Video games, like a lot of things, can be good or bad. It depends on how they're used, at what age they're used, why they're used, how often they're used.

I love video games, and I've pulled marathon sessions before- my friends watched me rip through Heavy Rain's storyline and we tried to solve the case together. We've yelled at cheered at each other with 20 other teammates as we've plunged into the depths of World of Warcraft and fought legendary foes. Yeh, we even buckled down and tried storming through the co-op play on Super Mario Brothers. It was a flurry of wiimotes.

However, there's a stigma surrounding video games- they're not all bad or all good. I've played Grand Theft Auto- doesn't mean I would let a child play it, doesn't mean I am a serial killer, etc.

Games are something we can do together. I can't really play sports anymore, but doing something cooperative with my friends gives me at least a bit of sense of teamwork, even if it's just in the virtual world. I was pretty happy when after too many tries my team and I managed to take down a boss on World of Warcraft. Sure, the gold it dropped was fake, but the sense of achievement and the fun we had was real. No, it's not lacing up my skates and hitting the ice, but it does require a certain amount of skill and leadership. I like running a guild with people I know online and IRL friends. You could ultimately say my Warcraft experiences are just as real as PC experiences- I have met people and bonded with people through the game. I know people through their avatars and chat logs, screen names and occasionally voices.

Concentration, coordination, practice- and it was fun. We do stuff in the real world together, and we blow off steam int he virtual world together. As long as we can all tell where virtual and reality meet and end, I think we're all good.

Some people get lost in a book, a film, a tv show... video games let me blow of steam and have fun (in moderation).