Call of duty & console gaming destroying independent thinking

The past few years, we've seen a rise in a video game franchise, titled "Call of duty", and the rise of console gaming with, the ps3, xbox 360 and nintendo wii becoming "mainstream" and "casual", gaming is less hardcore and, anyone can just jump in, from toddlers to grandma, not that im saying thats bad, but it gets to a point, when it becomes bad, and we've currently long gone past that point.

The first 4 COD games, did take some skill and had a learning curve.
But from there on in, it seemed every other sequel, became basically the game playing the game for you, from perks, to auto aiming, and killstreaks, there is no learning curve behind the game, and the past 4 games have been EXACTLY the same, other than just a re-skinning, and the upcoming Modern Warfare 3, is just the deleted scenes from Modern Warfare 2, nothing has changed.
Yet people are sucked in, wowed and impressed by this new version of the game?

I mean, if a different accent can "impress" and "wow" people, then that proves how dumb people are, anything will impress the masses.
It seems people love the most useless of things

I would have to say that gaming has been lowering the IQ bar of people since Doom fell of the map. By offering no mental challenge other than pressing a button, the brain tends to be frozen in time, and it stays stagnant even after the game is over.
Games like COD, that break record sales, have little to do with thinking, and more with easy tasks.
People would prefer to play on a console, than build a PC to play, everything is just done for them, no thinking needed.

Do games, and consoles kill independent thinking?
Seems the only people who game on consoles and play call of duty, are bro-gamers (people from fraternities, generally the low i.q'd, and 13 year olds).

You must have missed the COD Elite app being added... but seriously, Battlefield 3 is going to smoke COD this time around if there is any truth to the buzz, so you have nothing to complain about.

portal 2 took some working out!

though, you are pretty spot on about COD!

I disagree. It's the low IQs and desire for instant gratification that's ruining video games.

Just as an example- League of Legends. Go to their forum and you'll see people crying and screaming about how "over powered" a certain champion is, rather than learning to counter it.

"That champion does high burst magic damage and you want me to buy magic resistance?!?! Hurrrrdyyydurrrdyyydurrr no way that's stupid. Nerf plz"

The game developers will cater to the normal (stupid) masses, not the intelligent few.

I've read the news on the incoming moble apps for cod elite.
Isn't that itself proof of it dumbing people down?
It offers nothing, other than over charging and exploiting it's fanbase.

COD is like a club anyone can access, and if you don't have the game, your peers don't recognize you as "cool".

But i agree on Battlefield 3 though, it's definitely going to end COD's Kill streak.

i'm more interested in the next arma game, i always thought COD and battlefield games were for kids

So 1 game got smashed into fine paste to a point where it's just pew pew, so now all games are terrible ?
Games like WoW (World of Warcraft) for example can teach people teamwork. 5, 10 or 25 people having to work together to kill an enemy.
Puzzle games help with logic thinking and such.
Have you ever seen a Starcraft 2 tournament? If so, have you ever seen a player behind his computer playing in a Starcraft 2 tournament? It's constant thinking and reacting to the current situation.

So tell me, are you trolling or just close minded.

reply to post by RadeonGFXRHumanGTXisAlien


play the game heavy rain
im sure youll like it

no war game has ever bet the old medal of honours
but i usually need a good plot if im gunna be able to play the whole thing

theres still good shooters tho like resident evil and stuff like that

i know what your saying and a lot of games are doing this
but i think a lot are good and actually stimulate the brain rather than dumb it down

No i was referring to Call of duty, and console gaming, not PC gaming.
SC2, WOW, and Rift are PC only.

I'm talking about consoles.
Since consoles are easy to purchase, and easily distributed, as well as COD being highly mainstream and popularized.
Every COD, from COD4 is the consoles shooter.
Wouldn't it be a good outlet to dumb down those who play it on consoles.
Instead of destroying people physically just do it mentally.

A- This isn't a Conspiracy and
B- Call of Duty is comparable to twilight, it IS Twilight for men, and
C- Console gaming isn't destroying independent thinking. Schools, social networking, and bad parenting are, parents aren't raising there kids anymore, they let others do that for them.

The current American Brain Drain isn't helping the gene pool either.

My Call of Duty summary:
Campaign: Derp, go destroy terrorist and save teh world
Multiplayer: 3 second compression of R-trigger

Originally posted by Segador
A- This isn't a Conspiracy and
B- Call of Duty is comparable to twilight, it IS Twilight for men, and
C- Console gaming isn't destroying independent thinking. Schools, social networking, and bad parenting are, parents aren't raising there kids anymore, they let others do that for them.

The current American Brain Drain isn't helping the gene pool either.

My Call of Duty summary:
Campaign: Derp, go destroy terrorist and save teh world
Multiplayer: 3 second compression of R-trigger

B- Call of Duty is comparable to twilight, it IS Twilight for men, and
Good one.

When I think about the success of many independent games like minecraft then I have to strongly disagree with your OP.

reply to post by RadeonGFXRHumanGTXisAlien


Yeah man! Consoles are making us stupidererer!!

No, this is what i meant.
Games are dumbed down to appease the masses.

Have to agree on this one. I use to enjoy playing video games, but now it's just not a mental challenge. I enjoyed the games like Metroid, because you had to Think your way through, look for hidden weapons and passages. You had to figure out the weaknesses of each monster and how to exploit it. Now, it's just point and shoot on most games. I also think cheat codes and quick answers online when you get stuck, takes some of the challenge out of the experience.

reply to post by RadeonGFXRHumanGTXisAlien


I personally go for JRPGs and while they are not particularly thought-intensive they do provide an impossible-to-understand story that I always enjoy, a bunch of scantily-clad schoolgirls, and some really big swords. On a console. Plus us console gamers have SSFIVAE. Reflexes, Baby! Also, most gamers on ATS are probably smarter than average, so it might defeat the purpose of the thread...

Originally posted by RadeonGFXRHumanGTXisAlien
No i was referring to Call of duty, and console gaming, not PC gaming.
SC2, WOW, and Rift are PC only.

I'm talking about consoles.
Since consoles are easy to purchase, and easily distributed, as well as COD being highly mainstream and popularized.
Wouldn't it be a good outlet to dumb down those who play it on consoles.
Instead of destroying people physically just do it mentally.

Thought you meant the whole thing with: "Do games, and consoles kill independent thinking? "

I don't play much online console games but anyway, consoles... ever player Monster Hunter online? (went from PSX to PSP to Wii) It's kind of like WoW where you have to work together, just a different fight mechanic.
Little Big Planet, while mostly fun an such, it is still a puzzle games where, if played online, you sometimes require teamwork.
Some game mode of Resistance 2 has classes, you need some tanks, healers and 'dps' to get through a level. Again, teamwork is required, if you don't heal, revive, defend teamates, ... you are doomed.
As mentioned, I don't own that many online console games, so these are the only ones I can think of from the top of my head.

reply to post by RadeonGFXRHumanGTXisAlien


Oh come on. Consoles have limits, as the controller can only do so much and the hardware is fixed (unless modded) so the comparison is not viable. Before this degenerates into a Console/PC debate let me say that sometimes the smarter people go for ease of use rather than opting for a virus-ridden nightmare. But tell that to the poor people on PSN... I guess you really can't win. But this has nothing to do with intelligence.

if you feel that gaming insults your intelligence
perhaps it is time to move beyond gaming
there are so many real things
that you can use your brain for
you can make a difference.

Yea COD has gotten stale over the yeras, Why not try somthing like Crysis 2 that's a much better FPS or get Battlefield 3 when it comes out the graphics just look awsome.