Now you too can play Army!

[~rivetbadtz]

http://www.americasarmy.com/

Man, when did the US government start putting out video games?
There's a link to where ya can sign up and play the game for real.
You too can be just another pixel pawn in George Dubya's sadistic vendetta war fantasy arcade!

As Dubya is having fun sending a legion of confused pimply faced 18 year olds in to destroy a variety of people who look/talk different than them, one has to wonder if maybe he should just break down and get Everquest instead of messing with people's lives?

[~Quixote Chapter]

This is truely disturbing.

-Kevin


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[NoirTech]

That game is actually pretty cool. I found out about the game about a year ago when I read it in a Yahoo magazine. Pretty cool for being a free game.

[~Munson]

Actually this game was well in development ever before W took office.

The game it self is pretty sweet, especially if you're into that sort of thing. It does take a little while to actually get moving but it is very realistic. They also did a great job on the graphics and the "storyline"

If anything, it's another recruiting tool.

I have also heard that some of the other branches might have their own versions in development.

[~cliffwalk]

Well, hell, glad to see the government is now in the business of putting simulated violence in the hands of young teens.

Call me an obnoxious peace dove but I really have a problem that we take our already overstimulated children and stimulate them with violent video games.... games that really aren't about imagination as much as they're about teaching a mentality. A mentality I personally don't feel has any value.

We're born with a survival instinct. If we end up having to join our armed forces and learn about killing then so be it... there's no need to hasten that education... most people who have seen battle first hand tell me that the only positive thing they got out of it is knowing that there were people who never saw what they saw waiting at home...

There's nothing OK about killing whether it's "neccessary" or not.

Dave

[~Siobhan]

And that's why it's so important for parents to monitor what their children are watching on TV, what movies they are seeing, and what video games they play. I like violent video games as much as anybody. I'm a horror movie fan, so violence doesn't faze me. But, I can also tell the difference between what is real, and what isn't. There's a lot of stuff out there that kids shouldn't be exposed to until they are much older. But that doesn't justify any sort of censorship, in my opinion. That way lies Big Brother.

[NoirTech]

Originally posted by Siobhan
And that's why it's so important for parents to monitor what their children are watching on TV, what movies they are seeing, and what video games they play. I like violent video games as much as anybody. I'm a horror movie fan, so violence doesn't faze me. But, I can also tell the difference between what is real, and what isn't. There's a lot of stuff out there that kids shouldn't be exposed to until they are much older. But that doesn't justify any sort of censorship, in my opinion. That way lies Big Brother.

Amen to that.
Parents do need to take charge on what their kids play, watch, do. I was watching a report on TV where a parent bought their 8 year old kid Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, even though the rating on it was for Mature player. Even though the person at the cashier counter explained to them what it was about, and explained the Mature rating on the game. This parent still went ahead and bought it for their child, cause that's what their child wanted. Now guess who that parent is going to blame when they realize how violent the game is.
No...I don't want to live in a country where everything is Teletubbies because parents can't monitor what their kids are exposed to. For christ sakes....when Itchy and Scratchy come on in the Simpsons...I take my son out of the room for the 10 seconds its on..and then bring him back in. ..and if that doesn't work, I just change the channel. If I can do it, anyone else can too.

[~draxijn]

somehow having just seen 'bowling for columbine' a couple times over the holidays puts an entirely different spin on this thread to me. very amusing...

[~cliffwalk]

Originally posted by Siobhan
And that's why it's so important for parents to monitor what their children are watching on TV, what movies they are seeing, and what video games they play. I like violent video games as much as anybody. I'm a horror movie fan, so violence doesn't faze me. But, I can also tell the difference between what is real, and what isn't. There's a lot of stuff out there that kids shouldn't be exposed to until they are much older. But that doesn't justify any sort of censorship, in my opinion. That way lies Big Brother.

That's why I find it SICK!

They are marketing this game as if it's PG-13. I'm sorry, my children will be raised to know the difference but I'll be damned if I'm going to let them be exposed to violence until they are old enough to sneak it past me and get away with it... And the government is endorsing this ¤¤¤¤!

