China's Military Police Uses Video Games for Fun and Training

Fun and games are typically not things you associate with the military, especially when it's China we're talking about. Surprisingly though, one branch of China's military has made video gaming a part of its daily schedule.

The People's Armed Police is a branch of China's military that deals with internal affairs - think of them like a national police force. According to a report by the Phoenix News Online, they're also the first department of the People's Liberation Army to integrate video games into their training regimen.

The PAP use what they call "military recreation rooms," which are pretty much rooms filled with video games. The report isn't too specific on what games are inside these rooms, but it does state they include "gunslinger games," "battlefield games," "console-grade first-person shooters," "fighting game simulations," and "co-operative games."

It's meant as a way to boost morale, and unsurprisingly, the troops seem to be enjoying the addition. The PAP has also implemented a "squadron training room" that uses games such as Counter-Strike and a Chinese FPS called The Glorious Mission to train soldiers. This is similar to what the United States military has been doing for some time, albeit China is using commercially available games.

According to a translation of the report by Kotaku, a member of the PAP named Deng stated to Phoenix News that the video games have helped him to sharpen his reflexes, observation skills, teamwork, and adaptability.

It all sounds a bit strange, but if nothing else, it's pretty neat to see how China's military has found a way to combine having fun with vigorous training.