pak066's blog

The NFL blitz franchise began with the release of NFL Blitz in the late 1990's and kicked off a very violent, but entertaining sports game where NFL players were seemingly super powers and many of the actual governing rules of the NFL are disregarded.  The disregard for the actual NFL rules such as late hitting (there is actually a small period of time after each play where a player on the defensive team can hit opposing players after the whistle), pass interference and I think it is fair to say unneccesary roughness.   After not playing the original Blitz for a few years, it came to my attention that while the game is all about the rules of the sport it ignores, there is a surprisingly meticulous attention to rules in Blitz which actually parralel real NFL rules.  There are several obvious rules which are needed just to call it a "Football videogame" such as touchbacks, an existence of a line of scrimmage, and a 100 yard field, however there is one rule that does not fit the "obvious."  This rule is rarely used in the NFL as it is a rarity for this event to actually happen.  When the ball is fumbled and it goes out of bounds in the opponents endzone,


Statistically, it is highly improbable that there is a correlation between suicide rates and video game popularity, but is gaming really that dangerous amoung gamers?  Teenagers and young adults are the most vulnerable both mentally and emotionally, while at the same time they drive the video game world.  When a

13 year old child hangs himself

in his room after being denied the TV to play his new video game, the question is bound to be asked, are video games to blame?  Not in this case, as the boy never actually played the video game, therefore it was the immaturity and inability to fully understand the concept of "death" of the boy that did him in.  There are a lot of places to point the finger; the parents, pop culture for glorifying suicide, or unidentified emotional problems.  The problem I have with blaming video games for the suicide deaths of kids is the fact that the

United States Military uses Video Games

as a prevention mechanism of, thats right, suicide.  What many blame as the cause of suicide deaths of young gamers, our military uses for the exact opposite reason.  Our attention is not in the right place, games are not the problem, but the parents who refuse to pay attention to game ratings, which according to the