News Bot
04-25-2009, 09:20 AM
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/arss_dr_2.jpgThink you’ve got “mad skillz” with your Xbox 360?*Tired of headshotting the same ol’ Space Marine clone?*Think you’ve got what it takes to join the Global War on Terror?
Put your itchy trigger finger and slow sustained breathing rate to the test after the jump!
I first heard about the Sidewinder missile-firing Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) a few years ago as they were being used in Pakistan to chase Taleban lieutenants. These delivery systems were great at their job, but the CIA quickly started catching flak from all sides when these missiles would mistakenly wipe out a funeral procession or bus load of nuns based on bad intel.
In 2005, to rectify this growing problem of pissing off everyone over boat loads of “collateral damage” the Army started testing the concept of an airborne platform with a smaller caliber sniper rifle mounted to the wing.
I laughed my tits off when I heard about this. A sniper rifle mounted on an fixed wing drone? Madness. Too loud, too unstable, with a need to be too close to your target to be sneaky.*And the ex-grunt in me is still a fan of the Sidewinder.
But they addressed all the concerns I had, and four years later, we’ve got a rotary-wing UAV the size of a VW van used to support urban warfare, providing overwatch to the boys involved in street to street fighting. While the UAV providing recon for infantry and armor units isn’t new (see also: Tom Clancy Ghost Recon), the idea of it joining in the close fight is. I’ll be interested in seeing this them field this; if it fares well enough (which it will eventually), Cobra gunships and Thunderbolt close air support will go the way of the dodo.
The kicker is the controller. A “modified Xbox 360″ controller will be used to control it. Are you kidding me?
They’re talking about how video games are making kids more violent, and you’ve got the Army coming up with games like “America’s Army” being used to recruit 18 year olds in shopping malls across America. But the reality of someone using a glorified video game console to actually - no-joke - kill people?
Jesus jumped-up Christ, where is Jack Thompson? This is a perfect opportunity for him to pop up and make a fool out of himself. But of course, he would be taking on the Department of Defense, which unlike Penny Arcade or Take Two Interactive, could send a team of black pajama-wearing ninjas and happily waterboard him for a few weeks.
Ah, one can dream.
But the image in my head of some Air Force Colonel sitting 150 miles away in an air conditioned control station in his skivvies and a cowboy hat, with a can of Jolt in one hand and an Xbox 360 controller plugged into his laptop controlling the damn thing makes me laugh. Do you think the “pilots” get achievements? What about co-op?
You think Microsoft will team up with the military to open up a new “Platnium” level for Xbox Live, where you can start controlling military drones for only $9999 a month?
Maybe they’ll start grooming video gamers who show specific aptitude at a specific Xbox game to be launched in the future? Think of that next time you pick up your controller to play a quick round of “Halo 9″ (currently in development). You might have a future in the military and not even know it!
Okay, that’s enough. Here’s the link for the full article (http://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/04/army-tests-new.html).
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http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~r/TheSarcasticGamer/~4/C0ZNXhtoKkw
Click here to view the article. (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSarcasticGamer/~3/C0ZNXhtoKkw/achievement-unlocked-global-war-on-terror.html)
Put your itchy trigger finger and slow sustained breathing rate to the test after the jump!
I first heard about the Sidewinder missile-firing Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) a few years ago as they were being used in Pakistan to chase Taleban lieutenants. These delivery systems were great at their job, but the CIA quickly started catching flak from all sides when these missiles would mistakenly wipe out a funeral procession or bus load of nuns based on bad intel.
In 2005, to rectify this growing problem of pissing off everyone over boat loads of “collateral damage” the Army started testing the concept of an airborne platform with a smaller caliber sniper rifle mounted to the wing.
I laughed my tits off when I heard about this. A sniper rifle mounted on an fixed wing drone? Madness. Too loud, too unstable, with a need to be too close to your target to be sneaky.*And the ex-grunt in me is still a fan of the Sidewinder.
But they addressed all the concerns I had, and four years later, we’ve got a rotary-wing UAV the size of a VW van used to support urban warfare, providing overwatch to the boys involved in street to street fighting. While the UAV providing recon for infantry and armor units isn’t new (see also: Tom Clancy Ghost Recon), the idea of it joining in the close fight is. I’ll be interested in seeing this them field this; if it fares well enough (which it will eventually), Cobra gunships and Thunderbolt close air support will go the way of the dodo.
The kicker is the controller. A “modified Xbox 360″ controller will be used to control it. Are you kidding me?
They’re talking about how video games are making kids more violent, and you’ve got the Army coming up with games like “America’s Army” being used to recruit 18 year olds in shopping malls across America. But the reality of someone using a glorified video game console to actually - no-joke - kill people?
Jesus jumped-up Christ, where is Jack Thompson? This is a perfect opportunity for him to pop up and make a fool out of himself. But of course, he would be taking on the Department of Defense, which unlike Penny Arcade or Take Two Interactive, could send a team of black pajama-wearing ninjas and happily waterboard him for a few weeks.
Ah, one can dream.
But the image in my head of some Air Force Colonel sitting 150 miles away in an air conditioned control station in his skivvies and a cowboy hat, with a can of Jolt in one hand and an Xbox 360 controller plugged into his laptop controlling the damn thing makes me laugh. Do you think the “pilots” get achievements? What about co-op?
You think Microsoft will team up with the military to open up a new “Platnium” level for Xbox Live, where you can start controlling military drones for only $9999 a month?
Maybe they’ll start grooming video gamers who show specific aptitude at a specific Xbox game to be launched in the future? Think of that next time you pick up your controller to play a quick round of “Halo 9″ (currently in development). You might have a future in the military and not even know it!
Okay, that’s enough. Here’s the link for the full article (http://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/04/army-tests-new.html).
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:yIl2AU oC8zA) http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=dnMXMwOfBR0 (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:dnMXMw OfBR0) http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?i=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:gIN9vF wOqvQ (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:gIN9vF wOqvQ) http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?i=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:V_sGLi PBpWU (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:V_sGLi PBpWU) http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=qj6IDK7rITs (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:qj6IDK 7rITs) http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?i=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:F7zBnM yn0Lo (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:F7zBnM yn0Lo) http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?i=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:D7DqB2 pKExk (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:D7DqB2 pKExk) http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=7Q72WNTAKBA (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:7Q72WN TAKBA) http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=l6gmwiTKsz0 (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=C0ZNXhtoKkw:z7jhqKZDfTM:l6gmwi TKsz0)
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~r/TheSarcasticGamer/~4/C0ZNXhtoKkw
Click here to view the article. (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSarcasticGamer/~3/C0ZNXhtoKkw/achievement-unlocked-global-war-on-terror.html)