More than 300 players participated in a three-day Counter Strike LAN competition. The catch? They were all Tianjin (China's northern port city) police officers.
"The competition is organized to sharpen anti-terrorist skills of Tianjin's police force, as we find the nature of the game very similar to that of our daily practice", said officer Zhang Bin, one of the organizers.
Counter Strike was first introduced a mod for Half-Life in June, 1999. Later in November 2000, it was released as a stand alone game by sierra. In 2004, statistics showed over 85,000 players simultaneously playing Counter-Strike at any point in time, and at the moment, Steam regularly shows over 200,000 players for Counter-Strike
During the competition, a panel of referees was introduced to ensure no cheating (mainly peeking).
"Given its close resemblance to real-life scenarios, the game greatly enhances the terrorism awareness of our officers, and it is very important as terrorism has become a global issue", said Han Zhen, a tactical instructor of Tianjin police. "In particular, it trains our officers in the use of weapons and taking advantage of different terrains, and is also a test of mental strength in a duel with a terrorist, enhancing police forces through technology".
According to Han, almost half the total Tianjin force turned to be regular Counter Strike players. Counter Strike "training" took place "after work" and is considered "a supplement to their [Tianjin's officers] traditional means of training".
Officers reported noticeable improvement in self-protection on field missions after the play, Han Zhen stated.
