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I say this a great admirer of both sports and video games: We should not confuse athletes with gamers."
We need some sort of standards...otherwise, the term becomes vague and, ultimately, meaningless. I would submit that activities like baseball, football, and even bowling deserve to be classified as "sports." Gaming is just fine as a competition or source of entertainment."
And the denizens of MLG are terrible ambassadors for the medium. Give me Jenova Chen. Or Peter Molyneux. Or David Cage. But the stereotypical image of crass, sexist FPS players does gaming no favors."
The fact that Madison finds herself in compromising situations does not make her portrayal distateful and/or sexist. A degenerate like Paco Mendez would naturally seek to victimize women...same with the insane doctor.
Moreover, Madison isn't forced to strip (at least not very far). The game actually rewards you with a trophy for leaving most of your clothes on. And Madison isn't "invited" to an old man's home. She goes there seeking illicit medication. And the old man intended to perform medical experiments on her, not rape her. Though, again, I'm not sure how the accurate portrayal of a sociopathic mindset (i.e. one that might perform rape and/or murder) is a mark against the game.
If anything about Madison seemed gratutitous -- say her chest was larger than her head or she wore impractical, skimpy clothing -- I might concede the point. But she just seems like a plucky journalist who injects herself into dangerous situations and, therefore, finds herself in danger."
In fact, gaming's refusal to embrace a mature presentation of sexuality (for the most part) is yet another factor keeping it in the cultural stone age."
IMHO, the best games provide a highly-personal, accessible scenario (like a father bonding with his sons, as Rob mentions) that allows the gamer to connect with the protagonist. I can't get that experience in your average FPS. Granted, going to war and being in combat is a potent experience, but most people have no basis upon which to relate to it (apart than playing other first-person shooters)."