Medal of Honor (the game) Controversy

[HavokFour]

Medal of Honor Taliban Controversy Draws National Media Attention​

The heavily anticipated first person shooter from Danger Close Games, Medal of Honor, has drawn controversy as it has been revealed that gamers will be allowed to play as the Taliban in multiplayer.

The option to play as the Taliban has drawn criticism from various news groups and specifically the mother of a soldier recently killed during the war. 1LT Ken Ballard was killed as the result of an accidental discharge of a mounted M240B from an M1 Abrams MBT. His death was initially reported as Killed In Action, but that was later changed when Army Criminal Investigation Division ruled the death an accident.

Ballard’s mother, Karen Meredith, has been an outspoken critic of the war ever since. With the new Medal of Honor game allowing gamers to either play as the US Armed Forces or as the Taliban during multiplayer rounds, Mrs. Meredith believes that the game will cause undo stress to those families that have lost loved ones as a result of the war.

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Personally I will not be picking this game up. It's way too soon to be making video games about this, especially if it's still going on.

edited for title clarity

 

[vonGarvin]

I've manoeuvred SS Divisions across the steppe of Russia, and I've fought off waves of B-17s flying over the Reich. I've driven to the Rhine with Soviet Tank armies, fighting through the forces of NATO; however, I don't play first person shooters.  I play tactical or higher games, but I do think that some people ought to sit down and relax.  Yes, we are fighting the Taliban, and until they have a first person shooter where you can put in a Burkha and walk into a crowd and set yourself off, well....


Anyway, it's a game.  If she doesn't like it, she can say what she wants to persuade others to not buy it, but I think she's just drawing attention to it.

 

[MikeL]

Afghanistan/OEF is featured in Modern Warfare 2, I don't remember any protest against that.

In every FPS, people can play as the good guys, or the bad guys online, it's not a new thing.


I'm fairly confident in saying that a lot of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, etc will buy this game, many of who are probably vets of OIF/OEF/Athena/Archer, etc 

 

[cn]

...but I think she's just drawing attention to it.

That's exactly what she's doing.  Hurts her cause even more because now more people are talking about it, she's just adding fuel to the fire. 

 

[TheHead]

  Yeah I'm really looking forward to the new Medal of Honor especially since it's in Afghanistan.  They've always been really well made games with great attention to detail. I'm not sure if it's the same developer that has done the previous ones (Allied Assault) Lets just hope they don't fuck it up like Activision did with Modern Warfare 2.

    If anyone plays Battlefield 2 there is a "Realism Mod" for it where you can play as Canadian Soldiers in Panjawai or as the Taliban.

 

[Franko]

I wonder if the Taliban FPS character will have the realism of going over the border from Pakistan only to end up being killed from ISAF troops or will it start as you being a farmer who's family is either kidnapped or threatened with death and you have to go out and engage ISAF?

Regards

 

[TimBit]

I wonder if the Taliban FPS character will have the realism of going over the border from Pakistan only to end up being killed from ISAF troops or will it start as you being a farmer who's family is either kidnapped or threatened with death and you have to go out and engage ISAF?

Regards

Good point. Maybe as well in which you have to shoot other farmers who talked with ISAF because they were fed up of being asked to grow poppy... unlikely.

 

[SeanNewman]

Afghanistan/OEF is featured in Modern Warfare 2, I don't remember any protest against that...

No, but there was a lot of controversy over the airport scene where you unload belt after belt of FN Minimi (C9) into running and screaming civilians.

 

[RCR Grunt]

No, but there was a lot of controversy over the airport scene where you unload belt after belt of FN Minimi (C9) into running and screaming civilians.

Actually, it was an M240.

I wonder if the Taliban FPS character will have the realism of going over the border from Pakistan only to end up being killed from ISAF troops or will it start as you being a farmer who's family is either kidnapped or threatened with death and you have to go out and engage ISAF?

