Red Dead Redemption will improve your memory
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Meet John Marston, a man aiming to blow away memories in the virtual world. According to the glowing review from The New York Times, Marston…
stands between the Old West and modernity — between the celebration of the individual and the collective requirements of organized society — as he tries to salvage a family life from the smoldering legacy of his criminal past.
via Video Game Review – ‘Red Dead Redemption’ Brings Old West to Life – NYTimes.com.
Millions will soon ride with Marston deep into the Wild West via Red Dead Redemption, the next big video game. And millions of virtual creatures, critters and humans alike, are going to die. Prepare for the band of anti-gamers who will deride it for stimulating aggression and turning the brain to mush.
Whether any of those complaints are valid is debatable. But according to several studies, Red Dead players will have the upper hand in certain kinds of memory. According to ‘Gender, Video Game Playing Habits and Visual Memory Tasks (PDF):’
Tasks such as mental rotation, speeded perception and visual memory are likely to be enhanced by different types of computer games and the cognitive abilities practiced during these tasks may transfer to other related visuospatial tasks.
That refers to all video games. The article goes on to cite the particularly beneficial effects of violent video games and hypothesizes ‘there may be something specific about the performance expectations of violent games that actually fosters visuospatial abilities.’
Whether other memory advantages come out of playing Red Dead Redemption is unclear.
Five years ago, Missouri Western University student found a quirky result about memory and video games. Brooke L. Lindenbusch studied the retention of commentary within the games, applying a memory test to three groups: players, people who watched the games live and people who watched the games on video. Lindenbusch found:
The people who watched the video tended to get more answers right on the memory checklist, than those who played or watched someone play.
So maybe gamers won’t remember much about John Marston when Red Dead Redemption rides into the sunset. Well, hombre, that’s exactly what he wants.
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I’m trying to get my one friend who can afford to do so to buy a PS3 so that I can play this.
Be sure to pack your saddle bag Barret, because you will be in there quite awhile.
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] Red Dead Redemption will improve your memory Meet John Marston, a man aiming to blow away memories in the virtual world. According to the glowing review from The New York Times, Marston… stands between the Old West and modernity — between the celebration of the individual. [...]