Slashdot Mirror


Iraq Game Sparks Outrage, Soldiers Have Mixed Reactions

We recently discussed news that Konami will be releasing a video game based on a 2004 battle in Fallujah. Many people have now had a chance to react to the game, and there has been a great deal of criticism voiced over the game's choice of setting. A group of families of soldiers who lost their lives in the war questioned "how anyone can trivialize a war that continues to kill and maim members of the military and Iraqi civilians to this day." Others criticized the game's glorification of the "massacre." Conversely, some soldiers and veterans have responded with optimism, hoping the game can raise awareness of the realities of war. Dan Rosenthal, Iraq veteran and long-time gamer, worries whether Konami will be able to do justice to the experience. Eurogamer posted a related story about the controversy over increasingly realistic war games.

5 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What do you get when you stick a knife in a dea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    What do you get when you stick a knife in a dead baby?

    An erection?

  2. Re:Yeah all those WW2 games are offensive too by anonymousmeatbag · · Score: -1, Troll

    Yeah, those WW2 games are offensive too.

    Somehow, killing an German or Iraqi soldiers is not offensive. On the other hand killing an soldier of US or GB army, even in a video game, seems to be... well, another story.

  3. KONAMI TAKING BLOOD MONEY by Moblaster · · Score: -1, Troll

    Konami's corporate philosophy mentions something about ethics:
    http://www.konami.co.jp/en/corporate/philosophy/index.html

    How about the ethics of the US military taking the whole male population between 14-60 of an entire city of over 400,000 people, not permitting them to leave prior to battle, then destroying 3/4 of the city?

    Oh yeah, it was in "response" to the murder of 4 contractors. Let's be "fair and balanced" here in respect to Mr. Murdoch's fans.

    It was a mass-murder, not a war fight. It was a genocidal act of criminal cowardice by Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush and their ilk. And we are supposed to go be rah-rah patriots and buy Konami's philosophy and story, let alone their game?

    It's blood money. It's the most shameful act of despicable racism by the US military in this entire sham war. And any so-called patriot who defends this is defending a war crime.

    Konami: there are no words to describe the level of shame to which your company has gone to make money from a massive crime in what is already a crooked criminal war of racism against a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 or Al-Qaeda.

  4. Re:This is clearly different... by Toonol · · Score: 0, Troll

    I think that the ultimate consequences of the war in Iraq may be overwhelmingly positive; the probability seems to be increasing almost every day. The people of Iraq will be well rewarded in freedom and human dignity, at the cost of going through years of danger and tempestuous struggles.

  5. Re:...families of dead soldiers... by BlueStrat · · Score: 1, Troll

    The "insurgents" controlling Fallujah were overwhelmingly local Iraqis, some of which were islamists. Fallujah had for a long time been a center for the resistance to the US occupation, and some of the first larger confrontations between the occupation and the Iraqis happened in Fallujah. You may remember that the citizens of Fallujah demonstrated to get the occupation forces to leave a school, but were fired upon.

    This led to widespread anger in Iraq and particularly Fallujah. As the strength and resolve of the resistance grew, it were able to force the occupation out of Fallujah, and for a time Fallujah were controlled and rebuild by Iraqis. When the US decided to crush the rebellion, the local leaders wrote an appeal to Kofi Annan.

    After the assault and massacre at Fallujah, the Iraqi resistance drew one important lesson: Taking control of an area were too dangerous for their families, because of the US onslaught. Thus, they shifted their strategy from large scale uprisings to hit and run tactics.

    [citation needed]

    Hint: Anti-war, liberal/Democrat, pro-jihadi, United Nations, and war-protest websites and sources with obvious anti-West, anti-US, anti-Bush, and anti-war agendas don't count as citation.

    Strat

    --
    Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.