As the US military seeks to up its intelligence game, it has turned to, well, games in order to better train its operatives. Splinter Cell is not among the titles, however, as these are custom games, focusing not on action (training soldiers to play console games for combat training would be a bit redundant), but on parsing information and overall intelligence strategy.

The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency has just taken delivery of three PC-based games, developed by simulation studio Visual Purple under a $2.6 million contract between the DIA and defense contractor Concurrent Technologies. The goal is to quickly train the next generation of spies to analyze complex issues like Islamic fundamentalism.

Given a choice between a droning classroom lecture or a videogame, the best method for teaching Generation Y was obvious. "It is clear that our new workforce is very comfortable with this approach," says Bruce Bennett, chief of the analysis-training branch at the DIA's Joint Military Intelligence Training Center.

Anti-terrorist forces land by helicopter in Sudden Thrust. The goal of the games is to focus players on epistemology.

Wired.com had an opportunity to play all three games, Rapid Onset, Vital Passage and Sudden Thrust. The titles may conjure images of blitzkrieg, but the games themselves are actually a surprisingly clever and occasionally surreal blend of education, humor and intellectual challenge, aimed at teaching the player how to think.

Source: wired.com via jordan