Over the Top

Nothing is better at engaging a kid’s attention like a video game. Some of the most popular ones these days simulate war experiences. So when a museum wants to try and engage kids in history, they try their best to be cool and create its own game too! I was first introduced to the game “Over the Top” by my fourth year university professor, Graham Broad. This game, which is located on the Canadian War Museum’s website, is aimed at educating young kids about the unpredictability of war. Essentially, the player is a soldier named Terry Wilson during the First World War. Terry (you) is faced with a variety of difficult decisions that may or may not affect his life. As the game introduction puts it: “Your goal in Over the Top is the same as that of thousands of Canadians who served in the trenches during the First World War: merely to survive.”

Now, this game obviously isn’t like other video games kids play these days. It’s simply an interactive game that includes historical information and terminology of the time. Unfortunately, they don’t get to shoot anyone. (at least I’ve never lived long enough to do that) They also don’t get the crazy animations that you find in regular video games. However, they do learn about a soldier’s experience with rats, the general practices in the trenches and the danger and illusions of no man’s land.

It’s really an interesting game! Each obstacle you face could mean the difference between life and death. Do you volunteer to get the communication wire or do you stay put? Do you answer the call of injured men in no man’s land? Do you volunteer in a covert operation to the enemy trenches? All these questions come down to one thing. Do you live or do you die?

I think this game, is an excellent way to get kids interested in the history of WWI. It’s fun and you’re still learning at the same time. However, I think it’d be even better if they could create a game like this to be used on N64, Playstation or Wii. Let’s give the kids a ‘cool’ game to play with but sneak in educational parts without them even realizing it! Forgive me if there’s already a game out there like this. (if some historian has beaten me to it!) I don’t play video games too often. BUT, if not, and some big video game creator reads this and is interested, let me know! I’m down!

So now, head out in the shoes of dear Terry Wilson and play your chances on surviving the Great War! Let me know how far you get!

FYI- last time I tried to play this game, the interactive pictures/video weren’t working. So you may have to do the text version, which is just as interesting but it lacks the visuals that most kids want. Sometimes I wonder if the interactive visuals were cancelled because of parental discretion. This game can be a bit too descriptive for some players. For example, when I tried to grab a pack of cigarettes from just over the top of the trench, this is what I got for my selfishness: “Your fingers slowly grasp the lid when, out of nowhere, the crack of a rifle rings out and a bullet buries itself deep in your skull, killing you instantly” (in my defence, if I would have gotten those cigarettes, I would have been a God in the trenches!)

Good Luck!