British Army launches game-based recruitment

By Mark Walton, GameSpot UKPosted Apr 6, 2009 6:49 am PT

"Start Thinking Soldier" campaign to target online games players; Army says two-thirds of 17- to 21-year-olds have no career path in mind.

Military forces around the world haven’t been slow to see video games as useful recruitment tools. Young people well versed in shooters are regarded as ‘ideal’ for piloting Apache helicopters, while the US Air Force took advantage of Halo 3 as a recruitment tool. The US Army launched America's Army, an online first-person shooter to encourage people to enlist, and most recently, the U.S. Army Experience Centre opened in Philadelphia, loaded with 19 Xbox 360s, interactive map screens, and simulated attacks from an Apache helicopter.

Now, the British government is set to use a similar tactic to help enlist the nation’s youth in the armed forces. A campaign titled "Start Thinking Solider" will include an online game where players have to escape enemy tunnels from a first-person perspective, find the parts to make a bomb in an enemy stronghold, and answer multiple-choice questions.

Research conducted for the British Army recently found that 68 percent of 17- to 21-year-olds had no career path in mind. The campaign, consisting of four television commercials, will be targeted at that group, each ad highlighting a particular area of Army expertise, including teamwork, decision making, leadership, and fitness and mental sharpness.

At the end of each ad, viewers will be asked the question "What would you do?" and are encouraged to head online to answer the question via the interactive game.

54 Comments

  • 8sardinr

    Posted Jun 22, 2009 2:43 am PT

    clover i dont know what military your in.. but ive never pealed a potato

  • Clovergirl227

    Posted Jun 10, 2009 11:37 am PT

    rht1992@

    You want a real military commercial? How about watching them peal potatoes for 3 hours.. It's rarer then you think to be engaged in violence in the military today.

  • faithless_8ball

    Posted May 7, 2009 5:37 am PT

    @Enigma_Ltd

    Many people join the army just to shoot the "Enemy", in the Israeli occupation army many young teenagers (russian immigrants) join just to shoot a gun.!
    I'm not talking about US or British, but I doubt that "only a very few people join up to kill people"

  • Cj87144

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 8:38 am PT

    your in basic.... and you can go online...... wow..... canada.....

  • RAGINGxPONY

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 5:40 pm PT

    I'm going through Basic right now for the Canadian Reserves and i credit video games a little bit for making me interested. Anyways i think it's probably a good idea for armies to use this as most people that would want to join are probably the type that are in to video games.

  • rando22

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 11:43 am PT

    @Spidy2150, Enigma Ltd, & ukpet anime

    You know it's people like you that make me proud to serve in the armed forces. It's nice to know that some people can understand what it's like to be a soldier. Expecially in today's society where everyone like's to blame the soldiers for their leader's mistakes.

    The only other thing I'd like to say to everybody is that even if you don't agree with what the military leaders are doing, please support us troops.

    We're just following orders.

  • e1337prodigy

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 11:02 am PT

    Didn't like America's Army so does that mean I wouldn't like the US Army? Probably won't like our British army either, just as bad.

  • mr0806

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 6:08 am PT

    lol have thought about joining the military after playing video games then i realize there is more risk involved and i would ave to actually do something...

  • Spidy2150

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 5:24 am PT

    Its an individuals responsibility to find out what the army is about before joining...if you think a recruiter is going to hold your hand and tell you ever minute of what a soldier is like, think again. Their job is to recruit, not to say that you could be deployed in the future and die in combat or become incapacitated. Stop expecting other people to spell everything out for you and go discover what a certain career is like on your own. People join the army for many different reasons, but the fact of the matter is there are young men and women that our sacrificing their lives to keep you safe. Its easy to criticize a soldier behind your computer screen knowing full well you yourself do not have the balls to face the enemy.

  • rht1992

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 4:52 am PT

    By the way I have nothing against the armed forces just their sneaky ways of getting naive and gullible people to join

  • rht1992

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 4:47 am PT

    I live in Scotland and i think the army just does what ever they can to get young people to join. All our tv adds are soldiers going swimming with girls and walking around the jungle. They never show the violence. My cousin Joined and went to Iraq and he never talks about it. in fact he's traumatized by what he went through. The army will never show what really happens and this game will be the same you won't get any sense of combat you'll just enjoy shooting guns.

  • pilot_riaz

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 1:15 am PT

    I would love to pilot an Apache Helicopter or F-22

  • hassy94

    Posted Apr 6, 2009 11:52 pm PT

    What happens when people are bored and start knifing their teammates, in real life it won't just go right through them

  • SephirothTDL

    Posted Apr 6, 2009 9:38 pm PT

    I fell for the America's Army Scheme...lol.
    I'm doing my part... are you?

  • RDA34

    Posted Apr 6, 2009 9:25 pm PT

    Im sorry to say, video games has nothing to do with being a real soldier. Served 18 months as a soldier, used G-3, AK-47 and MP-5. I play Call of Duty often and I dont remember those weapons getting jammed as you play? or do they? You have to feel how it is when they are shooting on you, you wont even be able to reload your weapon. Looking at the screen is not the same as you try to distinguish terrorists in a rocky, brown background. Wake up guys!

  • ukpet_anime

    Posted Apr 6, 2009 6:11 pm PT

    Totally agree Enigma. Using video games as a training and advertising medium for the armed forces isn't anything new really and I personally think it can sometimes put the gaming industry into a positive light. It's showing that games can actually be resourceful as well as electronic entertainment.

    Those fighting overseas and protecting our very homes we live in deserve nothing but the best in whatever resources can be made available to them to keep 'em safe out there. That environment alone is a different world altogether from our controllers and consoles, for which some of us will take for granted.

  • Ninja-Hippo

    Posted Apr 6, 2009 5:16 pm PT

    This story doesn't point out that all the TV ads are from a first-person perspective and look eerily similar to Call of Duty.

  • Enigma_Ltd

    Posted Apr 6, 2009 5:12 pm PT

    You people are all morons. Using games as advertising (or recruitment) is not nearly as big of a deal as you think. Plus, as rando22 pointed out, only a very few people join up to "kill people," in fact, coming from five generations of USN on one side and three generations of assorted military service (USMC and Air Force, mostly) on the other, I can definitely say that a lot of people do join up to serve their country and the common good. Also, anyone who hasn't already realized the distinction between reality and games probably won't pass the psyche tests, so shut up about how there aren't any respawns. It's just annoying at this point. There also aren't any respawns in football when you break your neck or in traffic when you get smashed into tiny pieces, but I don't see anyone complaining about them.
    What people need to realize is that the military exists to protect us, so stop giving them crap for recruiting.

  • rikhan_z

    Posted Apr 6, 2009 4:48 pm PT

    Multiple choice questions??? do we really need that? I'll stick with running around shooting people... that's more creative and logical... mulitple choice questions is a waste of video game space.

  • mikeyg756

    Posted Apr 6, 2009 4:41 pm PT

    Yeah becuase video games actually make you a good soldier..... pffft. If anything it makes you a worse soldier. "Why'd you shoot him?? he was giving up!!" "Hey its cool, he'll respawn"

America's Army: True Soldiers Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Images | Videos | DLC & Expansions | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum | Check Prices

Check Prices: $38.99 – 39.99

GameStop $39.99 SHOP ›
Deep Discount.com $38.99 SHOP ›
advertisement
advertisement
Click Here
America's Army: True Soldiers Boxshot Enlarge the boxshot
America's Army: True Soldiers

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement