I’m Offended At Those Offended by Medal of Honor’s Inclusion of the Taliban

Koku writes: "I can’t help but shake the feeling that humanity has no hope. At least when it comes to video games, people being offended by something seems to spark huge controversies even when they will effect their lives in zero ways. This time, it’s about Medal of Honor one of my favorite World Wars II FPS franchises getting the Modern Warfare treatment and bumped up into current times."

[cain141]

I'm glad MoH is going modern...

[XANDEO]

Bet ea's quietley smiling over all the free publicity this games getting.

[Red_Orange_Juice]

I'm super glad about this Taliban aspect of the game, just so all the protesters can go mad and the game still be released, they can whine all they want.

it's just a game, 18+ game. deal with it. you have no right to restrict my entertainment you bunch of "tv-slut" no-lifes

[Wobbuffet]

Taliban, Al-queda, ETA, IRA, Nazi's. All the same, all been portrayed in videogames, are all the same terrorist fanatic militants, so why is the media making a fuss over the taliban inclusion?

makes no sense, people weren't complaining about the first gulf war inclusion in video games 4 years after it started, hell, the japanese don't even complain when we portray them as the bad guys in games, yet people complain about a video game with the taliban. Pff.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

I don't see what the fuss is all about... The people that should be complaining are those being portraied as bad guys when they obviously don't believe they are such a thing (not saying I agree with then), yet I only see western soccer moms and sue happy lawyers arguing over this shit.

I'm much more offended at people prejudice over some ethnic group or a government declaring war to a country, violating an entire population human's rights, with the argument they had to take in some terrorists that don't necessarily hold any relation to such country's government or represent considerable ammount of its people.

Still, you don't see me complaining how those videogames prejudice all mid-eastern people to terrorists, it's just a game... And actually this one doesn't. They specify Taliban, unlike CoD generic ''arab soldiers''.

Is that the Taliban word that this people are complaining at? You can kill Arabs on a game, but they can't be called Taliban? It can't be featured in a game, which supposedely (to those unresponsible parents) is a media of children enterteinment? This is as ridiculous as those words you can't say on TV to not offend some people, but you can inply or even show what they refer to, so you can keep all others watching.

[Ziriux]

Me too and see nothing wrong with playing as Taliban.

[StartWars]

All this controversy should amount to good publicity.

[Brewski007]

Thats what they're saying about the stig too , isnt that right Jezza !! :P

[GamingForever]

Loving this story!

[TheColbertinator]

lol

[MeatAbstract]

Get over it.

[Neko_Mega]

I think the people who are b!tch about it are people with no lives and just want everyone to think they are smart an a hero.

In less they stop movies, books and games from having stuff like this, I think the people are dumb that try to.

Another thing is, even if you ban something, doesn't mean it will stop.

[Bloodyghost]

All the news around this game is hilarous.

To all the little two year old moms: You let your kids play a fucking mature game like Modern Warfare 2 and file the place up with shit and shit talking BUT HERE COMES A GAME THAT ACTUALLY DOES THINGS ON A MORE REALISTIC SCALE BUT IS FROM BIG TIME WAR HEROS AND THERE STORIES AND MOMS ARE A TICKLED PINK OVER FUCKING TAIBAN?

Im sorry unless you start up the game and it says "All Hail Allah, we are the supreme!" or "Remember what we did in 9-11"

Im sorry but to anyone who thinks Medal of Honor should be banned is someone who cant deal with the picture thats ITS A FUCKING VIDEO GAME!

Also its to be realistic, I mean I dont want to keep playing Russia vs. USA its fucking boring! I would love for a MODERN WAR game to have MODERN WAR scenrios! Im buying the game just because I salute EA and EALA and even DICE for following up with this and not pussying out like Konami did with Atomic Games.

[xxchicago33xx]

I don't understand what the big deal is...how is this different than playing as Nazi's in WWII games? The Nazi's were way worse than the Taliban, they killed millions and arguably would have killed everyone given the chance.

