Gears of War – One of the most violent games around

Not that I would advocate exposing my son to such graphic images of violence before the age of, say 12. But this article I came across on the PBS website of all places pretty much sums up how I’ve felt about (mature) video games for a long time. I have spent many post-baby bedtime hours playing violent video games (GTA IV, Gears of War, Resident Evil 5, Killzone) and I guarantee you will never see my name in the headlines for some horrific violence. The same goes for millions of other middle-age gamers who are husbands, fathers, businessmen, politicians, doctors, etc. It’s another classic case of people passing the buck and/or finding a scapegoat. If you aren’t giving your kids your ear or even the time of day, don’t expect their all-night Quake Wars Enemy Territory sessions to lead to anything positive. I mean, I really enjoy Grand Theft Auto IV. But you’re reading the words of a man who regularly escorts unwelcome spiders (even wasps if I can help it) out of his house with a catch and release policy. Researching clips on spiders, I got a little angry when I came across an open source video of a teenager killing one just to make a video. Lame.