TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: 25 to Life

  • Videospiel-Gewaltttigkeit

    Videospiel-Gewaltttigkeit

    Computer games train players to be violent?:

    I guess it’s not just Americans who harp on the alleged links between video games and violence. Now we have a study coming out of Germany from the “Stuff that we pulled out of our ass Department” at the University of Aachen from renowned German scientist Klaus Mathiak which says that video games are training people to be violent. Mein Gott, here we go again…

    Klaus Mathiak, of the University of Aachen, maintains he has discovered for the first time what goes on in players’ heads as a killer character lies in wait on a computer screen.

    Their brains react as if they are treating the encounter as real, says the academic.

    According to Dr Mathiak, when players know violence is coming, the cognitive parts of the brain become more active and during a fight its emotional parts shut down.

    How did Herr Doktor measure these activities?

    According to New Scientist, Dr Mathiak recruited 13 young men who played video games for two hours daily. He asked them to play the game while having their brains scanned using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

    Dr Mathiak studied how brain activity changed during violent interactions.

    I’d be more inclined to believe him if he then dropped the subjects into an actual scenario of impending violence like Iraq or any violent big-city neighborhood, then compared findings. Most of these kids would probably crap their pants if they were in a real situation of violence.

    At least the British are thinking clearly…

    Last night, Mike McClure, director of public education at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said there were individuals who were susceptible to suggestions inherent in video games. But he added: “You would have to say it is a small minority. Most people can distinguish between them as a game and what they would be doing in reality.”

    And that small minority has something wrong with them to begin with.

    And as an added bonus, a follow-up to Rep. Chuck Schumer’s snit over the game “25 to Life”.

    According to the guys at Penny Arcade you can also play as the police. Notice that Chucky boy doesn’t mention that part.

    Instead of worrying about the games themselves, maybe scientists and politicians should worry about the parents that are letting these games into their houses for underage kids to play.

  • Video Game Violence 2005

    Video Game Violence 2005

    Violent game furor:

    Here we go again, folks. Last year, it was GTA: San Andreas. This year it’s a new game made by Eidos called “25 to Life”. This is the first I’ve heard about this game, so let me quote the article…

    “25 to Life,” allows players to attack police with an arsenal of Molotov cocktails, broken bottles and baseball bats. When weapons fail, players make strategic moves using civilians as human shields.

    The game even lets players choose gang colors and create personalized graffiti tags.

    It sounds like a GTA rip off to me. I bet the gameplay will suck. But of course, that’s not the point here. Certain lawmakers have their panties in a wad…

    “It’s the worst in a series of violent and gruesome games that lower the common denominator of decency,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is trying to block the game from hitting stores in September.

    “25 to Life” makes “other controversial games like ‘Grand Theft Auto’ look like ‘Romper Room,’” Schumer said.

    Schumer called on PlayStation manufacturer Sony and Xbox maker Microsoft to cancel their licensing agreements with Eidos. The senator also urged stores and retailers not to stock the game.

    Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, slammed “25 to Life” for its cavalier treatment of murder.

    “It’s outrageous that a company like this would try to desensitize our children,” Lynch said.

    First off, have you noticed that when a politician is usually involved in calling for the censoring of a video game, it’s usually a Democrat?

    Secondly, these are obviously people who have never held a game controller in their life, or at least not since Space Invaders or the Atari 2600.

    Not all video games are aimed towards children anymore, and haven’t been since the dawn of Mortal Kombat back in the early ’90s.

    Lastly, the bigger a deal you make out of these games, the more hype you’re giving them. You’re taking what looks like to be a mediocre game at best, and you’re potentially making it a blockbuster by trying to censor it. People always want what they can’t have.

    If this game ends up in the hands of children, it’s because of irresponsible parents, and I have yet to hear any kind of blame falling on them. Remember kids, censorship is the solution to bad parenting. Or so says the Democrats.