But now we have a cow because this is currently happening...makes zero sense and shows how hypocritical our society truly is.

[mirumu]

I agree, and I think it goes further than that even. I don't like the Taliban in the slightest, but games are made for and sold to a worldwide audience. It's a bit naive to think we'll all support the same side or hold the same political or religious views.

Sure I'd probably be offended if games were made promoting views I strongly disagreed with, but is being offended really that bad? The rewriting of history in the movie U-571 offended me no end, but I'd happily defend people's right to make it.

[blikz]

Take example on Modern Warfare multiplayer where you can play as "Arabian soldier". I don't hear any controversy on that. Why MoH have big issues?

[krauler]

by seeing ______________ in a game

fill in the blank with one of these choices:

Communist Russians
Communist Chinese
Vietnamese
North Koreans
Nazis
Imperialistic Japanese
Persians
Zombies

[mirumu]

Australians

No wait....DRM

[Carlos_Irwin_Estevez]

the beard came, it offended, it conquered, it multiplied, it WON the fuc*ing war.

[DarkBlood]

lol

[CobraKai]

The original Medal of Honor games were based on a real life war i.e. WWII. What made them great was the AUTHENTICITY as well as the level of detail that has gone into the game (at the time at least). It only makes sense that in order to maintain the spirit of the original Medal of Honor games, EA continues to make the game as authentic as possible and that includes using real life combatants like the Taliban.

[Xander-RKoS]

What really is maddening that the article points out, is that this game is being used as a weapon against video games as an art form. I thought once Jack Thompson and Anderson Cooper were proven to be liars and crazy that the whole idea that gamers and game developers are violence obsessed and disrespectful people was gone. But no, it continues and this Gold Star Mom person seems like she is using her son's death as a way of pushing her own conservative agenda forward.

The problem is also in the context-less multiplayer. I can understand people not liking the game because it features the Taliban in it (and will probably make them look like complete monsters) but the fact that there is a multiplayer mode seems to be the only problem. The whole thing is just crazy.

[djfullshred]

It seems like a shallow perspective when the author calls the mother of a slain soldier "self righteous" for being upset at this game. The author goes to great legnths to say these characters are just avatars, and it doesn't matter what uniform they wear. What I never see from anyone ranting about this subject is empathy towards real people. And wiothout that, the rants will always appear to be coming from the detached, spoiled brat perspective. After all, who has more credibility? People that have felt the suffering of war, or a young gamer upset because someone wants to see characters in a game were changed? My vote goes towards families that have lost loved ones.

So having said that, what would be the big deal in making the enemey fictional? Everyone defending the game says, it shouldn't matter who you play as because it is just a game. OK then, if you follow that logic, it shouldn't matter to you if EA changed the name of the enemy avatars in a game, right?

When the author says "I can’t help but shake the feeling that humanity has no hope", I don't see him as being above the rest. Because if people are not willing to see the other side of an argument, and realize when a compromise is the best decision, then humanity does not have hope. I suppose thatis how wars are started in the first place, becuase people can't put their egos aside to compromise.

[GusBricker]

The taliban is still fresh in people's minds, whereas nazi's, etc. are the past. I doubt many people would complain if this was made ten years from now.

Of course, we'll probably still be in Afghanistan in 10 years, knowing us.

War is ****ing hell.

[earbus]

I just seen the news australian soldiers had their first big firefight since vietnam one aussie dead 30 taliban dead american soldiers arnt the only ones dying 16 aussies in total have died since the war started if ur on the taliban side online just suicide bomb yourself win , Russia never finished their war i doubt america will either in afganistan. I like the controversy so the nazis in games are accepted cause it happened years ago its a game not a political tug off war day one.

[REDHULKSMASH]

.

[Jack-Pyro]

Why?....wait one bubble, never mind.

[Xander-RKoS]

It doesn't matter, it's perfectly fine that he's doesn't want it because it has the Taliban in it. As long as he doesn't go around saying how evil video games are because of this or that gamers have no respect for the people in military service because of it. Cause then, it would be a problem.