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Defending Sony Against the Church Of England

Ian Bogost writes at Gamasutra about the (now quiet) controversy between Sony and the Church of England. You may recall the religious organization's objection to the use of the Manchester cathedral in Insomniac's alternate history WWII shooter Resistance. The result of this objection was a weak-kneed apology from Sony, and an attempt to push the whole thing under a rug. Bogost notes that never once did the company try to defend itself on artistic merit, simply capitulating to the objections of the church. That, he has decided, leaves the job up to him: "For my part, I think the cathedral creates one of the only significant experiences in the whole game, one steeped in reverence for the cathedral and the church, rather than desecration. Resistance is not a game richly imbued with wisdom. It's a first-person shooter, and it is a pretty good one. It's beautifully rendered, taking apparent advantage of the advanced graphical capabilities of the PlayStation 3. The game is very linear, both in its plot and the paths through each level, but that linearity allows it to focus the player on a smaller, more tightly crafted environment. Resistance takes up a common theme in science fiction: an ultimate test of humankind against the Other."

7 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. May I be the first... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    to set fire to a pile of PS3s!

  2. Fantasy or Reality? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Church fails to spot the difference between fact and fiction.

    So what's new?

    1. Re:Fantasy or Reality? by TheMadcapZ · · Score: 2, Funny

      Your right, maybe they just wanted Sony to model the church more accurately, you know, have a priest fingering a boy in the corner or something.

  3. Funny by svendsen · · Score: 4, Funny

    The church asking sony to apologize for doing something bad

    I'm still waiting for the church's apology for everything bad thing it has done ;-)

  4. Re:mmmmm cake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    euuhhh...cake please!

  5. Re:Unless the level was called "Mass Murder" by nobuddy · · Score: 2, Funny

    This gives a whole new meaning to a save point.

  6. Re:Uh, right. by theRiallatar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Idiocy.