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What do you think of a video game that lets players be Taliban fighters who kill U.S. soldiers?
The new “Medal of Honor” video game, based on the war in Afghanistan, lets gamers be U.S. soldiers, but it also lets them play as Taliban fighters who kill U.S. soldiers. Relatives of slain troops are outraged. What do you think?
MIKE MANNING, Beavercreek: “It’s a free market, but morally and patriotically it’s wrong. It’s just too sensitive an issue to play games with.”
ROBERT NIGRO, Kettering: “I don’t like it, but when it comes to politics, I go the way of allowing the most freedom. It’s like so many things — the Klan putting up their Christmas tree in Cincinnati, or the mosque near ground zero. The whole idea is freedom.”
PATRICK MANNING, Riverside: “I’m all for letting the terrorists be part of the game, but if you do decide to be the terrorist, you should always lose.”
SUE WOLAVER, Beavercreek: “It’s disrespectful of our troops that have gone over there and fought. It’s disrespectful to the fallen and their families. It should not be released.”
KATIE RUEF, Beavercreek: “Having two brothers in the armed forces, I think that sounds horrible. If they were just allowed to be U.S. soldiers, it might not be so bad. It’s so offensive for those who have lost daughters, sons, whoever. It’s a free country, but there’s a line to be drawn.”
TOM FENING, Fairfield Twp.: “I’d be outraged, too. I wouldn’t buy it for any of my grandkids.”
CHRIS HAWKS, Fairlawn: “It’s offensive. I wouldn’t want my kids playing a game where you’re pretending to be the Taliban and killing Americans.”
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Entertainment
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By sigh
September 7, 2010 7:26 AM | Link to this
Search “Call of Duty airport massacre” and ask why it wasn’t so controversial to play as a CIA agent slaughtering civilians in a Russian airport.
By fortressdayton
September 7, 2010 8:14 AM | Link to this
I agree with SIGH. Why doesn’t anyone ask why the kids get to play all kinds of criminals in Grand Theft Auto, or gangsters in Mafia…The list goes on. On the other hand, not all of these games are made in the US, and not all of the players view our troops as heroes, so what do you want to do? The root of the problem is our obsession with violence. I have a problem with sniper games that let our kids be Marines and kill civilian targets. My choice is to not buy it or let my kid play them. Children who have never experienced war think war is cool; children who experience nothing but war see it as a way of life. 9-11 wasn’t enough death and destruction to wean Americans off of violence, but you would think we would have learned something from it. We are used to being Top Dog and always having the upper hand. Unfortunately, our power is waning and we will no longer be the baddest kid on the block. We might want to start fixing our national obsession with resolving everything by force, and that’s what these games teach our children.
By Pharrell
September 7, 2010 10:38 AM | Link to this
Okay, so who SHOULD the U.S. fight in a multiplayer death match game set in modern Afghanistan? Nazis?
By Retired military
September 7, 2010 10:51 AM | Link to this
They need to think of that when they are in the Marines or the Army and the Taliban is trying to knock them off.
By doublesigh
September 7, 2010 10:58 AM | Link to this
Apparently no one has been paying attention for the last few years. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2 have you playing US soldiers and Taliban fighters (though they don’t call them that by name, the Arabic they speak is pretty much a dead giveaway.) So this is not new. And most video games are actually made in the US. Call of Duty and Medal of Honor (the game the article is about) are both made here in the US and are targeted at a US-based market. Oh, and for everyone who doesn’t pay attention to video games, Modern Warfare (and Modern Warfare 2) are, I believe, two of the best selling games of all time. And there are plenty of people in the military who play them.
By Yvonnia Patrick
September 7, 2010 12:52 PM | Link to this
First of all, it’s not a moral issue to play a video game. But, for principle purposes, it amazes me that people will say it’s “morally” wrong to act as the Taliban killing U.S. troops but then not consider it “morally” wrong to act as U.S. troops killing everyone. Are people really that ignorant? And for those that think the Taliban are the “terrorist,” well they might want to read history and see that the U.S. is not innocent of terrorism. The military that are killing innocent men, women, and children just for fun are terrorists whether you want to hear the truth or not. The truth does not change just because you don’t like it. (Check out the video of the Marines in the helicopter killing civilians walking on a sidewalk) Wake up people!
By Tim
September 7, 2010 2:30 PM | Link to this
Several of you are missing the point. I see many saying “kids”. Well, this game, and others referenced, are rated M for Mature. Anyone under 17 shouldn’t be playing, and if you let them, shame on you. It’s not just about the content, it’s about the fact that adults can make logical discernment between fantasy and reality; and this is just a game, no matter how you slice it. Distasteful? Yes, probably, but that is a matter of opinion. If you find it so, don’t buy it and don’t play it.
By Cat Slobber
September 7, 2010 2:55 PM | Link to this
OMG, The first Medal of Honor game came out almost 10 years ago wher you could play Nazi’s killing American soldiers, where was the outrage then???? It’s a video game people, get over yourselves, and get a life……
By Max
September 7, 2010 7:56 PM | Link to this
Once it was politically correct to play cowboys and Indians…..LOL…But, all this video game stuff is good training, I suppose, for future Air Force UAV operators who can bomb people from the comfort of their barcaloungers without raising a sweat….