Video games are pretty darn violent. With the exception of the cutest, cuddliest 'rated E10 and under' releases, most video games involve some sort of protagonist running around with an oversized weapon of choice (sword, gun, lollipop, cabinet, paintbrush, what have you) sending baddies to the hot place with some well-timed use of attacks and Special Hyper Combos. Concerned parents often get up in arms about the games where the sole focus is the destruction of thine enemies (although I've noticed a decrease in this kind of uproar within the past few years), saying that it shows too much crude and gory violence. Games like Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Kombat (especially the most recent release) have an almost pornographic violence to them, and to be honest I don't see the appeal of teaming up with a shadow copy of yourself and pulling a man in half by his legs (definitely NSFW, definitely bloody. Just FYI).
I think that kind of ultraviolence is a minority of the video game population. Like I said, video games are violent, but in most cases, the violence does have a justification to them. Take Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. Shepard is a murder machine, wasting geth, krogan, reaper, ice cream stand, and intergalactic government official with little remorse. But it's war. And while a lot of people would argue that war isn't a good thing, it was good enough to save the world from a crazy man bent on world domination 70 years ago. No one had a problem with that kind of violence, because guess what? It was necessary. When Shepard kills a wing of vorcha mercenaries keeping him from curing a plague in a poor community, those jerks totally got what was coming to them. If a bunch of bad people are doing bad things to innocent people and can't be reasoned with, most people would advocate getting out your level 72 +9 holy smiting claymore and going to town on them to protect those in need. Weapons and violence are a tool, just like anything else, and when used in a righteous manner, I don't think it's any cause for concern.
And not even every release makes violence a necessary part of the game. From the very beginning of its franchise, the Metal Gear Solid games stress that unnecessary bloodshed is bad, and the highest ratings you can get in those games can only be gotten through not killing a single man. The same goes for the latest Deus Ex game (and maybe the other ones too I don't know), and in all of the Fallout games, almost every major enemy or challenge can be overcome through words or stealth. These kinds of things teach kids that there are other answers to violence and that with a bit of cunning, challenges can be overcome without it. But again, in most cases, no one would begrudge Solid Snake or Adam Jensen for using deadly force against a bunch of terrorists/rogue government agents/crazy Illuminati.
That's it for now. Lucky episode 7 is up. Check out our youtube page and I'll see you kids later.
--D Marx
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