Once upon a time, TV, movies and especially video games could be counted on for hours or indeed days and weeks of mindless entertainment. Now, it seems, the reality of real life is slowly creeping in to my last escape. While the voice of the social conscience has always been around to poke itself into your life here and there, we could generally find plenty of alternative entertainment without what my mother would refer to as ‘socially redeeming value.’ From Saturday morning cartoons to the latest video games, fantasy and the future had a big spot in keeping our minds free of the drudgery of reality. But now I can’t watch ‘The Simpsons’ without a suffering through a reference to global warming. Shows like ‘Boston Legal’ have become thinly veiled political commentary. Enter ‘ICED!’ It’s a First Person Experience game that lets you live the immigration troubles of actual persons that have run afoul of the U.S. immigration system. From a family that overstays its Visa to an Iraq war vet who faces deportation because he turned to alcohol and crime upon his return to the U.S., the game promises to make the player see the problems these folk face as they try to stay in the U.S. (‘Iced’ of course being a play on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.) The game will be free to download and distribute. This is just the latest genre of games to put real life headlines into video play. My fear is that sooner or later, the people responsible for game content will decide to use their own political agenda for a story line. Note to developers; I like rescuing the princess, sneaking behind enemy lines and building amusement parks. Leave the commentary somewhere else