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The Game Overthinker recently did an episode about that. http://gameoverthinker.blogspot.com/2011/06/episode-52-dark-days.html
If the game had been called something else, as in having nothing to do with Blackwater, I doubt it'll be getting the kind of controversy that it's getting right now. Besides, Nintendo did help gaming's image a lot in the past five years. Given that, I don't think this game is going to do that much damage to the industry, so long as most gaming publications and news outlets avoid putting this title in the spotlight.
If the game had been called something else, as in having nothing to do with Blackwater, I doubt it'll be getting the kind of controversy that it's getting right now. Besides, Nintendo did help gaming's image a lot in the past five years. Given that, I don't think this game is going to do that much damage to the industry, so long as most gaming publications and news outlets avoid putting this title in the spotlight.
Wait? So this game is an old school arcade style on rails shooter? The kind where every once in a while civilians pop up and you have to avoid shooting them?
I can see where this is going...
I can see where this is going...
I do know that the founder of Blackwater is on-board as an advisor, so I'd guess "Yes". The thing is: you could make any generic shooter, with any generic protagonist, antagonist, setting, etc. and use these controls. What did they do? They went and used the name of a despicable organisation and asked the founder of the latter to assist them in developing this title. That would make it a terrible gameplay experience for me, knowing who's involved. Kind of similar to watching a movie you know's been funded by people responsible for the most horrific of crimes. It just doesn't work.
Nice follow-up, Chad.
The game itself seems like it makes good use of Kinect which may perhaps bode well for future games in the FPS genre. It also seems like it may turn out to be a decent enough game so I can't fault anyone who decides to enjoy this title because they enjoy the experience.
Personally, I don't approve of Blackwater or their actions and while this game may only bear their name as a promotion, it is enough to make me not want to purchase the game. Now I'm not making any statements about the quality of the game itself, but I do not wish to purchase a product that promotes such a group. Other people may make their own choices as they see fit.
Either way, glad to see this topic revisited.
The game itself seems like it makes good use of Kinect which may perhaps bode well for future games in the FPS genre. It also seems like it may turn out to be a decent enough game so I can't fault anyone who decides to enjoy this title because they enjoy the experience.
Personally, I don't approve of Blackwater or their actions and while this game may only bear their name as a promotion, it is enough to make me not want to purchase the game. Now I'm not making any statements about the quality of the game itself, but I do not wish to purchase a product that promotes such a group. Other people may make their own choices as they see fit.
Either way, glad to see this topic revisited.
Whether or not the former Blackwater guys (now Xi) profit from this game doesn't matter to me in the least. If the game had some element of controversy built in, say you're the only naysayer among your colleagues when it comes time to fire on civilians after a night of heavy drinking in an Iraqi bar, then maybe I'd have less of an issue with it.
However, from everything I've read, it seems like you're just another generic good guy tasked with shooting brown people and bringing freedom to the middle east. It's kinda like revisionist history, these people are not and were never heroes, they were/are war profiteers acting outside of the law in a hostile environment. Any portrayal of Blackwater employees as heroes, or any implied notion of heroism, while completely ignoring what they are publicly known for doing (and what they're not so publicly known for doing, they were a lot more involved in nefarious shit than most realize), is insulting to the real heroes out there, and to consumers who are being presented a rose tinted history lesson.
Great game or not, it's not all that different from glorifying the rounding up of Jews by the Nazis in the late 1930's by making a game that made it seem like you were an altruistic SS member hunting down Jewish spies who wanted to take away your freedoms. It's just not how it happened, and if you're going to make a game based on real people you better damn well get the story straight. Especially when those people aren't exactly considered saints.
However, from everything I've read, it seems like you're just another generic good guy tasked with shooting brown people and bringing freedom to the middle east. It's kinda like revisionist history, these people are not and were never heroes, they were/are war profiteers acting outside of the law in a hostile environment. Any portrayal of Blackwater employees as heroes, or any implied notion of heroism, while completely ignoring what they are publicly known for doing (and what they're not so publicly known for doing, they were a lot more involved in nefarious shit than most realize), is insulting to the real heroes out there, and to consumers who are being presented a rose tinted history lesson.
Great game or not, it's not all that different from glorifying the rounding up of Jews by the Nazis in the late 1930's by making a game that made it seem like you were an altruistic SS member hunting down Jewish spies who wanted to take away your freedoms. It's just not how it happened, and if you're going to make a game based on real people you better damn well get the story straight. Especially when those people aren't exactly considered saints.
