Slashdot Mirror


New Video Game Recreates Kennedy Assassination

theodp writes "Lee Harvey Oswald-wannabes will be able to simulate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy when Traffic Games releases the $9.99 JFK Reloaded on Monday to coincide with the 41st anniversary of Kennedy's murder in Dallas. 'It is despicable,' said a spokesman for Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the late president's brother."

21 of 832 comments (clear)

  1. Warren Commision. by krymsin01 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I was look around on their site earlier. Seems to me that the point of this game is to get people to question the findings of the Warren commision by showing how impossible it is to pull off.

    If you can, they offer a $100,000 reward. Sounds like it's bot time to me...

    --
    stuff
  2. Re:If it were a different president by DrMrLordX · · Score: 3, Informative

    While I might or might not agree with your assessment of the Slashdot editors' political opinions, we would all do well to be careful when making remarks regarding violence towards current or former presidents, as well as presidential candidates and other high-level federal officials(elected or appointed). There are laws regarding this sort of thing. If I recall, some late-night talkshow host got into some serious trouble years ago by showing a picture of W at a podium with the words "Snipers Wanted" underneath. Or, something like that. Quite a stir arose from the incident.

  3. even tasteless chuckleheads deserve entertainment by EllynGeek · · Score: 2, Informative

    I guess. Or maybe not. But it's not like the cretins who play this game would be doing something useful otherwise.

    --

    we will end no whine before its time

  4. Re:'It is despicable,' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative
    You mean exactly like Laura Bush killed her childhood boyfriend during a late night party where the police report has the speed of her vehicle blurred out and she says that it was just an unfortunate accident?

    Just like Teddy.

  5. For a more tasteful take, try XIII by majid · · Score: 3, Informative

    XIII is a FPS based on a hit French illustrated series of the same name, and loosely inspired by the JFK assassination. You play the role of an amnesiac who finds out he is somehow implicated in the assassination of a US President, and must clear your name and recover your past. The twist at the end is stunning. Interestingly, the 3D is rendered to resemble cel animation, very cool.

  6. Re:If it were a different president by Socrates+Demise · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ya, They had the secrete service at Boulder High School in Boulder Colorado after a talent show where a group of students planned to use a Bob Dylan song to say they wished for the death of President Bush.

    Here's the story on Reuters.

    --
    I hate stupid rules... Rules that make sense I don't mind... But the stupid ones just really bug me!
  7. Re:'It is despicable,' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    " In the fall of 1963, Laura narrowly averted a life of pointless obscurity, when she ran a stop sign and collided with another vehicle, inflicting a fatal neck fracture on Mike Douglas, a then-serious boyfriend"

    In-depth Snopes info (TRUE)

    (not same AC)

  8. Re:'It is despicable,' by IvyMike · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes, as so was your boses behavior when he, while driving drunk, killed a woman.

    Well, that's pretty much off the topic--so what? That doesn't change the fact that what he's saying is correct.

    But if we're merely trading partisan barbs, it is fascinating how many prominent politicians are guilty of drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter.

  9. If you RTFWS by Shihar · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you bothered to read the fucking web site you would quickly realize that this game is hardly distasteful. It isn't a shooter where you try and whack hordes of secret service guards to kill JFK. It sounds like a project to try and show that the shot was impossible. It is a simulation. Just spend thirty seconds reading the website and it becomes pretty clear that the motive for the game is pretty pure. Hell, just skim the FAQ and you should get an idea what these people are about. If it was some KKK website letting you shoot that liberal panzy, I would agree, but it sounds more like a historian with too much time on his hands.

  10. Unsolved History: JFK - Beyond the Magic Bullet by calc · · Score: 4, Informative

    It was on the Discovery Channel and was called "Unsolved History: JFK - Beyond the Magic Bullet" It doesn't show to be airing again anytime soon. However, they do have the DVD for sale on their site - here

  11. Re:Sequel ideas? by Bishop923 · · Score: 2, Informative

    For those that don't get the reference...
    Grover Cleveland was the only president to be elected into office(1885-1889, fail at his first re-election* then run again 4 years later and win a second term(1893-1897), making him both the 22nd and 24th president.

    *Interestingly enough he lost under the same scenario that Al Gore fell victim to in 2000, namely that he got more popular votes, but lost in the Electoral votes.

  12. Re:Sequel ideas? by Ben+Hutchings · · Score: 2, Informative

    Uh, yeah, that's what "Chappaquiddick" refers to.

  13. Re:Guys, read the site before you jump to conclusi by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 4, Informative
    The game is intended as an "interactive reconstruction." The idea is to see how plausible the findings of the Warren Commission are. There's even a contest with a $100,000 prize if you can pull off the shots that Lee Harvey Oswald was supposed to have taken

    Except it's already been done. It was covered on either the History Channel or the Discovery Channel a while ago. They made models out of ballistics gel with pig bones inside, and had a shooter on a crane to get the same angle and distance Oswald had, using the same model gun from the same year, firing the same model bullets. He made the shot, the "wounds" on the ballistics gel model matched the wounds on Kennedy and Connely, and the damage on the bullet was almost identical to that of the so-called "magic bullet".

  14. Re:Guys, read the site before you jump to conclusi by Phil+Karn · · Score: 4, Informative
    This game is clearly an attempt to show just how implausible the official explanation for the JFK assassination is.

    Actually, the authors are trying to show exactly the opposite, that the Warren Commission made perfectly reasonable conclusions. Perhaps you should actually read what the game's authors said before you spout off your tired old conspiracy theories.

    ...they didn't want thousands of American tourists going up there each year, pointing out the window, and realizing "There's no fucking way!"

