With the war raging in Iraq and Afghanistan and American troops spread out across the globe fighting the war against terrorism and “maintaining global peace”. The need for new army recruits to replenish its ranks is at a high. The American government has been investing money in military recruiting in order to meet its demands. The aim of the new recruitment drive has been to attract the youth of America in becoming interested in undertaking carrier opportunities in the U.S military as well as improving its image. An innovative way to reach out to potential recruits was in the development of a tactical multiplayer first-person shooter “Americas Army”.
Americas Army was developed at the MOVES Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School and was first released on American Independence Day July 4th 2002 subtitled ‘Recon’. After three years of developments financed by U.S tax dollars at an estimated cost of 8 million dollars the game is available as a free download over the Internet (located at http://www.americasarmy.com/) or can be picked up on DVD from Army recruit centres across the United States. The game can be played on PC, X-box or your mobile phone.
Built on the popular Unreal Engine the game is modelled on popular online multiplayer game Counter-Strike. The first person shooter requires you to have an Internet connection, allowing you to play from the comfort of your own home (private spear). In order to play you need to create an account with AA enlisting you in Americas Virtual Army. Before you can just start battling online you must attend a virtual boot camp and pass with adequate scores in order to qualify as a soldier. Once you are qualified you are able join people from around the world on a number of AA online servers running various missions and maps. The game play consists
“…realistic detail of America's Army--which was produced completely within Army ranks--sets it apart from its competitors. A team at the Naval Postgraduate School's Modeling, Virtual Environment and Simulation Institute spent three years and over $5 million to get every detail right. They visited nineteen Army installations, digitally filming soldiers and landscapes. Weapons are modeled directly from the Army's arsenal. They feature real-time reloading, clips that fall the right way at the right speed. Guns even malfunction from time to time. Everything, from the explosion of different types of grenades to the way soldiers run, walk, and crawl, is accurate. In the final product, Army spokesman Paul Boyce explains, "even the night-vision goggles make the exact click and whir that the real, $3,000 goggles do." These authentic details are meant to educate young Americans, presenting them with a realistic, engaging view of today's modern Army, according to Colonel Casey Wardynski, who supervised the game's production.(Hodes & Ruby-Sachs, 2002)”
Many Critics of America’s Army see it as a propaganda device aimed at the youth of America. People are being influenced about the Army life as the game mimic’s realism on the technological aspect of war but plays down real wartime moral conditions that would exist. The game does not 
The Americas Army website has been designed to direct visitors to the Army Recruiting site. Americas Army game is not just available to citizens of the U.S. but to all gamers worldwide. The American Army has allowed this to help improve its image and show the rest of the world how superior and powerful they are. The game is for all ages of 13 and above even though it is a violent game with people shooting each other there is little representation of gore within the game. The game is mainly directed at the male population as almost all models and scenarios within the game are male orientated and the female persuasion within the Army hasn’t been taken into completed consideration. According to Game Spy in 2007 AA is ranked number 9 in most played multiplayer games with an average of 4000 players playing around the world at any one time.
America’s Army is an overall enjoyable game to play from a U.S foreigner perspective. 
To start playing America’s Army visit: http://www.americasarmy.com/
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