Battlefield 3

THE BUZZ: Are our modern military games too realistic? A piece by photographer Phil Coomes of the BBC entitled “War or gaming fun? Spot the Difference” may have you believe so. In his article, Coomes cites his last few play sessions of the ultra realistic first person shooter Battlefield 3, ending with “sweat palms and dilated pupils,” as evidence that claims of future gamers suffering from post dramatic stress syndrome may not be too far off. Coomes says Battlefield 3′s realistic depiction of war reminded him all too well of his days traveling with and photographing rebels in Libya last September, when they pushed into Sirte to take down the last remaining pro-Galadffi strong hold.

From there, Coomes got in touch with Ivan Buchta at Bohemia Interactive Studios, who helped develop the modern military shooter Arma 2. Together, Coomes and Buchta went through photos Coomes had taken and tried to match them up with those of the Amra 2. The results were uncanny. Coomes admits Arma 2 is somewhat of an easier case than some of the more popular, more recent games that deal with war, as it’s much more of a war simulator than an action based first person shooter.

In the end, Coomes questions whether he will still have a job in five years as an on field photographer. Looking at the pictures he was able to find with Buchta, and he may have a reason to polish his resume.

EGM’s TAKE: Sweaty palms and dilated pupils from Battlefield 3? And this guy was in an actual war. Most of us are lucky in that we’ll never get to compare the two. Regardless of Coomes’ claim, the photos they’ve revealed are extreme convincing. Depending on how you feel about the level of realism in our video games, you are either shocked or giddy about the level of details our video games are now achieving.

Source: BBC