Soldier sim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A soldier sim is a subgenre of computer role-playing games. Often they're presented as a first-person shooter video game that focuses on military training and military combat in order to simulate a soldier's service in the military. This genre usually tries to create a pseudo-realistic virtual environment and often simulates historical battles or military operations with historical background, whereas this genre usually distorts historical facts. A soldier sim often falls into the definition of a tactical shooter.

One of the defining aspects of a 'Soldier Sim' is that, unlike other first-person shooters, it is generally focused on slow-paced strategic maneuvers punctuaded by brief periods of violent and quick assault. While other first-person shooters generally encourage the player to continually move quickly and attack targets the moment they appear, that mode of combat would usually allow the enemy (AI or human opposition) to find you and eliminate you more easily. Also, rushing into a combat situation without at least a rudimentary plan of attack (aside from shooting everything that moves with utter abandon) will usually leave the player in a messy and difficult situation. A 'Soldier Sim' encourages quiet, stealthy movement to a particular target, usually while planning an assault strategy and finding a beneficial firing position, followed by the swift execution of said strategy. This process, very similar to actual small-unit combat tactics, also allows for improvised maneuvers to be thought of and executed faster should an unexpected variable or unplanned enemy counterattack be encountered. In some 'Soldier Sims', this process of stealthy movement, planning, and quick assault is the only viable way to win a given mission without sustaining heavy casualties.

One perfect example of this shooter genre is America's Army for the Xbox and PC.

[edit] See also