Can shooters prepare you for the SAS?

An experienced gamer goes out with the SAS to see if his skills work in the real world - and they do! Don't tell Jack Thompson, now.

[pwnsause]

but you cant respawn in real life though

[silverchode]

dont tell siligon that or he wont join.

[toughNAME]

It's from Offical Xbox Magazine...how expected

[JsonHenry]

Other than hand eye coordination improvements I cant imagine what it is a video game would teach me to be a better soldier.

Although I am very keen to pick up movements, even slight movements compared to my mates. But I have a hard time finding things sitting still. My keys could be right in front of me and I will not see them when I am looking for them. But I can catch the movement of an earth worm in the grass... all thanks to FPS video games!

[Bloodwar]

wasn't he losing or maybe has aleady lost his bar licence by now? At least in Florida for being an EPIC FAILURE of a lawyer? This is good news for the militaries of the world. All children are easily trainable right out of high school to join the military.... maybe not even have to go to basic training. The kids walk into boot camp.. they give them their guns and boots and camo and then send them straight to jump school and start teaching them how to jump from airplanes... oh wait-- some video games have already taught the kids that as well.. ohh welll... I guess it is time to invade Iran. Sweet. hehe

Games like Battlefield:Modern Combat and Call of Duty 4 are teaching the Middle East to be suicide bombers so just be careful going in.

[matchgrade]

"Games like Battlefield:Modern Combat and Call of Duty 4 are teaching the Middle East to be suicide bombers so just be careful going in."

Not only is that woefully false, but that may be the most stereotypically racist comment i've seen on this site.

[iamtehpwn]

Hell, I would START wars if you could respawn.

[Domenikos]

3 secs respwn... yes maybe

[poopsack]

you beat me to it.

[GametimeUK]

I woonder what it feels like... probably feels nice... mmm respawngasm

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

Bubbless!

[bosels11]

well in the early nineties I was in marine corps fast company - urban war swat team like unit, and I can tell you that video games wont do sh!t for you in real life. I think its stupid to even suggest it. For one, geeky video game makers have no idea what its like to actually be there FOR REAL. I went to Panama in 89 w/SEALS and Desert Storm. I would have hated it if it was the same, because I have died many times in video games, and obviously not once in real life LOL. To say its even remotely close is flat out stupid!

[TwissT]

I think COD4 actually helps you with shooting because of how the sights are very close to their real life counterparts.

[socomnick]

Yes and no. Cod 4 does have some pretty realistic iron sights. It however does not teach you proper shooting technique and breathing practices. It also does not realistically show how it is to aim with iron sights . When aiming down the sights almost all of your surroundings are kinda blurred.

[Hagaf22]

EXACTLY SOCOM... fps games dont take in to account the difficulty of proper breathing techniques, or sight usages... video games are just games, not learning aids, though the military does have simulators and aides very similar to video games. theres alot more to shooting than holding the aim button and shooting in the area of the enemy.

[GametimeUK]

"theres alot more to shooting than holding the aim button and shooting in the area of the enemy."

Not when I have a gun there isnt

[matchgrade]

See you in Iraq then.

[jon1234]

no no no! its not the same! u think playing a game is the same to shooting in real life??! i bet u havent even shot a gun, its not the same, playing a video game isnt gonna teach u how to shoot a gun, let alone hit a target, this article is BS!

[Omegasyde]

Nope the only thing videogames do is help desensitize the horrible realty that combat is.

Unfortunately so does TV and Movies, as I have seen some other fellow Marines in Iraq do some stupid f***** up sh** and then not think twice about the possible consequences.

[bosels11]

it doesnt matter how realistic the sights are in a game - I spent 10 years in Marine Infantry and can tell you that COD4 doesnt even come close to shooting at something in real life. Like Socom said you concentrate on the sight and it makes surroundings blur, AND a rifle ways a lot more than a PS3 or 360 controller, plus your breathing and how steady your hands are too. Whoever disagrees, I am speaking from years of personal experience out of and in war.

[25]

i must be a master swordsman in real life. lol

[bosels11]

exactly - comparing games to real life situations is ludicrous.

[1stKnighT]

It may improve your instincts but that's pretty much it.

[matchgrade]

It improves anything BUT your instincts. FPS games train you on how to point and shoot. In the real military, point and shoot isn't enough. Staying alive is an instinct you need, and so is manuevering tactically through combat situations. Neither of those are learned through reflexed-based FPS gaming.

