Ever known some one who gets sucked into the mindless world of a video game? They sit down to play a game and they look up at the clock and see that they’ve been sitting in the same spot for a couple hours. The newest installment of the Call of Duty craze, Black Ops has taken this problem and increased it by a factor of 10.

Black Ops was released in late 2010, and it has already caused quite a stir throughout the whole gaming community. It made $650 million within its first five days on sale worldwide, with two million copies of the game sold in five days in stores and online. It is no surprise that the game has become so popular, but with a new game also comes the risk of obsession.

The whole idea of video games is to give people something to do in their spare time, not to spend all the time playing it. Video games are fun to play, but spending a whole day playing online with friends using various weapons to kill virtual people? Definitely not the way I want to spend my day. I don’t understand how you can stare at a TV screen for so long. I would much rather be outside or spending time with my friends. And think about what is learned from these video games, which is to say, not really much of anything. So, don’t let a video game become a priority in life.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to trash the game because I’ve played it myself, and it is a fun game. And this is not meant to single out the guys because I am sure there are girls who are also obsessed with the game. But if a video game becomes such a big part of someone’s life that it begins to take away from family, friends and school work, it’s been taken it way too far. After all, there is more to life than Call of Duty: Black Ops.

by Abby West