EA Cuts Taliban From Medal of Honor

[kotorfan04]

I mean my god playing as a member of the Taliban to kill pixelated versions of US troops, seems like it is in the bad taste line.

How do you feel about playing as Nazi or Japanese troops doing the same thing?

I guess there is no way I can answer without seeming like a hypocrite but I will try anyways.

For the thing about playing as Nazis and Japanese, I guess I never really cared that much since I typically focus on single player, but when I did try multiplayer I will admit I didn't care. I suppose my only potential justification on why the Taliban thing is a big deal and the Nazi's aren't is because well, the Nazi's haven't really been a threat for the past 60 years, yes they have done some very bad things, but they haven't been threatening democracy much. Last time I checked though we were still at war with the Taliban.

I suppose one could argue that since the game is eliciting an emotional response it is artistic. Then again if I had to watch a small child be tortured for a few hours I would have a negative emotional response to that and I don't think it would be art so...

I will change the crux of my argument. First of all I love the first amendment and all the freedoms it gives us so if EA wanted to release a game where all you did was strangle puppies and skullfuck babies then hey it is their right to do so as long as it isn't obscene. However considering there is that big looming supreme court case coming up it might not be the best time to get the right worked up.

So while I thought the decision to allow players to play as the Taliban and kill American soldiers was questionable to say the least, (And knowing Xbox live there will be quite a few assholes who would have played as Taliban just to annoy everyone by being unrepentant pricks) I fully supported their right to do so even if I didn't agree with it. However I am pleased that they decided to censor themselves and pick their battles. I really hate myself for coming down on the more conservative end of the spectrum on this issue, but at the same time the idea was unsettling to me.

Of course it should be worth noting that even though EA did censor themselves no major news outlets will report this resolution and most people who watch the 24 hour news networks will still think that the game lets you murder American soldiers.

 

[knight steel]

ignore this post

But the post is so pretty and cute ^_^.

 

[Druss the Legend]

That has lost the game for me on a principal level. I was willing to shell out for this as it demonstrated how far gaming is coming along. This cop out has cost EA at least one sale.

well im not buying this game any more

So thats at least 2 more points for Jack Thompson and his lackeys.
Although i do agree with you, i will not make my decision about whether or not to purchase this game solely on a name.
I'll hire it first.

 

[Booze Zombie]

This is hilarious, all they did was change the fucking name!
I can't stop laughing, here!

 

[Nurb]

Bunch of pussies trading free speech and expression over popular outrage.

I'm disappointed in you, EA.

You are disappointed that they listened to soldiers and families of soldiers and used better judgment in making a decision? It's not like they were being forced to do anything. They chose to heed the wishes of many people who's lives have been changed by their interaction with the Taliban?

I wouldn't have minded either way really, but it sounds like they at least used good reasoning and judgment in this call.

That's like taking out conflict with police in GTA games because of cops being killed by criminals in realty. Games are not reality, and it'd have been an interesting perspective to see it in the game, and playing in that section does not mean gamers support troops being killed. (More like the assholes wanting to continue the wars are the ones getting real soldiers killed)

 

[szaleniec1000]

Of course, now the opposing force aren't the Taliban I guess everyone who was whining about the game before will be queuing round the block to buy it. If not, then what's the point?

 

[VaderMan92]

im actually kinda glad they changed it i personally thought that naming the enemy the Taliban was a little tasteless and for the people who use the "well the Nazis were bad to" analogy shut up that's not even relevant the Nazis have been gone for 60 years now, they are history, they are not the people who are actively trying to kill people who don't believe in their faith. The Taliban are a current threat and they have deeply affected the lives of many family's (ie the ones who had family die in the world trade center). It is completely tasteless and besides that i didn't want to get stuck in a player match and have to play as the Taliban. Maybe in a few years this will be in the past but for now it is too touchy a thing. I say this not out of a need for political correctness (which i incidentally think is a destructive societal trend) but out of a need to respect the feelings of people who have lost loved ones to terrorism. I mean, Christ, its like making Jew in the oven jokes around holocaust survivors.

