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Games Can Help Prevent Military Massacres, Too

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The parallels between video games and the 2007 death of over a dozen Iraqis are clear. Not so clear, but just as important, is the potential games have to prevent such tragedies.

A nice counter-piece to the accusatory tone you may have seen surrounding the story earlier in the week can be found on Slate, where a number of video games are highlighted for their efforts in training military personnel to think first, before they shoot.

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America's Army is one, for how it rewards co-operative play and punishes those who break the Army's rules of engagement. Full Spectrum Warrior is another, for how it encourages leaders to plan their moves, not just go in all guns blazing.

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What's important about those games isn't that they're commercially available titles, but that they're also - or at least used to be - used to train actual members of the US military.

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Beyond this, a number of other in-development or military-only games are showcased, like ones that focus on interaction with civilians, and even a title that helps soldiers learn about sexual harassment.

If you felt like games caught a bad rap earlier in the week, it's a good read. Helps remind you that, like a television show or a movie, games are just a medium, and any good or bad content that comes from them comes from the creator, not gaming itself.

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Death From Above [Slate]