The BBC reports that parents are freaking out about America’s Army: Operations.
A computer game devised by the US Army has come under fire from parents anxious that it glorifies violence.
The army hopes that the game, America’s Army, will help it to attract the tens of thousands of young people it needs to join its ranks each year.
The game allows players to go through a virtual army enlistment and basic training.
More controversially, they then go on to more advanced training, including marksmanship.
The shooting part of the game is so realistic, the computer screen even moves in time to the digital soldiers’ heavy breathing.
Yes. The game is realistic. Actually, it’s probably the best and most realistic first person shooter that I have played, and I’ve played a lot of them. I’m not a parent so I can’t see things from the same perspective. I do know however that I’ve been playing first person shooters since the 386 days, and computer games in general since I was a little kid, and I’m not out shooting people on the streets.
Computer games, TV violence, movie violence, and other external factors are easy scapegoats when something goes wrong. I’m not convinced that they are the root of the problem.