EA Cuts Taliban From Medal of Honor

[RanD00M]

So a big proportion of active soldiers, and their families are okay with it. Even the families of some fallen soldiers don't even mind.
But then a small group of whiny shitheads come around, and all of a sudden it's taboo to play as the Taliban.
Well fuck those people. Fuck them in their shit stained assholes.

 

[thublihnk]

Two steps back and one step ahead for the art of games.

 

[Cousin_IT]

Doubt they intended to keep them in in the first place. But the controversy gave them a good opportunity to be "we will stand up against cencorship to prove that games can comment on current events!" then pull a last minute "support our troops! No Towlieban!" PR stunt like this one.

 

[HK_01]

The decision to include the Taliban as a playable faction in the upcoming Medal of Honor was a ballsy one, and one that EA appeared committed to despite the predictable uproar.

1. I don't think it was ballsy, terrorists have been included in dozens of shooters and other games as playable factions, just with imaginary names. I don't see how it's more ballsy if they get a real name.

2. I don't think the uproar was predictable. I was actually quite surprised when I heard of the "controversy".

 

[Evilsanta]

Really? I understand that some might be offended but still. Why do they react to the word taliban...Shit no one reacts to the Terroists in CSS or any other game. Damn it EA i thought hade the balls to stand for this.

 

[sindremaster]

I just lost all respect I used to have for EA...

 

[Jamash]

I think a name change of some sort was inevitable, because even if they had decided to keep the Taliban and ignore the wishes of the armed forces and the families of the fallen, then they would have had no right to call their franchise Medal of Honor.

How are video games suppose to be taken seriously as a media (and even an art form) if the industry can't demonstrate even the most basic feelings of empathy and compassion towards the majority outside itself?

It's funny, but the people who are complaining that EA should have just said "Fuck You!" to the armed forces and families of the fallen are the same people who complain that the industry is being demonised and portrayed in a bad light.

 

[Proteus214]

It just goes to show, if you whine and complain enough, you will get your way. Truly a disappointment.

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

So they cave in at the very last minute? I'm starting to think this was nothing more than a publicity stunt after all.

 

[Zerbye]

I think they could have chosen a more appropriate name than "Opposing Force". Ignorant extremists, for instance.

 

[Uri]

just a name change? then who cares.

 

[cobaltfram]

Wait, what? Everyone, you do realize this is simply EA trying to back-pedal an incredibly, INCREDIBLY tasteless marketing decision, yes? That all they were trying to do in the first place was provoke the same level of shock as Modern Warfare 2, only to the point of playing as an ACTIVE terrorist organization responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, simply so people would pay attention to their game?

You talk about how this somehow means that players are now going to be forced to work as a generic brown-skinned group of insurgents, but that's exactly what they would have been in the first place, only with an intentionally-inflammatory label attached. This is for the MULTIPLAYER people; we would not have seen some sort of probing look into the life of the other side in a story-driven single-player campaign -- that would actually be gutsy and worthwhile. This was merely cynical and shockingly tasteless right from the start, and now only slightly improved.

At the end of the day though, it's still just Medal of Honor people. I mean, come on now.

 

[icyneesan]

Oh EA... my disappointment in you is greater then when I heard the new Medal of Honor wouldn't be WW2, but MW...

 

[tendo82]

They should've just changed the Taliban levels to flashbacks where you played a Mujahideen fighting against the Russians in Afghanistan. Then everyone would've been fine with it since, you know, the US was funding them at that point.

It would be easy to make an interesting plot out of that too. After the flashback, you would then discover that the character you played, Bosama vin Shladen, used the experience he gained while cooperating with the US to help start a worldwide terrorist organization called Qal Vaeda.

I mean that story is basically pure fantasy, so I doubt anyone would take issue.

 

[LightspeedJack]

Well done EA now you've totally gone and alienated the Muslim Extremist fans.

In all seriousness though why change it. Opposing Force just sounds ridiculous everyone still knows who you are what's the point?

 

[Croaker42]

Not that big a deal.
I am still buying the game.

Would it have been nice to see EA not cave to reactionaries but hey its not killing gameplay.

 

[vxicepickxv]

Well, I feel MUCH better now that the name of the ebil is no longer Taliban. Now I feel like I can buy this game for my 12 year old.


I hope somebody can sense my sarcasm through this post. I don't have any kids, and I wasn't going to buy yet another FPS just because it came out. I just got Planescape:Torment, so I'll be busy anyway.

 

[Grahav]

Really pathetic. I can't express it in words.

And opposing force sounds really racist. Everybody that opposes the U.S millitary is a muslim fanatic? It is like the old use of communist.