Blackwater is Xe security now.
To be honest, I'm surprised the game gets controversy when the blackwater branded shotguns that came out earlier this year didn't.
To be honest, I'm surprised the game gets controversy when the blackwater branded shotguns that came out earlier this year didn't.
I don't mind the game since it doesn't look like my style of game, but I feel I'm going to have a hard time explaining this to people in my family who think video games are bad for kids.
I had no idea there was a Blackwater game. Jeremy Scahill just jumped in an open grave so he could roll around in it (since he's not dead yet).
Erik Prince the founder of Blackwater is a fucking holly roller lunatic who believes he is doing Gods will by completely leveling any run of land that Halliburton has its beady little eyes set on. The mercenary's them selves are fucking dogs that have no respect for human life or the balls to fight for their own country without a big enough paycheck.
The existence of this game is fucking disgusting and if you dont understand why punch blackwater into youtube and youll see why
The existence of this game is fucking disgusting and if you dont understand why punch blackwater into youtube and youll see why
I just have a feeling this game is going to fail. People are going to want to play a full campain by holding your arm up and pointing at things?
Personally I would only buy the game if in between the on rails shooting you could gun down innocent civilians and provide illegal weapons to terrorists (just not the ones you are currently fighting against). Just for realisms sake.
@jimmyx
Please either be joking or just ignorant, who in their right mind would publicly support Kinect after all it has caused.
@jimmyx
Please either be joking or just ignorant, who in their right mind would publicly support Kinect after all it has caused.
Also, this is actually the second game made with blackwater. Swat 3 came with a bunch of training videos made by blackwater, filmed at the Blackwater Training Center.
End I worked with blackwater guys a few times and all they did was work out,excort, and help on a few raids. If this was a true telling it would be pretty bland. I'm sure the game will not get their gear right. They used and wore what ever they wanted. Plus,they are not all from the U.S.
My issue isn't so much with the idea about controversial subjects in video games, but with the "why" of including said controversial subject.
The creator of Super Columbine Massacre RPG at least had a point he was trying to make with his game, *and* his game actually was related to the controversy.
This? This is just a generic rail-shooter that 505 wasn't willing to risk letting stand on its own merits. Because of the title, articles exactly like this are going to be popping up on blogs and media sites across the 'net. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it somehow winds up on Faux News at some point.
This is nothing more than a sad, sad grab for headlines and attention.
The creator of Super Columbine Massacre RPG at least had a point he was trying to make with his game, *and* his game actually was related to the controversy.
This? This is just a generic rail-shooter that 505 wasn't willing to risk letting stand on its own merits. Because of the title, articles exactly like this are going to be popping up on blogs and media sites across the 'net. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it somehow winds up on Faux News at some point.
This is nothing more than a sad, sad grab for headlines and attention.
Meh... I don't like the connections with Blackwater and frankly I think they made a poor choice in terms of trying to get publicity for the game. Sometimes "any publicity is good publicity" isn't necessarily accurate and they would have been better to use a fictional basis for the game.
That being said, I'm happy that Kinect is FINALLY getting some actual games and less of the Wii/Eyetoy type stuff. I may give this game a pass though... and wait and see what others do with the shooter genre. Frankly, shooting someone with my finger gun just seems really kinda silly and I don't know that I could do it and not laugh. If there's a demo, I'll likely give it a try though.
(and the whole dichotomy of the seriousness of Blackwater with a game where you shoot with your finger - there's just something either hilarious or sick about it - I'm undecided!)
That being said, I'm happy that Kinect is FINALLY getting some actual games and less of the Wii/Eyetoy type stuff. I may give this game a pass though... and wait and see what others do with the shooter genre. Frankly, shooting someone with my finger gun just seems really kinda silly and I don't know that I could do it and not laugh. If there's a demo, I'll likely give it a try though.
(and the whole dichotomy of the seriousness of Blackwater with a game where you shoot with your finger - there's just something either hilarious or sick about it - I'm undecided!)
@jimmyx
<------- Joke
<------- Your head
Also "u" is not a word: the fucking "y" and "o" keys are on the same goddamn row. That's just laziness brah.
<------- Joke
<------- Your head
Also "u" is not a word: the fucking "y" and "o" keys are on the same goddamn row. That's just laziness brah.