 

[ethaninja]

Oh my god, why can't they just get over themselves.

The following might offend some people. But you would have to be pretty thick to. Should probably spoiler that too.

Spoiler

If you ask me it's going to be another thing similar to "African Americans" whining on about how they were "slaves". It's over already. Stop milking it.

Little side rant there. It's a game. Pixels burned onto an output screen. Not real life.

I feel black people (African American is an incorrect and offensive term) have more of a right to complain about the rampant racism and segregation in our country until the 60's and the rampant racism still ravaging the country today, but hey, go ahead and feel like thats completely reasonable. Just like those damn Mexicans are stealing all the jobs we would never do, amirite?

I was actually going to say black. African American IS incorrect as there are white Africans too.

 

[robert022614]

Dont tell the taliban this. What if the real taliban changes their name to opposing force thus making them acceptable into our homes and gamestops worldwide!!!! This is ridiculous i mean all they did was switch out a word that they had every right to have in there. It doesnt change much though, if anyone has ever played any fps online with a taliban-esque multiplayer selection knows the wild chants from players will be ten times as worse as having the word taliban in the game. I am dissapointed in EA for bowing down, but at the same time i dont really care about the word being there either way. It was trivial to begin with and really nothing more than novelty, but when you flip flop like EA appearantly has it just makes me lose respect for the company.

 

[MortisLegio]

ok, so they changed the name
why is this a big deal?

 

[ender214]

And with that I am no longer interested in the game. Looks like I'm going to end up waiting for Black Ops instead.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

The gaming industry isn't going to earn any respect if it buckles anytime public outcry occurs when they try to convey a controversial scenario.

Grow some balls. Controversy is also good for marketing. See: MW2, Mass Effect.

 

[Weaver]

Thank God artists are still being strictly censored in this day and age. Without them they might do something drastic like portray conflict we see on the news every fucking night.

God damnit world, just when I was starting to gain a small bit of faith.

 

[Macrobstar]

I'm disappointed in you, EA.

Ditto. So now who are we fighting in multiplayer? Modern day nazis? Or maybe we'll just fight other americans, you know, really get that political 'hate-america' crowd as part of your consumer base.

they renamed them to "opposing force" ... im serious *sigh*

 

[MarsProbe]

Disappointing. Very, very disappointing. The one thing that was actually making the new Medal of Honour even slightly interesting, and it's been removed.

For shame. See you somewhere outside the sales chart, Medal of Honour.

 

[RooksEye]

Pussies.

That is all.

 

[Galad]

The title made this sound disappointing, but after I read the article quickly, it seems like for those that don't particularly care about the whole "taliban" controversy, that's just a cosmetic change. And for those that do, they get what they want, so it's a win-win situation in practice, even if it might leave some with a weird taste in their mouth, right?

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

Amazing that all this whinging comes from a site that likes to claim it's the most mature whatever on the internet.
'Waaaaah! They've taken out the name of a terrorist faction that has killed thousands of people!' Dear god, listen to yourselves. It's absolutely pathetic. I don't recall anyone complaining about OPFOR (Opposing Force, duh) in Call of Duty, you can complain that Call of Duty is based on a fictional war, but isn't your entire, whinging, point about how it's a game and not real? That would make it fictional, yes?

This new Medal of Honor has always disgusted me, however, being from, what I suppose is a military family myself, given that part of the game or at least parts of the multiplayer take place in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, primarily fought in by British forces, most of our casualties have been there and I highly doubt that those nigh on 250 British casualties there are going to get any sort of recognition for their sacrifice.

So yes, whine that it's some artform, that doesn't make it less of a bunch of crap. There's a difference between this and WW2 though, you can gloss over the parts that make the Allies seem less than saints, World War 2 was far more supported than Afghanistan, where people discuss whether NATO should be there, or protest against it for whatever reason, not to mention that World War 2 isn't in progress right now, for most the wounds aren't fresh, people, however, are likely fighting and being wounded all over Afghanistan even as I type this.

Quite frankly, people's attitudes to this make me sick.