    Funny, when I visited Dealey Plaza, it seemed so... small. Then I visited the Sixth Floor museum and stood next to that window. That shot was easy! The only mystery is how he actually managed to miss one shot out of three.

    By the way, I've actually read the Warren Commission report. Have you?

  15. Re:If it were a different president by aero2600-5 · · Score: 2, Informative

    "The US Constitution contains in it the 2nd Amendment, which promises the right of an armed citizenry."

    I will most certainly set you straight. The National Rifle Association is very fond of the second half of the second amendment. They deliberately choose not to mention the first half of the second amendment. The second amendment states "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Are you a member of your state's militia? No, you're probably not. As such, you have no constitutional right to own a firearm and 'bear arms'. The constitution was written 200 years ago. Had they been psychic, they would have written it better so that we don't need to have this discussion, but like us, they were human. Do I think we should make it illegal to own a weapon? No, because then only criminals would have weapons. Fight for your right to defend yourself, don't use the constitution as an excuse.

    As for this video game, it may be in poor taste, but it's perfectly legal. There are many people that don't want be reminded of JFK's death, and they'll shy away from it. That's their choice. You have the right to free speech, but I don't have to listen to you. That's how free speech works. If you don't like what someone is saying, don't listen to them.

    And, if it matters, I declined the opportunity to moderate this discussion so that I could set you straight. Feel special.

    --
    Please stop hurting America -- Jon Stewart
  16. Re:Why stop there? by Thwomp · · Score: 2, Informative

    Not as long as you think, 911 Survivor anybody?

    Here are some screenshots

  17. Re:Doesn't Sound Fun to Me by Idarubicin · · Score: 5, Informative
    He senates for Massachussets.

    Verbing weirds language....

    --
    ~Idarubicin
  18. Re:Guys, read the site before you jump to conclusi by Fade_to_Blah · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually there was some damage. The bullet head was flattened out some and lead was starting to come out the back of the bullet. The discovery channel show's bullet matched the photos from the magic bullet with unbelievable accuracy.

  19. Re:Guys, read the site before you jump to conclusi by CreatureComfort · · Score: 4, Informative



    As someone who lives in Dallas and has been to the six floor museum several times I can definitively say you are full of B.S.

    The entire six floor is dedicated to a museum covering the event. Until a couple years ago, you could actually crouch down at the window, in the exact position Oswald was in. They had to block that area off (about a 10'x12' area) with glass walls because idiots kept trying to "rearrange" things or "leave momentos" that they had been there. I believe that you can actually still get into the area, you just have to pre-arrange it with the curating staff.

    The six floor museum is actually the best museum on a political subject I have ever seen. I really expected it to be highly biased, one way or another, however, it turns out to be an incredibly unbiased and thorough review of all the credible work that has been done on the assasination, as well as a good, unbiased review of Kennedy's life and presidency. I was overwhelmed the first time I went through with all of the information presented. I've been back 3 times, by myself, just so that I could spend timing examining some of the displays and presentations, rather than rushing through with visiting family and friends from out of town.

    Even if you aren't really interested in museums or the assasination, I would still definate recommend a stop at Dealy Plaza and the museum if you pass through Dallas.

    --
    "Unheard of means only it's undreamed of yet,
    Impossible means not yet done." ~~ Julia Ecklar
  20. Re:Cartoon Physics sure helps get it accurate by tgibbs · · Score: 4, Informative
    Hardly sounds like "cartoon physics":

    The ballistics in JFK Reloaded are significantly more advanced than those present in traditional "shooter" video games. This is in keeping with JFK Reloaded's status as a true simulation of the events in Dealey Plaza in 1963. For example:
    The bullets travel through the air at the correct speed - they don't instantly reach their target. Therefore you have to shoot in front of moving targets ("aim off") in order to hit them.

    As the bullets travel they are subject to gravity, and thus travel in a curved path - the further away the target is, the higher you have to aim. For example, if you shoot at the bridge, you will see the point of bullet impact quite far below the cross-hair point; shoot at the (closer) Stemmons Freeway sign, and you'll see the impact point has dropped less.

    When bullets hit objects, they react according to the material they hit. For instance, they will pass through glass and upholstery unhindered; pass through flesh with some deflection; and either glance off or pass through bone, depending on the angle of impact.

    Angles of ricochet and internal body deflection are highly accurate simulations, based on the laws of physics.
    The bullets have a certain amount of energy. As they penetrate and/or ricochet, they lose this energy as appropriate. So for instance a bullet that has already gone through a human head has very little energy left, and will tend to lodge in the next thing it hits.

    Bullets can travel complicated paths, bouncing around from object to object (within the limitations of their energy, see above). It is even possible to take 'bank shots', by intentionally ricocheting bullets off buildings.
  21. Re:But that's all irrelivant/invalid by smooth+wombat · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, I think it was the History Channel which just proved that that was exactly what happened.

    Using lots of new technological goodies unavailable to the Warren Commission, they were able to show that with Kennedy sitting higher than Connally, and Connally sitting slightly to the left, the bullet would have passed through Kennedys throat and into Connallys arm then wrist then leg. Exactly as the Warren Commission said.

    They even used someone who was approximately the same height and weight as Kennedy and by putting small pieces of metal on a shirt, and then doing an x-ray, the bullet wounds were exactly as were done in real life. They even had this model sit in a position just like Kennedy had been and did the x-rays with the same result.

    They even used a nearly identical rifle and fired a round into specially made recreation of the human body. A firm in Australia does it I believe. The bullet, when examined, came out almost intact. Just like in real life.

    In the past I always poo-pooed the single bullet theory. However, after looking at the Zapruder film and comparing it to the model and the computer generated recreation, I have my doubts. It does look plausible that a single bullet could have done what was done.

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower