Let me start off by saying that I am NOT an avid video game player. My experience is limited to MarioKart (where I consistently place 6th, 7th or 8th), Tiger Woods PGA golf, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Let this be a disclaimer for I really, in essence, have no expertise.
I have, however, played Halo a few times with my boyfriend and let me tell you...it's so much fun. Seriously, excuse my language but I feel like a badass if I leave the game with more than one kill. I know it's not real. But it still gives me that feeling of empowerment which is why I think a lot of people DO play war-like games. Those games with goals to defeat terrorism are so culturally relevant now with the War on Terror...it seems logical that these are the games that are so popular.
People argue that these games brainwash kids who play them and spark real-life tragedies such as Columbine, the recent Newtown massacre, etc. While I don't think video games can be completely deleted from the conversation, I do think games are the least of our worries. Anything can create the idea of shooting up a school in someone's mind. For Klebold and Harris (Columbine), they felt victimized, however valid that was. Yes, they created a video game that almost exactly resembled the layout of Columbine High School. Yes, they listened to Marilyn Manson. But are these the real factors we should be looking at? War games do not create a realistic take on modern warfare. Just like the article said, these games do not depict the reality of what soldiers are really facing in battle. Games involve citizens and militia as the main causalities and do not focus on the recruitment process (except the popular American Army). The games are designed to be a release of emotion, which for most people...they are exactly that.
All in all, I know I'm not about to shoot up a movie theater because I got a false sense of reality through a video game like Halo or Modern Warfare. These are not the factors that people should be blaming for tragedies.
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