[Aclay]

Playing Video Games in general has been proven to improve hand-eye coordination and reaction time.

[GameDev]

I let my kid play FPS since the age of 4 and he had a crowd gathered round him at a carnival when he nailed all the targets to win the prize.

[Panthers]

No one is saying you will become a hardened soldier with these games, but it does give you some of the experience and shows many real world tactics used. I could see it helping. Get all of the soldiers playing games!

[Angelitos]

I think I got fast reaction time thanks to video games

[RecSpec]

One MAJOR thing is missing.

There was no real danger. I mean in a simulation you can say "We are humans, one bullet can kill us." but that doesn't change anything. When you are actually in that situation, and there is no safety net, things can change a lot.

[doshey]

my reaction times suck but thats only cuz of the pot i really dont see how this would help me i would most likely die cuz i dont hide in fps i just run like a manica throwing grenades and shooting hoping that my friends have my back haha

[Whoooop]

Well if the army supports "perks" then I'm all for it...

[matchgrade]

And the article puts it very nicely:

"Watching them makes me think how forgiving videogames are. When you're playing a game you can survive on nothing but a quick trigger-finger and a tactical retreat. It sounds obvious, but in real life we're human. We're bags of meat. We move slowly, and one bullet kills us. If you perform anything less than perfectly in a combat situation, approaching a corner from the wrong angle, doing it too slowly, or too fast, maybe holding your gun in the wrong hand, your life is over. If anything games distance you from this, rather than making you better at dealing with it."

Playing FPS games may improve your hand-eye coordination, but that has little to do with real combat effectiveness and survivability. Turn a corner wrong, and a prepared enemy can take you out of action before you can even see him to raise your rifle at him, rendering those precious videogame coordination skills useless. And I won't even mention the mental and physical conditioning and preparedness required for combat that you can't get from videogames. Anybody here ever wear full tactical gear (BDU's, plate carrier vest, etc)? It DOES weigh you down.

And sure, games like CoD4 do teach us what guns look like and what a flashbang does, but you can probably figure that stuff out on your own pretty fast during a real firefight :P

[ElementX]

Sure, because when I want to walk around, I use my left thumbstick and aim my rifles with the right thumbstick in real life.

BTW, when shooting a gun, you have to compensate for the weight of the rifle. Playing FPS games you don't have to do this.

I think FPS games could help in tactical situations, however as far as firing a real weapon, it doesn't help at all.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

Okay, how many of you think that thanks to videogames you can even unlock and ready a weapon, let's say an MP5, for a single shoot.

Most guys I played with in paintball still let their @sses out of cover. And many of my friends are gamers.

Even in the games, I just see people running through the fireline or making a fireline with buddies in the middle of it. That's plain dumb.

[Legion]

The point he was making was not that he is an expert now because he is a gamer. Just that it helped him in identifying areas that would be used by his opposition to thwart his progress.

A GOOD FPS gamer (which most of us really aren't, me included) know the proper ROE. Know where the likely target is going to be and know enough to shoot and react later.

He didn't say it made him an SAS pro or anything but it allowed him to use his gamer training to put the horror weeds of being shot out of his mind and place the scenario in a manageable situation for himself. And that is what helped him...

[matchgrade]

Don't even TRY to argue that playing FPS games prepares you for getting shot at in real life.

[n00bzRtehgey]

article makes no sense. it says he did good right handed but couldn't shoot for sh1t left handed. i don't get it.

[pow3r of t3h c3ll]

you are a simple minded xbot who knows nothing outside of shooting aliens.

[FPS nut]

Know what would make you a better soldier?..... the Army.

[apoc615]

In real fighting you get no extra men,your really DEAD.

[Jinxstar]

You know I spent 5 years in the Army... Real life warfare is nothing like a video game... Reaction time may be a little better but thats about where it stops. Breathing, Sight picture, Posture, Grip, Trigger squeeze and about 20 other things are involved in firing a weapon besides reaction time... That and how many gamers can disassemble a M16 or an M4? let alone a M249. hell I doubt many could hold one to their shoulder for more then a few minutes. Things are damn heavy especially with 200 rounds loaded on the bottom... Weapons in FPS's don't jam either(Exception Far Cry 2 apparently). What would a Gamer do if their weapon jammed. They would have no idea how to preform "SPORTS"... All in all this is a retarded article.