Excellent write-up, Chad. I was wondering who, and more importantly how, Dtoid was going to handle this game, if at all. It genuinely sounds as though the game itself is a step in the right direction for Kinect, which just makes it all the more strange that they would go with Blackwater(Xe or Xi?) as a license.
I am not as versed with Blackwater's history(mostly due to not believing everything I am told to by TV/media, but that's another topic for another day), so I couldn't honestly care less about their name being attached to this game. That said, I know there are the type of people out there who get upset over things that have nothing to do with them(see: 9/11, Holocaust, etc.) so those people will definitely get their panties in a bunch over this game, despite it being decent.
I've always been of the mindset that if it makes an interesting concept, bring it on. As a gamer FIRST, and everything else second, I care more about gameplay/concept/story. Which is why when WW2 FPS' were all the rage back in the day, I was clamoring to play a the Nazi's. Why? I was just completely sick of the John-Smith-American-Singlehandedly-Saves-The-World that were being cranked out. Though the closest I'll ever get is playing opposite the Allies as the 'same exact thing but with a grey uniform instead of tan' multiplayer skin.
Also, motherfucking cocks.
I am not as versed with Blackwater's history(mostly due to not believing everything I am told to by TV/media, but that's another topic for another day), so I couldn't honestly care less about their name being attached to this game. That said, I know there are the type of people out there who get upset over things that have nothing to do with them(see: 9/11, Holocaust, etc.) so those people will definitely get their panties in a bunch over this game, despite it being decent.
I've always been of the mindset that if it makes an interesting concept, bring it on. As a gamer FIRST, and everything else second, I care more about gameplay/concept/story. Which is why when WW2 FPS' were all the rage back in the day, I was clamoring to play a the Nazi's. Why? I was just completely sick of the John-Smith-American-Singlehandedly-Saves-The-World that were being cranked out. Though the closest I'll ever get is playing opposite the Allies as the 'same exact thing but with a grey uniform instead of tan' multiplayer skin.
Also, motherfucking cocks.
This is just an awkward pairing, a controversial mercenary group is being turned into a videogame for a device that is primarily used for kids games and dancing. How did this awkward pairing happen?
As for the game I'm not going to support it, this just seems like another one of those controversial games that's suppose to have some social commentary, but in the end it doesn't really have a unique voice, and ends up being a generic shooter.
As for the game I'm not going to support it, this just seems like another one of those controversial games that's suppose to have some social commentary, but in the end it doesn't really have a unique voice, and ends up being a generic shooter.
I'm guessing they leave the sexual enslavement of underage Iraqi boys and girls out of the demo.
Smart.
Smart.
I honestly believe that 505 and Zombie are being funded by Blackwater, thus making any money spent on it go towards the corporation. As such, I will not even buy the game, but I may give it a shot. Rentals only give revenue to the store.
It looks like they only choose the name because of the controversy which they might hope save their generic shooter for the Kinect. It all seems incredibly disingenuous to me.
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I don't own an Xbox. I should point that out before I go any further. However, I AM a fan of Kinect. I think the technology is very impressive and there's plenty that can be done with it once developers get around to it.
This... doesn't look like an example of that. This looks like a game that would be far better with buttons, except then it wouldn't have a gimmick to prop it up. I don't mean to be dismissive. I'm just not a big fan of shoehorning games into a gimmick like this. I thought the same thing when I read about the Fable Kinect game.
This... doesn't look like an example of that. This looks like a game that would be far better with buttons, except then it wouldn't have a gimmick to prop it up. I don't mean to be dismissive. I'm just not a big fan of shoehorning games into a gimmick like this. I thought the same thing when I read about the Fable Kinect game.
Looking at at Zombie's past work I do see that they've worked on the recruitment tool "America's Army" so I suppose blackwater would be a natural sequel of sorts....
http://indie-games-ichiban.wonderhowto.com/blog/blackwater-lends-its-name-video-game-franchise-0128093/ This site has more details on Blackwater's involvement in the game. It /is/ funded by Xe and consulted with the company at all phases. Apperently Xe no longer does mercenary work, or at least so they claim, and Erik Prince is no longer with them. But again that's their claims, I wouldn't trust a company that tried to cover up mass murder of innocents
Freekopolis states it very well... I was neutral at first but if they have a member of Blackwater on the advisory board? It seems like they are either trying to send a message (a bad one) or stir up controversy (which is weaksauce).
