A previous topic kind of got me thinking; has a game offended you? I Don't mean foul language but the subject matter or the way it was conveyed? I can say pretty honestly that I have played video games for around 18 years now and only one game has struck me as ''nah, that isn't right''
That game is the XBLA Toy Soldiers.
Now at first glance the game seems harmless, it's a bunch of toys on a table top in a classic towers defense game. but after playing for a few minutes, it dawned on me that the game was hiding its true content beind a playful name.
If you zoom in on individual 'toys' you see sa expressions as they walk into machinegun fire, while the gunners laugh and smile, the same when mustard gas is released, the gunners are laughing and slapping their thighs! All the while the enemy 'toys' walk slowly to their deaths, which are portrayed just as realistically as any death in COD.
I wasn't sure what offended me, I have played game where you shoot civillians, gun down animals etc and have never been offended. It dawned on me that it was because the game makers were making fun/light of the war. All shooters dealing with real events (D-Day etc) try to show the events realistically but with respect. It was blatently obvious that this game was accurately portraying the slaughter of WW1 but poking fun at it. They tried to disguise this fact by simply caling the game 'toy soldiers' when infact it had nothign to do with toys apart from the odd boss. The vast majority of the game comprises of you gunning down and gassing hundreds of soldiers who crawl around on the floor dying and choking, while your troops roll about laughing their asses off.
So games like GTA, Soldier of Fortune, manhunt etc never offended me in the least, it was eithre over the top comicbook violence or showed real events in a respectful way.
Has any game offended you either by suprise or just in general?
I think it is fair to say that I have never, ever been offended by something which was meant to offend/raise the bar.
That game is the XBLA Toy Soldiers.
Now at first glance the game seems harmless, it's a bunch of toys on a table top in a classic towers defense game. but after playing for a few minutes, it dawned on me that the game was hiding its true content beind a playful name.
If you zoom in on individual 'toys' you see sa expressions as they walk into machinegun fire, while the gunners laugh and smile, the same when mustard gas is released, the gunners are laughing and slapping their thighs! All the while the enemy 'toys' walk slowly to their deaths, which are portrayed just as realistically as any death in COD.
I wasn't sure what offended me, I have played game where you shoot civillians, gun down animals etc and have never been offended. It dawned on me that it was because the game makers were making fun/light of the war. All shooters dealing with real events (D-Day etc) try to show the events realistically but with respect. It was blatently obvious that this game was accurately portraying the slaughter of WW1 but poking fun at it. They tried to disguise this fact by simply caling the game 'toy soldiers' when infact it had nothign to do with toys apart from the odd boss. The vast majority of the game comprises of you gunning down and gassing hundreds of soldiers who crawl around on the floor dying and choking, while your troops roll about laughing their asses off.
So games like GTA, Soldier of Fortune, manhunt etc never offended me in the least, it was eithre over the top comicbook violence or showed real events in a respectful way.
Has any game offended you either by suprise or just in general?
I think it is fair to say that I have never, ever been offended by something which was meant to offend/raise the bar.