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

Yeah, I too was at a simulation thing. My rifle jammed and I didn't have a single clue what to do.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

Don't even need it jammed. Give the weapon locked to the noob and don't tell him a word. He'll aim and pull the trigger (the only thing you know as a gamer), when the noise don't come he'll just get desperate and do something dumb.

In Brazil we have an obligatory presentation to military services for males in the age of 18. There is a selection, after all most people is dispensate, but that depends on the demand, your physical conditions, the conditions you are installed in the city you are presenting (if you live there, this is the closest city with an HQ) and for last if you have dependents on you (if for exemple you live only with your mother and you have to work, any special case should be presented in this). If you don't present you'll have a series of problems trying to get other documents.

I was choosed, so I got my one year of basic training with the Army (later, if you want, you can directly expend your studies to Navy or Air Force, since the basic first year is the same to all forces, just happen that my city has an Army unity). This is not like some special army training, this is actually much more basic level, you just got some classes, a routine in the army arriving 5 a.m and go running to exercise (i hated this), some weekends guarding the base (don't sucked that much) and things like discipline, responsability and other of those lessons. Still, we have to learn how to use weapons.

We have to get real familiar with some weapons like the IMBEL M962 (licensed FN FAL copy), IMBEL MD (all the MD models were presented as a kind of history lesson since Brazil having been using FALs variants since 1962, the most used in our army is the MD-2, a 5.56x45mm ammo and M16/AR-15 magazine compaible version) and Taurus M975 (milatary version of the Taurus 92PT, a Beretta 92 licensed).

We also got presented to more mainstream weapons used in advanced forces inside the Army, like M4, AT4, PSG1, M82 and FN MAG.

I'm happy that, aside from PSG1 and PT92 (which I can run into in my carreer with the IBAMA - kind of ambiental police - or with Forensic Police - don't really have decided to which one direct my biology studies), I don't have to see any of those weapons anymore. Nobody told you that a 'little' FAL can weight 5 times more after 6 miles running. LOL

[KRUSSIDULL]

Hell yeah gonna try my CoD4 and Halo 3 skills at the the army now.

[Highwayman]

This isn't far fetched. The U.S. Army uses Brothers in Arms to help the teaching of flanking and tactics.

Though COD4 isn't a simulater. There are too many things unaccounted for such as recoil.

[Lumpyluf]

I thought that this was a great article. Heck, I would love to participate in something like that!

[Tyrael]

Coming from a firearms and tactical defense enthusiast, i would have to say that this is definitely true in some cases. Some FPS are starting to get pretty real

[Ricdog]

Incase the M16 or M4 carbine jammed, quick thing to try is to 1: pull the charging handle pack 2: visually inspect the chamber to make sure the round exited 3: let the charging handle slide back on its own 4: push the forard assist a few times.

For disasimbley of an M16 or M4, 1: unload rifle 2: make sure slide is forward 3: push the 2 pins near the mag and stock out 3: remove upper receiver from lower receiver 4: take out charging handle a little bet 5: then take out bolt carrier, then fully remove charging handle 6: remove firing pin retaining pin 7: remove firing pin 8: remove bolt retaining pin 9: remove bolt.

[skagrerrrr]

Well put, how then do you clear a "Stovepipe jam?"

[Sanhlami]

Next thing you know, hords of FPS nerds are joining the military.

We should wage war by casting a international online team deathmatch game. 12 million player team deathmatch on Call Of Duty 4 to settle our war problems. Wouldn't that be a paradise.

[DoctorXpro]

Yes but TEAM KILL should be off.

[JEDI WOLVERINE]

The SAS are the most elite fighting force on the planet (along with the SBS obviously).

Im not sure that quick reaction time is enough for getting in.....

You need guts,level headedness,brass balls,experience,willpower and the ability to assess a situation and all its possibilities in a flash - amongst other things.......

Accuracy and speed are secondary simply because with the SAS you know they are there when they want you to know.........

[Overr8ed]

why is this not in the overall gaming story section?

[why do droids cry]

when i go paintballing. cod4 comes to mind.

[media73]

Fu***** insulting topic, totally ridculas.

< ex 4 Para Pudsey

[tojfs7931]

Who approves this crap?

[macalatus]

As an Army veteran myself...the idea of basement dwellers doing well in actual combat just from playing FPS is...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH A HAHAHA!!

What's next? OXM having an article about a gamer who can beat Kobat Bryant after playing EA NBA games? Or how about Guitar Hero/Rock Band expert shredding some riffs better than Kirk Hammett?