Great site, and I've been a long-time lurker, and this is the first topic I'm commenting upon.

As an infantryman I heard of this game a few months ago [in between forming quadrilaterals and trapezoids out of nude Afghani men], and once I saw it in action I knew immediately the press was going to jump on it, claiming the government is attempting to turn our young into mouth-foaming, saliva-dripping killers of Muslims.

"Video games that allow players to kill real human beings are desensitizing generations of American society," she says.

Huh? Haha, its a videogame; please explain to me how players are "kill[ing] real people"? And the 1980's game 'Paperboy' caused us all to throw junk into our neighbor's yards!

From what I saw of the game, it put a great deal of emphasis on teamwork and movement utilizing two fire teams in a complex environment, not playing as s singular soldier going gung-ho shooting everyone on sight. Heaven forbid a game puts an emphasis on *GASP* teamwork. Also from what I understand, it's rated "M" for "Mature", meaning you have to be 17+ years of age in order to purchase it.

If you saw my neighbors you wouldn't want to take any such photo, much less get the dog next to em while doing so.

Is it just me or must we shift responsibility away from the perp to either inanimate objects (guns for example) or influences that were controlling said perp (my dad used to beat me so I had all this unresolved anger inside).

Following that kind of logic I guess if I start playing one of my old Leisure Suit Larry games I am going to turn into a bar hoping sexist pig?
(oh ...wait...I already am)

I think these games should be labled for the over the hill gang that is unable to bear arms for the sake of our country. You fellows on the front know war is no game. Parents, wives ,husbands and children of those we have lost know it is no game.

And conversely people who play them know that games are not a war. Which is exactly the point you missed Pat.

Did you see this satire that Den Beste linked to a few weeks ago? Hysterical...

LINK

http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/games/wargames.html

I bought the game, and it's the best $60 I've spent this year.

If you're interested, I've just posted a longer review of it here

The murders at a high school in Paducah generated an interesting response from somebody familiar with the subject of computer games.
It is difficult, the writer said, to pull the trigger on a living human, especially at close range. That hesitation can cost a grunt his life if the first bad guy he sees pops up at nought feet with weapon leveled. When I was in, we did an exercise called "Quick Kill" using modified BB guns, whose purpose was ostensibly to teach us to shoot both-eyes like bird shooting, since we would not have time to line up in proper marksman fashion. It probably had the unspoken purpose to get us to pull without thinking.
Now, the Army uses computer games to get the guys to pull instantly. Whether this is desensitizing is an open question, but the object is to get the trigger pulled without going through the half-instant's necessity of deciding to kill a human.
It appears, according to one report, that the kid in Paducah did some absolutely fabulous shooting. He owned a laser-pistol game whose "weapon" had the same "point" as the pistol he eventually got, so he'd "fired" it a million times.
These games probably won't change anybody's philosophy, but they may change certain aspects of their reactions to particular situations.

Hey, hide your daughters too!

I used to be an online gamer...quite the nerdy thing for a girl of my age to be doing at the time.

And to blame video games is just one more example of the media portraying everyone as victims. The soldiers who took part in the abuse at abu Graib--they were victims of the administration, victims of the war...now victims of video games? Give me a break.

Many University studies have shown that, all things or influences being equal/neutral, little boys will STILL find themselves becoming attracted to toy guns and Tonka trucks, etc., whilst little girls will STILL be attracted to baby dolls, clothes, and doll houses, etc. IOW, although socializations are important, gender-specific natural instincts can take over even in the absence of any value system. I believe most armies would prefer to work with these instincts, not against it!

"Four man Infantry Squad" has this reviewer even played the game? In it you command two four man fire teams who make up an eight man squad.