What is the deal with the Call of Duty gamers?

[rd_kent]

I saw an interview last night where some basement dweller was talking about how "realistically this simulated actual combat" and that it "was just like being in combat". I also see pictures of people (mostly Star Wars geek-types) dressed in full BDU's acting like they were some kind of soldier.

I guess what frustrates me is that there is PLENTY of opportunity for these people to ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN REAL COMBAT AS REAL SOLDIERS. It seems these guys really think that if they needed to, they would perform just like the game.

Am I overreacting?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. "Am I overreacting?"

Yup.

[leveymg]

2. Who knows. Maybe they'll have their chance

[MrModerate]

3. Couldn't pass the physical. n/t

[rd_kent]

7. From the pics I saw, you are absolutely right about that.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. Yes and no.

You're right about their expectations of real combat. I love when these fat virgins who haven't seen the light of day for months (unless they had to venture out to Wal-Mart to buy the game) act like they know what true combat is like.

They don't. How the fuck do they know it simulates actual combat so realistically?

But I don't agree they need to actually participate as real soldiers. They just need to be honest with themselves...they like the thrill of being there without the threat of death, maiming or anything else that comes with battle.

Kinda like when I play Grand Theft Auto. I love to blow shit up, steal cars and participate in police chases...in the video game world. I would never think of doing it for real, though.

[LynzM]

8. You said all the things I was going to say.

And then some. :hi: :)

[tabasco]

5. Yes, it's just like combat and even worse

when they run out of cheetohs.

[Drunken Irishman]

6. Or the game freezes.

Ugh. Nothing can compare to getting really far in a level, only to have the goddamn game lock up.

I'd take living under Nazism over that.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

9. Your deal isn't with "Call of Duty Gamers", it's with *some* Call of Duty Gamers

My husband is English. He's against the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War. He doesn't attempt to draw equivalence between war and a game. But he bought Call of Duty MW2. He also plans to buy Super Mario Bros. tonight at midnight. He just enjoys video games.

[The Straight Story]

10. Yes you are, and as I have said elsewhere

I know people who have been to war (Iraq) and people going there (my oldest son) who plays this game.
To keep it simple - some people just enjoy a good game.

My son is heading to Iraq next year (was supposed to be Afghanistan, changed once this year and may change yet again). He has no illusions that there is a difference between the game and reality, but he told me that this latest version of the game was as close to reality as someone can get without being there.

Me? I don't know, I don't play it (though I do play some other online games). I have watched my nephew play it along with his two best friends (one as I mentioned above has done several tours of duty in Iraq and was shot on more than one occasion). It is about as realistic as you can get for a computer game from what I have been told.

[paulsby]

12. i;'ve been in shootouts and played world at war

but not the latest version that just came out.

ime, it's less realistic than some games.

the combat in F.E.A.R. for example feels more like real life

i am eager to try this newest world at war, though. maybe it will surpass FEAR.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. You obviously can't simulate the agony of getting shot, losing your friend, etc.

But you can simulate fire, cover, covering fire, flanking, fog of war, randomness of war, etc. Paintball does that. I don't know if this game does.

[Rick Myers]

11. The bravery of being out of range!

Asshats!

[Dreamer Tatum]

14. You never saw the lines for tickets when the Star Wars movies came out? nt

[LatteLibertine]

15. I essentially

agree that war isn't "cool" and shouldn't really be romanticized.

Soldier boy games don't interest me in the least, that said to each their own.

[boppers]

16. Does it realistically simulate sitting on a pointless base, for weeks, eating crappy food?

These folks don't want to be soldiers, it's all about the fight, not the business of soldiering...

Unless, of course, I'm wrong, and in-between combat missions people are required to sit at the console and stare at the same desert scene for hours and hours... somehow, I can't see that in a game, though.

[DireStrike]

17. You have some unstated assumptions.

First I'll deal with the stated one.

"It seems these guys really think that if they needed to, they would perform just like the game. "

Yeah, no. Maybe they found the most unbalanced person possible for the cameras, but generally I don't think anyone feels this way.

Secondly... why would they want to participate in combat? Combat is unsafe. You are assuming that they approve of real combat taking place, and that their only goal is to get in as much killing as possible, real or unreal.

Some of these people may be chickenhawks, and thus hypocrites, but each player might just as easily have a more realistic view of combat.