'America's Army' riles the blog troops

It's no surprise, particularly in light of the waning support for the war in Iraq, that there are bloggers out there having trouble stomaching the idea of a government-produced online video game that doubles as an Army recruitment tool. But the fury over "America's Army," has been fueled by news of the game's latest version, in which players can interact with real decorated soldiers and watch videos about their experiences in the real Army.

War protesters aren't just looking at the game from the outside. One "media artist," to the chagrin of some gamers, has infiltrated "America's Army," getting his player shot in order to memorialize individual dead soldiers, according to a Salon.com article.

Many worry that the game further desensitizes youth to bloodshed on the battlegrounds. Meanwhile, some of the other 7.5 million registered users are busy touting its new features.

Blog community response:

"Ok, my take on this is pretty simple. The murder of innocent civilians around the world is being promoted and advertised as being as easy as pushing a few buttons on a video game controller. Don't you see how ALL of these war/shooting games are de-sensitizing the American youth to blood, gore and death. Kids are growing up today without concern or compassion for human life"
--The American Muslim

"Why does the Army want kids to relate to soldiers? Not to help them cope with the struggles of being a citizen of a nation at war, but sadly, crassly, to recruit them...Could this also be a sign of the increase in popularity of nonfiction over fiction? Is it better to show kids what it's like in battle? It is still sugar coated, though."
--Radical Pie

"I think I would prefer if the military would spend the money on proper body armor for the troops over there. Also if we do Iran next you can expect a draft and we can all play this for real...I hear it is an amazing Game Engine with wicked Physics."
--elaborator on Blue's News