Whiplash Causes UK Controversy On Animal Testing

Thanks to Video-Fenky for pointing out a UK Telegraph article discussing controversy over the content of Eidos-produced platform game Whiplash, which is "being criticized as 'irresponsible' by police and MPs" in England, because it "depicts animals being abused in a laboratory, including one experiment in which a hamster is fired from a cannon." Labor MP Ian Gibson said he "feared that children would gain a distorted view of animal experimentation", and a spokesperson against animal cruelty "claimed that the game made light of animal suffering, which was offensive." Whiplash is not yet out in the UK, and was released before Christmas in the States to little fanfare, though it garnered some critical adulation.

Comments

What's wrong with the world today????

[foooo]

If you can't fire rodents out of cannons what CAN you do???

U can't be serious

[superpulpsicle]

These people have obviously never seen games like Final Fantasy where you'll probably kill a thousand wolves just to gain one level.

Re:U can't be serious

[MMaestro]

Games like Final Fantasy? Pfft. They haven't seenen games like Everquest where players form organizations dedicated to killing rats and other animals for the sake of money.

Especially that new Final Fantasy, which lets players auction off animal parts for money!

Consistency?

[DamnRogue]

These are the same people that exports comedy skits featuring parrots nailed to posts? Hello, Pot, this is Kettle...

Re:So, then

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell yeah.

I would also like a game where I slaughter things. Cows, sheep, whatever. With bonus points for creativity, like slowly dissolving the cow's skin with an acid spray or something.

I Guess

[Herkum01]

That it would be better if they never find out about this web site!

This IS a serious matter

[cgenman]

Who do you think you are, to say that the suffering of another creature is to be made light of? All members of the kingdom of living creatures deserve our respect, including monkeys, mushrooms, and turtles. Turtles suffer when kicked out of their shells, and they suffer even more when those shells are thrown back at them. Is this the message we want to send to our children? That sending turtles careening off of destructible bricks is a viable form of entertainment?

Re:Missing the point?

[bigbigbison]

THis reminds me of the time a year or two ago when a group of Australian security guards were upset about what they percieved as the unjust portrayal of security guards in Half-Life. Of course while you can kill the security guards in Half-Life, it is better not to since they help you and in fact the expansion pack Blue Shift has you play a security guard.
It seems some people miss the point of things entirely.

Re:and yet silent over *real* experiments

[kyz]

And I don't hear much support for Animal Rights prisoners from our elected representatives.

Oh, you mean violent thugs who like to beat up scientists, set fires in laboratories, and write death threats to innocent people when they're not jacking off to kiddy porn?

"Animal Rights" thugs are sick, demented individuals who use "poor ikkle bunny wabbits" as an excuse to cause terror and mayhem. The quicker the police break up their evil, violent schemes and jail the ringleaders, the better.

I hope they all get a currently uncurable disease. That'll teach them for fucking with the progress of medical science.