Boxing

I don't understand all of this fury over the release of the new game "Manhunt 2". The game has been banned in Britain, and this week Target announced that they would not carry this video game in their stores because it was "too violent".

Part of Target's reasoning is that Rockstar Games (the same company that gave us Grand Theft Auto) hid much of the game's more gruesome content in an area of the game code that has to be unlocked to be viewed, a process that is apparently a lot easier to do than it should be. It was the hiding of this content that enabled the game to earn an "M" rating from the ERSB (the video games ratings counsel). Many believe the "M" for Mature rating is too mild in light of the existing and hidden content of the game.

The Nintendo Wii, for example, allows you to use motion-sensing controllers to simulate different game actions, so "therefore to stab you're gonna mimic a stabbing motion, to swing a sledgehammer or a shovel you would do the same." So what's the big deal? Kids are going to need to learn how to swing sledgehammers one day if they are going to learn the kind of handy-man work ethic that contributing members of society should be. Maybe if games like Manhunt 2 had been around when I was a kid, I would be better able to help out around the house when we're, say, digging a trench or something.

Furthermore, I don't see what's so wrong with allowing potential criminals to practice their craft at home before they take it into the real world. They deserve the chance to hone their vocational skills just like many other workers. Do we protest Richard Hamilton the opportunity to shoot jumpers at the gym when he's not playing in regular games? Personally, I would prefer an educated and practiced criminal on the streets than the sort of reckless thugs that are now all too common. Better that my mugger knows the precise points at where to hit me so that I am only incapacitated rather than accidentally murdered.

Finally, the quest to unlock the hidden game code will teach younger players how to search effectively on the internet for information, a skill that is becoming more and more valuable as our technological age progresses. Why would we deny our kids this "teachable moment" when they are at their most eager to learn?

Join with me in insisting that Target recant its stance and offer this important cultural milestone for sale throughout its chain of stores!

Besides, if my friend RB can have this much difficulty becoming a boxer by using the Wii, how many future slayers do we really expect to create with a game like Manhunt 2?