Real Target Practice v.s Call Of Duty!
Not long ago I invested in a Play Station 3 and the only game I have is Call of Duty.
The only reason I got it is because my buddies at the shooting range and in the firearms industry kept saying how realistic the game was. So I finally gave in to the peer pressure. I was even out of town at the time I bought it and searched every Costco near my hotel until I found a gaming unit that was bundled with the latest Call of Duty game. I was definitely a woman on a mission.
When I started learning how to play it I spent hours at a time engrossed in the game hypnotically. I ended up with a headache every time I played because I was so intensely focused on completing the mission in the game. I didn’t understand much about half lives so I played the game doing my best not to get hit, clear all the corners and doorways, and advance to the next station with high awareness. It was mentally exhausting. I didn’t think a game could affect me physiologically like that.
Then I started watching YouTube videos for strategies on how to get to the next levels and more advanced missions. What I saw was a bunch of guys filming themselves as they played the game and running right through a line of fire. They didn’t care if they got hit. They were not using any tactics at all. Then I realized they probably didn’t have have the years of firearms training that I have had.
They were treating it like a video game where I was treating the game like a real live scenario. I do my best to approach every training opportunity as realistic as possible.
I believe that video games like this can inoculate people from all the violence they see in the media. I mean they are certainly fun to play. However, video games are no substitute for real life solid instruction from world renowned firearms training experts. So put the gaming controls down for a while and get out to the shooting range. Just some advice to keep your shooting skills sharp. That is all on that subject for now!
To Your Surviving and Thriving,
MaryAnne Morcos, The Urban Survival Chick