy in the War on Terror found a new front in the heart of the global entertainment industry.

Most likely not!

The camera crews that would later follow the soldiers was a dead giveaway that this was for some kind of promo. The cameras would follow the Spec. Ops. follow the valiant warriors through the entire convention center, until they would eventually stop under a banner that sported a U.S. Army logo and the quote, “Empower Yourself, Defend Freedom!” What really threw people off was the classic Atari logo next to the banner.

The Army was not there on an operation that involved U.S. National Security however. They were ordered, by there Superior Commander, to invade the Electronic Entertainment Expo so they could promote the America’s Army. A game that stood apart from the other PC shooters at the time due to its realism involving Army tactics and injuries. Games such as Counter-Strike and Medal of Honor did not posses. These games were more of the run and gun type of shooters we, the gamers are used too. In fact America’s Army is so realistic some Army Officer Trainers use the program game as a practice of tactics and leadership to see how well an Officer could handle a situation when presented it. Of course the game is no comparison to being able to think tactfully under the pressure of fire. That only comes from experience in war, or so I am told. The game also does not teach you how too fire a weapon properly and does not account for kickback, proper aiming, or how to press the bolt release button on the left side of the gun, or how you can pull back and let go the charging handle before shooting, or how you must never rest the barrel or gun on a hard surface while shooting, because it can interfere with accuracy or when it kicks up and comes down it can do damage to the gun. Yea those are things a game can not teach anyone.

After awhile the game was made public for free download on the GoArmy.com website, where you would be able to download and play the famed Army program and see how well you handle Army tactics. In the first two months the game downloaded an impressive 2.5 million times, making America’s Army a short-term phenomenon.  Suddenly the America’s Army was not a training program anymore, it was a recruiting tool. The Army saw a significant increase in enlisted personal over the course of America’s Army fame. It became cool once again to be a soldier, and lets be honest it wasn’t for a long time, we have the 60’s to blame for that.

Gameplay of the Americas Army Game

Operation E3 Invasion was a success! The Army’s method of not using costumed characters, celebrity-geeks, or “boot babes”, but instead using trained U.S. Army Rangers was a dangerous move but a brilliant one. For you U.K. readers this is like seeing S.A.S landing on Stratford on Avon, just to give you an example on how big this would be if this happened on your turf.

What I have been really trying to get at is the theoretical connection between sudden outbursts of violence in society to Video Games. No one has summed my feelings up better when it comes to this matter than Adam Sessler, the host of G4’s X-play. Now that I am typing this out I won’t talk about it anymore than I already have. The famed X-play host does the argument enough justice when talking about it on Fox News, and Attack of the Show. So I leave you with the debate that made me a fan of the Sesslinator.

Till next time Hubers!