Medal of Honor: Killing people is fun, mostly

I like my virtual gore as much as the next video game player but a commercial game that allows players to slaughter the Taliban is pushing it a bit.

Narmeen Tariq October 13, 2010
Violent video games, I admit, are the most fun to play. Killing ‘bad guys,’ slicing off heads using a sword, shooting someone in the gut with a bazooka and putting someone on fire are just some of the ways to kill in video games. God of War, Mortal Combat, Counter strike, Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil, Crime Life are just a few I can think of off the top of my head. I myself am a huge fan of Grand Theft Auto. It’s been one of my favourite video games of all times.

However, one of latest video games to hit the market “Medal of Honor” has stirred up a bit of a controversy. This is not the first violent video game but it sure is the most controversial one as it is based on real life events. It’s set in Afghanistan to begin with. How do you play? You lead a battalion of ‘buddies’ through a historically inspired war, slaughtering the countless foes that obstruct America's freedom blazing path. Need I say more?

With the sudden uproar created because of the game, it was banned for a while because it offended military families but later on, video game lovers continued to play it without the label of the Taliban. But does removing the label really make a difference? Who are they kidding ? The nature of the game still remains the same.  You can’t just make a mockery out of someone’s sensitivities. Are the creators of video games that short of creativity that now they have begun to target people’s emotions?

Video games are supposed to be about fun and invigoration, not about targeting other people’s weaknesses. Is it fair to have fun at the expense of others sentiments? Making a movie on events inspired from real life events is a different case but a video game? That’s pushing it.
WRITTEN BY:
Narmeen Tariq A SZABIST graduate who studied Media Sciences. The author is working as a sub-editor for T2 Extra, the Sunday pages of The Express Tribune.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (17)

Miniclips | 12 years ago | Reply nice tutorial…looking forward to posts more. thanks a lot!..
Ahsen Gilani | 13 years ago | Reply Loved killing the taliban. headshot baby. Proud pakistani, would not hesitate to kill em all.
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