Video games are a detriment to society, haven't you heard? Apparently Paxton Galvanek didn't get the memo. As the first on the scene at a traffic accident last November, the 28-year old gamer helped two individuals out of an overturned SUV on a North Carolina interstate and began treatment on their wounds, which ranged from cuts and bruises on the passenger to the driver, who suffered head trauma as well as the loss of two fingers. Impressive, particularly since Galvanek credits the combat medic training he completed in America's Army for the PC for teaching him the skills needed to treat the victims.

The America's Army team notes that it designed the game's training scenarios in order to help prepare young adults for similar real world events. We don't know how much stock we place in first responders whose skillset can be traced back to a first-person shooter, but in this case at least it all worked out famously. Now, we just wait for a situation when having an accomplished Javelin missile operator on the scene will produce similarly welcome results.

America's Army is without question the most widely recognized name in serious games. The game, which started off as a tool for Army recruitment, has become something of a marvel, bridging the emerging serious games market and the larger mainstream video game industry. According to those helming the project, since America's Army's initial launch for the PC in 2002, players have taken part in more than 212 million hours representing some 3.6 billion rounds of online gameplay. In addition, the game, which now has players in over 60 different countries, has been downloaded more than 40 million times, and has received more than 24 different releases, including new missions and gameplay additions. There's strong, and then there's America's Army strong.

Later this month Ubisoft and developer Red Storm will release the latest game in the America's Army franchise, America's Army: True Soldiers, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Army exclusively for the Xbox 360. We recently sat down to speak with America's Army software manager Marsha Berry to discuss this game, as well as America's Army's possible console future, and who exactly is being targeted with this and future games in the series.

We all know that America's Army: True Soldiers is actually America's Army: The Game That Forces You To Join The Army, but we had no idea how blatant the conscription was until we played the new demo on Xbox Live. We started to be concerned after we brought down our first target and the friendly digi-general complemented our skills before demanding that we gave him our actual, real world name and address and a pledge of four years service. But it was the last straw when we had to complete a quicktime event sequence of "A - B - X - Go to your local recruiter and sign up for the Army."

The demo itself is a multiplayer only affair that seems to be passably GRAW-esque, thought with a hopelessly outdated interface for setting up games. That said, if you don't mind risking accidentally joining Uncle Sam's forces and you're a fan of tactical shooters, you might be able to squeeze some fun out of the download.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, approximately 90 Iraq war veterans in black shirts protested in front of a military recruitment station chanting three times: "War is not a game!" Of course they are referring to, and protesting against, the Department of Defense funded America's Army video game.

This is not the first, and certainly won't be the last, bit of protest or controversy surrounding the recruitment tool/video game. The Global Gaming League came under fire for their $2 million sponsorship they received. Then there is the anti-war "performance art" by U. of Nevada Prof. Joe Delappe where when his character died he would broadcast the name of an actual dead soldier from Iraq.

A video of the brief protest can be found after the break.

[Via GamePolitics]

If there's one thing you learn by watching an hour of G4, it's that Adam Sessler never ages. If there's a second thing you learn, it's that, judging by the commercials, the U.S. Army loves gamers. Maybe it's their quick hand-eye coordination, their familiarity with technology or the fact that they apparently have nothing better to do, who knows? Not only is Uncle Sam getting the word out through G4, there's also America's Army, the game designed with the hopes of drawing in new recruits. Now Global VR has announced that the title will soon be spreading to arcades.

We've got to say, it's a little unfortunate that the Army didn't think of this in the '80s when arcades were populated by beefy teens of all stripes. As it stands, we're a little concerned about having our freedom protected by a bunch of so-pale-they're-see-through DDR kids. On the plus side, the arcade version won't require any human shooting, just targets, so even the lil' tykes can get totally pumped about joining up.

[Thanks, Matt]

According to America's Army PR (ostensibly paid for by US tax dollars), the PC version of the popular shooter registered its 8 millionth user this past weekend. The America's Army user base now apparently spans more than 60 countries, likely owing to the fact that the "game" is freeware; the payoff is in the propagation of a positive image of the US Army throughout various parts of the world. It's no secret that the US Government developed the project as a propaganda device, but it's difficult to measure its impact on worldwide opinions, not to mention US Army recruitment success. We do know that the Army met its recruitment quotas in the two years following the game's release (in 2002).

Lt. Gen. Stephen Speakes, a deputy chief of staff, estimates that increasing the size of the Army's active troops by 65,000 (as recommended by Defense Secretary Robert Gates), would cost $70 billion (to be budgeted between 2009 and 2013). Nearly half of that proposed increase has already been accomplished under a temporary program that will likely be made permanent. It's unclear what portion of the estimated $70 billion, if any, would be spent on future upgrades to America's Army. If US troop growth is indeed this costly, then America's Army's true strength may be in its potential to win over the minds and bodies (enlisted in the militaries of US allies) of non-US players.

[Via press release]