Not too much violence at all. Don’t say that Halo and Halo 2 are too violent.. there are reasons that the game is rated M for Mature. It’s not the fault of the video games or the video game makers. It is not the fault of the children who decide to play these games. It is the fault of the parents who allow their children to play their games. If violence in video games.. or movies, or on TV, or in cartoons, or violence pretty much anywhere affects a child in a negative way, then it is most likely the fault of the parents who did not keep their children from seeing these things.

Well, if they are going to attack all things that might poison the minds of our youth, why not go for the number one, cartoons. They are just as violent, if not more so, than a lot of video games. Do you see people complaining about how violent those are, I don’t. I think that the people complaining about them are either just worried about the technology take over they see in front of them (people becoming more and more dependent on technology as compared to when it was first introduced), they are not good at them and bitter, or just looking for something to blame for thier bad parenting, no matter what you watch, what you learn from the real people around you will always be more influential. I used to watch movies and play video games that glamorized violence, but the real impact on my opinion on the subject came from my parents bad marriage, when I saw them fighting and yelling. It always comes down to who raises the kid, not what they watch or play, so this entire blaming thing is just pathetic and wrong.

I love how people love to attack: 1)Video Games 2)Rap Music

But movies always seem to slip under the cover. These are all ok to be violent. It’s the people (and their interpretation of the violence) that have the issues.

The only way kids are going to play the ‘educational’ games is when the schools make ‘labs’ out of them. As it is, these ‘violent’ games are recreation, a way to rest the brain and get away from life’s toils. Destruction happens to be a mindless activity, more of a sensation activity.

Video games are mostly nothing more than kill games now days. The more violence they have the bigger they sell. How much of this is affecting the younger generations? When is enough really enough? What do you think about all the violence in games?

Back in MY day, video games didn’t HAVE violence. Heck, video games didn’t even have GRAPHICS. All we had to look at was an ”@” representing the player and ”.” for the floor and “D” for a dragon. And we had to want 5 hours for the computer to boot up, and we had an electric dam out back that we’d use to run the whole thing. Had to pump it by hand too. We didn’t HAVE facny stuff like “pixels” and “polygons”. Nosiree.

Okay, so I never actually lived “back then.” But I wish I did. I still actually play that game I described, with the ”@”. It’s called Angband, a direct decendant of the VERY first computer game, the one that started it all (adventure), and is still maintained today. I miss the days of SNES and Sega. I DO remember those. Back in those days, there was not violence, the bad guy flashed white when I hit him with my sword. Blood? What’s that? Back then, Games really were NOT about the graphics, or the shock value, or the sex appeal. They were about the gameplay. These were games like Tetris, Mario, Zelda. THOSE are video games. Stuff today doesn’t even compare. So the graphics on Halo 2 are so good you can mistake it for a video. Great. My friend bought Halo 2 the first day it was out and and beat it in two days. Do you know how long it took me to beat Final Fantasy 2? HALF A YEAR. There are games that I own that I have never beaten, that I keep coming back to, time and time again, because I love them, and I could play them over and over again. Funny thing is, these are all the old ones. ‘Tis sad that video games have become about how the game looks, and not it’s gameplay value.

I bought an N64 a month ago, and have had a wonderful time beating Zelda: Ocarina of Time. An N64 and a half dozen games oldskool games is all I need to be happy.

steve

Most people who play the most violent games know the difference between the game and real life. If a seven-year old gets his/her hands on a copy of Halo, and gets the idea to kill humans as though they were Covenant, it's either the retailer's fault or the kid's guardian's. These games were made for the entertainment and relaxation of those who can handle them, not to be taken literally by those who can't, and those who enjoy them should not be denied simply because a kid got his hands on one. I have found a use for these very violent games, though, even when I was much younger. If you've had a bad day, you get to take your anger out on a fictional piece of pixels or polygons. It works wonders, believe it or not.

So, no, I think video games are a far cry from too violent. Perhaps it's more of a taste, though...I've found that some of the ways to get killed in Halo 2 multiplayer are downright hilarious. Or maybe it's just something you get after playing old school games for so long...the progression that violence has made in games simply no longer bothers you.

To be fair, though, I admit much of the violence isn't necessary. I play mostly RPGs, though, so I'm a bit biased there.