I like video games. I really do. Provided I have the time (and a good game), I can curl up for hours in front of the computer in the same general fashion that some do with books. I have built entire civlizations. I have raced cars. I have solicited prosititutes. I have run over police officers with a dump truck. I have assassinated high level targets. I have saved the world numerous times over - all from the comfort of my computer chair. I also happen to like violent video games (I don't think you get the opportunity to run cops down when you load up Jeopardy). Violent video games certainly aren't for everyone; especially not minors or politicians. 

Take, for instance, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The GTA series, in case you're unfamiliar, is basically a moral vacuum. Want to steal cars? Go right ahead! Shooting cops? No problem! Robbing stores? But of course! Almost anything nefarious you can think of, you can do it in sunny San Andreas. The game shipped with a 'M' rating, which meant no one under the age of 17 could purchase it. That didn't stop the usual suspects from bad mouthing it, however. Most of the bad press was fairly benign, however. That is, until a little something called the "Hot Coffee" mod came out. Basically, once installed, this modification would allow you to access sexually "explicit" material hidden in the game. Violence and sex?! NIMBY!

So who gets all upset and goes to the FTC? Why, none other than Hillary Clinton! Apparently she doesn't take too kindly to the sexual content of the game:

There is no doubting the fact that the widespread availability of sexually explicit and graphically violent video games makes the challenge of parenting much harder

Well thank God not all video games are like that! Indeed, there are some video games out there that are wholesome and good for kids to play that teach about the importance of strong values. Take, for instance, Left Behind: Eternal Forces. The game website isn't all that juicy, however. Here is a much more informative piece:

Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is "to conduct physical and spiritual warfare"; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life.

Holy jihad, Batman! I don't know about anyone else, but this seems a bit spooky to me. Now it's not my place to say what kinds of games people should or shouldn't get their hands on but this seems like a different kind of violence: and it is. It's an ideologically driven sort of violence. It's a kind of violence that assumes the righteous path. Very different from GTA where you generally know the things you are doing are wrong.

But my point to all this is not to compare and contrast these two games or even the content of them. My point is that there seems to be no outcries coming from DC regarding this game. Not even our stalwart entertainment guardian Sen Clinton is making any noise. I don't mean to pick on Clinton, however. My point is that no one seems to be getting bent out of shape. No one is getting upset because we don't get upset at violence in video games. Oh no. We get upset at sex in video games - the violence is just more or less an alarmist flag to wave: "Our kids are going to play these video games and then go out and massacre hundreds of people"! Saying "Our kids are going to play these video games and go out and have lots of sex" just doesn't have the same oomph.

Moral of the story? Senseless (or in this case, purpose driven) slaughter is just fine, even if it smacks of ideological rhetoric and hatred. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be getting this game.

Although you can play as the AntiChrist and wage war against the Christians.

Hmmmmm...

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