How do you feel about video games that depict modern combat?

2015-02-19T23:10:19-05:00

When I was on active duty a lot of my peers would go home after being released for the day to relax and unwind by playing video games. I always found it mildly ironic that the video games of choice seemed to almost always be games based on modern combat. Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Battlefield, these are some of the most popular examples of video game franchises that depict warfare in a modern setting.

These games are not realistic. Sure, they can get weapons, equipment, and other various "small details" right, but they do not accurately depict the life of a soldier even when said soldier is fighting in intense combat. I hesitate to use the term, but there is some truth to the idea that these franchises glamorize warfare and the violence that is a part of wars very nature. There are two notable exceptions to this though, games that go against this trend. The first of which was never released due to the controversy around its concept.

"Six Days in Fallujah" was originally planned to be released in 2009 but never saw the light of day. In a nut shell it fell into the "survival horror" genre of gaming (emphasis on atmosphere and building tension for those not familiar with the term) as it depicted marines fighting insurgents in Fallujah, often by clearing homes which you should notice was extremely grounded in reality. It became controversial the moment it was announced in large part because of its accuracy to events that were still ongoing in real life. In the words of the gaming press, and main stream press, it was "too soon."

The second noticeable exception to the rule of games covering modern combat is a game called Spec Ops: The Line which was released in 2012 and the game from which the picture you can see embedded in this topic above originates from. Again, in a nutshell, this game takes a squad of Delta Force operators as they fight in a middle eastern setting and focuses greatly on the psychological impact of killing. There's a lot to be said for this game, but to keep it on topic and to keep this short the game goes into a lot of depth into the nature of war and how it affects those who take part in it. Whereas in most games the avatar you play as kills indiscriminately with one liners being yelled out left and right, but here killing has real weight and meaning. Every fire fight, every moral choice, deeply affects not just the operator you play as but the operators in the story your character fights alongside. I've personally played this game to its bitter end and can attest that it was a deeply disturbing game in a lot of ways, for better or for worse. And that's the crux of this topic.

My question to the RallyPoint community is two fold. First, how do you feel about video games depicting modern combat in general? Second, given the choice between video games glamorizing war for the sake of "fun value" and games that attempt to show the true brutality of what service members endure in combat which would you prefer? Do you think the latter choice adequately provides context to a soldiers ordeal for civilians or do you think it's territory best left unexplored for the sake of civilians entertainment?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 19 at 2015 11:44 PM

2015-02-19T23:44:47-05:00

Real-life experiences are vastly different from these games. While games can be very good at portraying physical environments, they aren't even close to recreating the emotional strain of combat. Also, while games focus on the individual, real soldiers are trained to focus on the team.

These games look and sound realistic but the "danger of the environment" isn't really there. Real Soldiers go through daily stress and experience fatigue in combat. Real Soldiers cant respawn, don't have unlimited ammo, health stims, medi-paks with instant health and cheat codes. Not everyone get to walk around with a Barrett .50 cal slung on their back like it was nothing, let alone the games can't simulate the weight of actual gear worn by our Soldiers.

Your real life experiences on the battlefield can't help you against against the 12yr old player on the end who enjoys aggravating you by quick scoping you with a variety of sniper rifles at their disposal because they just bought the latest enhancement pack.

Honestly , does anyone see a mad rush of gamers at their nearest recruiting office? "I enlisted because I reach prestige level 100 on COD" said no gamer ever. Its a game deep in fantasy and developers are in it for the money.

Sad fact, there are some gamers that think this is how war is portrayed, it's not. If anything they teach more bad habits than good ones. In the games its all about protecting yourself, in the real world, is about the person to the left/right of you. Civilians don't have a grasp of what it is Soldiers experience out there, they're to busy thinking PTSD is an STI you can throw antibiotics at.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2015 12:05 AM

2015-02-20T00:05:42-05:00

They are stupid and not realistic. Lots of blood and gore. The kids like them and that's why they keep making them. The goreyer, the better. Scary sometimes too.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2015 2:02 AM

2015-02-20T02:02:35-05:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member These are video games and their primary purpose is providing entertainment value to make a profit. They are not documentary films or for historical references. For example, I don't think any Christian scholars are going to use the movie Noah for biblical reference.

Response by SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA made Mar 20 at 2015 5:17 PM

2015-03-20T17:17:01-04:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member, this is a worthy question, and one that I have put some prior thought into.

Along with the larger question of war or combat as entertainment (movies as well as video games), I see nothing wrong with it.
People have always told war stories and played games based on war; now we have improved media for those stories and games. I see it as nothing more than a technological development of a phenomenon as old as war itself.

Disclaimer: I have not deployed, and so have not participated in any form of real world combat beyond sparring sessions. If that affects the weight that anyone gives to my opinion on this or anything else, there it is.

Response by SPC Lyle Montgomery made Apr 12 at 2024 10:23 AM

2024-04-12T10:23:52-04:00

Sgt. Kenneth Robertson, I think that these video games of combat cause a lot of problems for people who use them. Unless you were actually in combat you don't have a clue about it. I don't believe in banning them, but if I had young kids, I wouldn't have these games in my house.