"America's Army has been rated "Teen (T)" by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) due to depictions of blood and scenes involving aggressive conflict. Titles rating "Teen (T)" have content that may be suitable for persons ages 13 and older."

¤¤¤¤ THAT!

There wont be a game system in my house. I'll let my children buy one for themselves when they're 15/16 and old enough to earn the money.

It's all about what you feed into that mind.

Dave

[~rivetbadtz]

Yeah, as my friend commented, this game seems to be a clever new recruitment tool for the Army. Sneaky ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤s.

As for violence in video games? Over a decade before Grand Theft Auto 3, I was playing ultra violent arcade video games like NARC(with its realistic graphics, prostitutes, drugs, and gore) A few years laying I was playing Mortal Kombat and Doom. I really think that kids need an outlet. I spent endless hours in arcades when I was growing up, and it really was so cool...maybe that's the 80's thing again. But some people think this ultra violence in video games is a new thing.

Senators like Joe Lieberman and others seem so preoccupied with cutting edge video games and movies, they dont even have the sac to address the big question: Bush sending our youth into harm's way for his own personal vendetta.

Oh, and I saw Bowling For Columbine! I'd say one of the top three films of 2002! Really astonishing.

Funny, Japan has like 5 times more ultra vilolence on tv, movies, and video games...yet has hardly any shootings or the sort.
I think it is just American culture. You can show the most horrific carnage(ie: like the evening news) but ya cant show toplessness or swearing on tv. Just an anomaly.

Finally, its not that the government is putting out the game, but that it just looks pretty lame compared to the ultimate visceral war experience...the beyond ultra violent Soldier of Fortune 2!

So politicians can bark all they want about it, but slap the US Army seal on it and all the sudden 'Oh, play up! We need good fightin' boy to go kill dem funny lookin people' sad.

[~Kirlian Blue]

they just send you a DVD and tell you can kill people here...well if i could remove certain people in society like my Primeminister I would play Army.........we get emails say become a soldier or become a Officer which i nearly did luckily army wouldnet let me in as glass in my face! Im glad i did not join now it was a wway out of a situation then

[~Munson]

I do agree with the point that our government shouldn't be wasting time and money creating a video game, but only that point.

As far as marketing goes the average age of a video game player in the US is 28.

The game itself is not that violent. I would compare it to the old Delta Force games or more recently Medal of Honor. It is NOT in the same category as Max Payne, or Soldier of Fortune or Splinter Cell. I would assume that's why it received a teen rating.

I would seriously suggest playing the game before critizing it.

Ultimately who is responsible for their children... PARENTS! Not the government, not the video clerk at Blockbuster, not the quicky mart clerk selling Guns N Ammo or some porn mag, not aol... no one but the parents. If they choose to take a back seat in their childs lives then they really have to accept the consequences.

When I was growing up I LOVED horror movies, playing guns (or war), and kind of senseless violence.

Somehow, magically, I am not a serial killer...

Is it my faith in God, maybe... More likely it is that fact that my parents held me accountable for all the dumb sh*t I did that they found out about. They actually wanted to be parents.

The same people who complain about sh*t like this are the same people who sign their kids up for soccer leagues where they don't keep score and no one loses.!

[~Siobhan]

That's why I find it SICK!
They are marketing this game as if it's PG-13. I'm sorry, my children will be raised to know the difference but I'll be damned if I'm going to let them be exposed to violence until they are old enough to sneak it past me and get away with it... And the government is endorsing this ¤¤¤¤!

It's just another example of why ratings systems don't work. More often than not, people will use the ratings as a "crutch", and let other people tell them what is PG-13, and what isn't.

And Dave, even if you did buy them a game system at a younger age, I think you would be the type of person to check out the games beforehand, since it would be YOUR money going towards the games anyway.

And having the government endorsing it? That's pretty f'ed up, if the game is that violent. But that's government for you.....

[NoirTech]

I think people are judging this game before even playing it. Come on. I've seen more violence in Nintendo games then on this one. It's about military life. Not necessarily about going out and killing. It's not Quake, or Unreal Tournament for crying out loud.

As for games for kids. There are tons of them out there. So no one should have a problem finding something that would suit their childs interest, without getting them something violent.