With all the talk about video games being a bad influence in general, it's good to hear about gamers actually stepping up to do the right thing - even if it means putting themselves in harm's way. Such was the case with Adam Mapleson, a quiet and gentle IT consultant who tried to prevent two armed robbers from making a clean getaway after a heist - and received gunshots to the chest at point blank for his efforts.

It's a typical case of an ordinary individual responding to the call of duty, really, even if it meant grievous bodily injury. Adam Mapleson was on his way to work when he saw two armed robbers, their faces obscured with scarves, assault a female security guard who was in the middle of reloading a cash machine.

Ignoring common sense and the instinct to run away from danger, he instead ran toward it - tackling both robbers in a mad dash to help the security guard. But even with the element of surprise, it wasn't long before things went completely downhill for our young gamer. Shots were fired, and Adam crumpled to the ground in a puddle of his own blood.

Thankfully, there's no bad ending in this tale of modern-day heroism. Recent news tell us that Adam's doing fine, recovering in a hospital bed, surrounded with loving family and friends. On the other hand, it's quite obvious that things didn't go as planned for the two robbers, with the stolen cash box having set off its security countermeasures: dousing its contents with indelible red dye, effectively rendering the money inside worthless.

An extraordinary feat of heroism from an ordinary human being, indeed. While some people can prattle on about a recent shooting and the culprit's already dubious connection to videogames, friends, family and even Adam himself states on his MySpace account that he's a true gamer at heart. Maybe this could shake some sense into those parties, but who knows?

One thing's for sure, though - Adam Mapleson saw what needed to be done, and he did it. Gamer? Yes. Hero? Definitely.