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Is there some unwritten rule that says you have to stop playing video games when you get passed a certain age? I hope not! I'm in my early thirties and I enjoy a good blast on a console as much now as I did in my teenage years. In fact, if anything, video gaming is less of an IQ dampener now than it was when I was kid back when Mario was a toddler and Sonic was but a twinkle in his mother's prickly eye.

Apart from the fact that game environment development has moved ahead light years since then, stories lines and level mapping have become more and more important. The gaming mind has evolved with the consoles and games. No longer are gamers satisfied with platforms and flowerpots. The involving story line, believable graphics and frustratingly difficult puzzles are now the crown jewels of game development. I would content that solving some puzzles in the latest Tomb Raider overing requires as much brainpower as a moderate crossword in the Times.

Unfortunately, the anti-gaming establishment don't see it that way. These people have a fairly narrow view of consoles and gaming: 'it's all violence and bad language', 'moronic' 'lack of imagination', etc. These are just some of the sentiments you'll hear if you bring gaming up around the dinner table or tune in to a debate on the radio or on a forum such as this. The truth is though, adults don't like to admit they enjoy something as low-brow as gaming.

Of course, I wouldn't dream of claiming that there is no such thing as a violent video game, or that bad language never crops up in the occasional story line (just as in films such as Saving Private Ryan or Four Weddings and Funeral). Examples of such games are rife: Gears of War, Halo, GTA, to name but a few. This is where the responsibility of the individual comes into play. Like all things are enjoyable, moderation and timing are key. For example, I wouldn't dream of downing a crate of beer with my mates in front of my 4-year-old daughter, in the same way, I wouldn't dream of having a session on Gears with her in the room either. Would the anti-violent-gaming lobby dream of putting an adult-rated movie on with kids in the room? Of course not, but nobody is castigating violent or adult themed movies.

It is curious that in this day and age there are pockets of the community who still mutter and snipe about video games. The gaming industry is a multi-million dollar/pound industry that provides jobs and prospects for thousands all across the globe. Here in the UK game development

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