As explosions emit from the TV speakers and gunfire sounds in your headset, two pixilated teams rush for a tiny, realistic pigskin. Groups of young adults stand around a TV with their Wii remote controllers, chucking virtual bowling balls. Games have come a long way from their predecessor ATARI, the start of the video game home invasion. The new gaming consoles have come with names like Xbox 360, Playstation 2 and 3, the Nintendo Wii, DS and Gamecube. From the 2D, block graphics of the old Defender I and II, the world is seeing the amazingly lifelike graphics of Gears of War, Halo, the Madden series as well as many more.

The best-selling consoles today are Nintendo’s Wii, selling for $249, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, going at $299 for the cheapest system, leaving Sony’s Playstation 3 in the dust in affordability, which sells at a whopping $499 for its cheapest version. The demand for the Xbox 360 increased with the announcement of Bungie Studio’s Halo 3 coming onto the market in September 2007.

With the Wii and Xbox 360, the most popular games have been Wii Play, Neversoft’s Guitar Hero III, Harmonix’s Rock Band and Electronic Arts’ NFL Madden ’08, which were aimed at a wider range age group than the massively popular, and violent, Bungie Studio’s Halo 3 and Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

What makes these games special?

Halo 3, Call of Duty and Madden ’08 brought the world more sought after realism, and Wii Play and Guitar Hero III brought friends and family together for a great gaming experience through virtual sports or song lists of the most popular rock bands and songs of this century.

For the students of Nicholls, opinions on video games vary.

Ashley Berry, freshman from Westwego, said she likes video games because once she has finished her schoolwork, video games allow her to wind down and relax.

Since Berry owns a Nintendo Wii herself, she also gets to tell her mother she gets exercise without feeling guilty.

“They’re awesome but need to be played in moderation,” Berry said.

Jena McCoy, freshman from Houma, gave another opinion of video games: “I hate ’em,” McCoy said. “They are a waste of time and energy that could be spent bettering oneself and/or the environment.”

McCoy goes on to say playing video games accomplishes basically nothing. In all, she said it’s a waste of the consumer’s money, only a money-maker for those who profit off of kids’ wasted time.

“The Nintendo Wii is the only good invention,” McCoy said, “mixing movement and exercise with video game playing.