Regards

The Taliban and AQ characters are only playable in online multi-player modes.  Somebody has to be the bad guys.  There is no single player story-line or campaign for those characters.

The controversy Danger Close games were worried about was only partly the ability to play as the Taliban or AQ.  The larger controversy is setting a game in an ongoing conflict.  Games set on a modern battlefield, until now, have mostly relied on fictional occurrences.

 

[SeanNewman]

Actually, it was an M240.

Right you are, Sir!

I had the memory in my head of the green ammo box, but just found the clip on YouTube and it is certainly what you say it is.

Free beer for you.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Medal of Honor Taliban Controversy Draws National Media Attention​

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Personally I will not be picking this game up. It's way too soon to be making video games about this, especially if it's still going on.

edited for title clarity

So you didn't watch Hurt Locker, right? Or generation kill or any of those series. Or played Modern Warfare 2 etc..

Somehow I get the feeling that you're borrowing the "Way too soon" comment from someone else.

Game looks cheesy to me.
"These men aren't soldiers, their not even HUMAN! Their TIER ONE!!!!!!11111"

I heard in one of the missions you sneak into congress and assassinate a senator who ordered SOCOM soldiers to shave off their beards.

 

[MGB]

I don't draw a distinction between the GTA series which allows players to murder police officers and Medal of Honor which allows you to murder ISAF troops.

The death of 1LT Ken Ballard is tragic. And the concerns of Ballard’s mother, Karen Meredith, I appreciate.

I worry about a generation of young people who are raised on games where you can, or where the point is to, kill the good guys ( in this case Canadians & Cops.)

I don't criticize or pass judgement on people who play.

All I know is I personally don't play GTA and I won't purchase Medal of Honor. 

 

[MGB]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/mackay-says-taliban-video-game-wrong-trivializes-deaths-in-afghanistan--101339279.html

 

[SeanNewman]

What is worse, playing as an insurgent who killed ~150 Canadians or playing a German in an older war game who killed 1,000x that many?

I get the point though, they're saying it's too soon because it's still going on, but all great points brought up, specifically the GTA ones.  How is it that you can walk up to an innocent person on the street and shoot them in the head but people raise questions when soldiers who chose their path in life are killed by their enemy.

 

[vonGarvin]

What is worse, playing as an insurgent who killed ~150 Canadians or playing a German in an older war game who killed 1,000x that many?

That is the point: there is no difference.  I have even, in the 1980's no less, "commanded" the Forces of Evil (aka "the Warsaw Pact") as I drove on Frankfurt, employing chemical and nuclear weapons in the Federal Republic of Germany, and even destroyed 4 CMBG.  This when 4 CMBG was still in the Black Forest.  There were no howls of anger then, and if people don't like this game, they should:

a.  Not buy it.

b.  Not talk in the press about it.  It will only drive up sales.

That is all.

 

[Jarnhamar]

That is the point: there is no difference.  I have even, in the 1980's no less, "commanded" the Forces of Evil (aka "the Warsaw Pact") as I drove on Frankfurt, employing chemical and nuclear weapons in the Federal Republic of Germany, and even destroyed 4 CMBG.  This when 4 CMBG was still in the Black Forest.  There were no howls of anger then, and if people don't like this game, they should:

a.  Not buy it.

b.  Not talk in the press about it.  It will only drive up sales.

That is all.

You forgot option C

Buy the game and kill as many Taliban tangos as possible. When you play multiplayer and you get auti-loaded on the Taliban side just quit the game over and over until you get put on ISAFs side. (Which makes multiplayer games take forever since you can't start until the teams are relitively balanced)

Turn the mic on and call anyone playing on the Taliban side fags and traitors and threaten to hack their accout.
Wait that already happens...


Here's modern warfare 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReKUSzo8Y-s

 

[RCR Grunt]

Here are some links for more information about the game:

Medal of Honor site.  You may have to enter your DOB.

