Ultrareal war games raise fears

By Mike Snider
USA Today

"Full Spectrum Warrior," a new video game for Microsoft Xbox, is the latest in a stream of increasingly realistic war games. And it's likely to add fuel to the controversy about games and violence.

Ultrarealistic games such as "Warrior" play like an interactive version of "Black Hawk Down." Some observers are critical of the combat-gaming trend, saying the games can mislead players into viewing war as fun.

Mary Spio, 31, who served in the U.S. Air Force during the first gulf war, thinks video games can create a bloodlust.

"Video games that allow players to kill real human beings are desensitizing generations of American society," says Spio, now the pop culture editor for One2One Magazine, a singles publication and Web site (www.one2onemag.com).

Research into the long-term effects of video games remains foggy.

"It is probably more likely to be a vicious circle, where increased interest in war leads to playing these games, which leads to more aggressive feelings and increased negative stereotypes of other cultures, which just fuels more interest in war," says Douglas Gentile, an assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University and director of research for the National Institute on Media and the Family.

Those who play the games beg to differ. "It's like playing a pickup game of basketball," says Sean Starke, 40, of Middletown, N.J., a member of the 60 or so members of Dads Playing "SOCOM" (www.dpsclan.org), a group of adults who play Sony's "SOCOM Navy Seals" games online.

He often allows his 10-year-old daughter to play the game on the Sony PlayStation 2 with him. "It's obvious that it's a game. I don't really have fears of her Columbining."

In another sign of the games' growing reach, the U.S. Army has its own online games, "America's Army," and a sequel, "America's Army: Special Forces" — recruitment programs played on PCs (free downloads at www.americasarmy.com) The games have drawn more than 1.9 million players.

"Full Spectrum Warrior," which grew out of Pandemic Studio's creation of an Army training simulation, is "technically, tactically very real," says retired Army Capt. James Ytuarte, who served as a consultant on the game. His 13-year-old son has played the game, too. "He understands it's just a game. It's entertainment."