6 Days in a Fallafe- I mean Fallujah

[Chelenn]

So yeees, the upcoming Capcom game 6 Days in Fallujah.

Sounds like a lovely title for a game doesn't it? No but seriously, communities are ranting about it already and we haven't even seen the finished effect. As a whole, we should take a step back, and look at the gaming industry from a broader point of view.

Every year, a dozen or so games come out which involve the most horrendous world war in history, and yet no one seems to give two hoots about this. A number of people equivalent approx. to the population of France today were killed during the war overall, and yet it has now been trivialised into a series of more or less successful games...

Now I can hear you saying, ok but that was 64 years ago, people have had time to get over it. So what? Whether it happened yesterday or a thousand years ago, the atrocities that happened remain the same.

Now don't get me wrong, I am against most war-based games, promoting and trivialising wars that have devastated our past is something I find, for lack of a better word, repulsive. Much as it pains me to say this though, until those communities who are complaining about 6 Days get a sense of perspective, I don't believe this game should be boycotted for the simple reason that it is addressing a sensitive issue.

Don't even get me started on war films...

[Terastas]

What's interesting is that there wasn't nearly this much controversy over the Mercenaries games, both of which took place in countries we're not even anywhere near going to war with (even Resident Evil 5, which takes place in a fictional country, generated more press than the Mercenaries titles).

I think the controversy over this one is due to the nature of the war, specifically that it's very much a hot political issue. If the game downplays the violence and provides a one-sided perspective, it'll be called conservative propaganda. If it tries to capture the true horror of the Iraq war, it'll be called liberal propaganda. One way or another, half the country is going to be pissed off at this game.

Serves them right if you ask me. Generally the rule of thumb for making war games is that you're supposed to either A) make up a fictional war campaign in the near future and/or an alternative time line, or B) wait for the war to be over before you try and cash in on it. That's why this one's getting so much flak and no others; because the soldiers didn't even get to come home before these douche bags tried to cash in on their experience.

[Chelenn]

First, correction, it wasn't Capcom, it was Konami doing the game. Secondly, I regret to announce that this game has been cancelled, as it has been deemed too controversial.

[Chelenn]

Oh yes and Tera, did you know that it was actually a group of soldiers who came back, and decided that instead of going to a film company with their story, they'd go to a games company instead. I wouldn't be surprised if we soon see a movie entitled 'Return of the killer Fallujah'