Danger Close Games, the developer of the single player portion of MoH.  They are a break away group of former Electronic Arts developers, so they are a relatively new studio.  Not much of a site, it simply redirects you to the MoH site unless you want to apply for a job there.

DICE, the developer for the online multi-player portion of the game.  They are a Swedish studio, and probably the biggest in Northern Europe.  They are responsible for the Battlefield: Bad Company games as well as Mirror's Edge.  Their major claim to fame is the Frostbite engine, that's the software that gives you all the tasty environmental destruction in the Bad Company games.

The gist of it, for those who aren't going to follow the links.... EA is the publisher, Danger close games is developing the single player, DICE is doing the multi player.  Danger close has gone to alot of trouble to make their portion of the game as accurate as possible by interviewing and consulting with actual US SOF personnel.  The game is meant to honor and respect those who serve and have sacrificed.  The SOF pers had quite a bit of input on everything from weapons to story line.  There's no heartbeat sensors or snowmobile races.  It's meant to be realistic and accurate, but playable.

There are games out there that take the realism to a simulation level, games like Flashpoint and ArmA.  These games are not appealing to the console market.  Too big, too slow, too hard.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/mackay-says-taliban-video-game-wrong-trivializes-deaths-in-afghanistan--101339279.html

This article makes me laugh a bit.  Has the MND looked into the game, or has he simply been briefed on whats in the papers and is making his obligatory politico response?

As I stated before, there is no single player mode for the Taliban or AQ characters.  You DO NOT have the opportunity to murder ISAF troops by the bushel.  The characters are there because someone has to be the bad guys when you play online.

When we were kids, someone had to be the robbers when you played cops and robbers.  Someone had to be the Nazis or the Russians when you played army.  Someone has to play the bad guy.

Games like GTA should not be compared to this game.  The MoH games have typically been historically accurate and I'm sure this one will be somewhat as well.  GTA is based on fiction.

 

[OldSolduer]

I'm of the opinion that this is very insensitive on the part of the game developers. Having said that, its a free country, so play it if you like.

 

[karl28]

 
            I think there are allot of people out there who are being Hypocrites . I would be interested  to here  if they have played or heard of any other first person shooters like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1 and 2 or Bad Company series  because you could play the terrorist in the multiplayer versions of those games but there called Militia not the  Taliban . Its the same thing they all look same any how .    In my opinion the only reason why the Medal of Honour developers decided to do this is a Marketing ploy get there name in the papers and other media .
            Also just to clarify things for people who don't know anything about playing video games . All Multiplayer  does is place two teams against each other on a Map and  all they do is blast the crap out of each other to see who can get the most points  .  Usually one team is the good guys like ( the US Marines , Rangers , or British SAS ) and than one team that is the Bad guys ( Usually just called the Militia but they look just the terrorist that you see on the evening news same dress and weapons ) and no body has made a fuss till now  so like I said there are allot of Hypocrites out there .

 

[Jarnhamar]

http://www.1up.com/news/medal-honor-banned-army-air

The controversy that has been steadily brewing around the ability to play as the Taliban in Medal of Honor has gotten the upcoming shooter banned from military stores (via Kotaku).

The Army and Air Force Exchange Services confirmed that no store located on an Army or Air Force bases will be able to sell the reboot. That ban includes 49 GameStops located across the continental U.S., and to all military bases worldwide.

In an email sent out to employees, GameStop said they will be pulling all marketing material relating to the game from those stores. Customers wishing to reserve a copy of Medal of Honor will be directed to an off base GameStop location.

"GameStop fully supports AAFES in this endeavor and is sensitive to the fact that in multiplayer mode one side will assume the role of Taliban fighter," the email reads.

Medal of Honor has particular relevance for the American armed forces, as it it set in Afghanistan and may be based on a real-life soldier. EA did not comment on the military's decision.

The reboot will be out October 12.