One of the most important paper about the use of video games in experimental psychology: The games psychologists play (and the data they provide) by David Washburn, Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, Vol 35 (3), pp185-193.

The paper provides a brief history of psychological research with computer games (with a peculiar emphasis on psychology/physiological research). It also highlights the problems caused by the use of game-based reasearch: - difficult to use commercial video games for data capture (not designed for that) - experimenters have not full control over all the variables - consequently it requires to modify the game which is non trivial and time consuming - games can introduce complexity to the experimental situation that has negative consequences (too much context compared to simple psychological tasks) - there is a perception problem associated with the use of games of computer games in psychological research (because games = entertainment for them), not a problem for people who want to study the effects of game on a psychological process but it's an issue for researchers who want to use game-like task or technology to understand the basic process that underlie behavior. That is why people speak about "game-like tasks" and not just games (just to show that they're serious folks and not gamers )

Benefits of game-based research: - more motivation (also pointed by others) and then better performances - enjoyment and well-being - a common platform across researchers - new opportunities for science