TBH I wouldn't have bought it anyways. :/
TBH I wouldn't have bought it anyways. :/
@Derek Gillies
Thanks for that link, clears more than a few things up. So not only does Xe stand to profit off of this game, they are involved in its development as well as supporting it financially.
So yeah, a Blackwater funded and supervised game about Blackwater. I realize they're a "different" company now that the Blackwater name is infamous, but that's what it amounts to. A game about scummy war profiteers made by scummy war profiteers likely created as a propaganda tool in the face of their scummy war profiteer image. Sounds Kosher.
Thanks for that link, clears more than a few things up. So not only does Xe stand to profit off of this game, they are involved in its development as well as supporting it financially.
So yeah, a Blackwater funded and supervised game about Blackwater. I realize they're a "different" company now that the Blackwater name is infamous, but that's what it amounts to. A game about scummy war profiteers made by scummy war profiteers likely created as a propaganda tool in the face of their scummy war profiteer image. Sounds Kosher.
Honestly, I have mixed feelings on this as well, but all in all, my opinion comes back to the Medal of Honor Al Queda controversy. I made it publicly known that I had no problem playing as Al Queda in Medal of Honor, I'd be a damn fool hypocrite to have a problem playing as Blackwater. Is it a tasteful thing to do? Yes. Do I have a problem with that? Yes. Does that mean this game shouldn't be supported? Hell no.
The screenshots look like shit and the gameplay sounds idiotic. I can see how this could seem like fun for a couple of minutes to someone who never played a real shooter or even a real on rails shooter, but there's no way this is on par with any other control method. You're not even shooting the gun yourself? just pointing and waiting? I mean, come on.
Seeing that this game is effectively an advertisement for blackwater/Xe, will it be free to play like America's Army?
Sorry dude, seemed like you kinda skimmed the waters when it came to the bite of the article: Blackwater the game vs Blackwater the controversies. The entire hook of this article for me was how the game planned on handling the controversial matter of the mercenary group. But it sounds like it doesn't and it's just another on-rails-shooter suitable for the wii trying to cash in on someone else' 15 minutes of fame.
i really really dont see why the game had to be called blackwater, its mind boggling to why a company would want their kinect(silly rabbit kinect is for kids) game to be associated with a PMC that in your preview it reads "using some pretty hardcore tactics in the Middle East" but in reality were a bunch of dicks that took advantage of a shitstorm of a situation.
the game in general looks bland and with ps2 graphics i can see why they would attach a name like blackwater to the title, making things controversial will sell a few more games but people shouldn't remember blackwater as a shit hawk of a lame game, unless we are trying to change history in that case, cool beans
505 Games and developer Zombie Studios must have had their heads in their arse i cant wait for the sequel in 2012 kinect exclusive... HEIL Hitler
the game in general looks bland and with ps2 graphics i can see why they would attach a name like blackwater to the title, making things controversial will sell a few more games but people shouldn't remember blackwater as a shit hawk of a lame game, unless we are trying to change history in that case, cool beans
505 Games and developer Zombie Studios must have had their heads in their arse i cant wait for the sequel in 2012 kinect exclusive... HEIL Hitler
This is a case where I think it is fair, even possibly required, to include the controversy of the title.
You can say that 505 Games and Zombie Studios deserve good attention for their work, but the simple matter is that they *chose* to use the Blackwater name and association. Blackwater's acts were already public I believe before this game was ever announced. 505/Zombie could have as easily have used a fictional name for their mercenaries game, for little complaint. But someone in the chain of command wanted this game named Blackwater either despite the controversy or even because of it. (Using the name "Blackwater" certainly got the game more attention than it otherwise would have received.)
One other thing to think about... Even the company Blackwater doesn't want to be associated with the name "Blackwater", as they changed their name to "Xe" a few years ago.
You can say that 505 Games and Zombie Studios deserve good attention for their work, but the simple matter is that they *chose* to use the Blackwater name and association. Blackwater's acts were already public I believe before this game was ever announced. 505/Zombie could have as easily have used a fictional name for their mercenaries game, for little complaint. But someone in the chain of command wanted this game named Blackwater either despite the controversy or even because of it. (Using the name "Blackwater" certainly got the game more attention than it otherwise would have received.)
One other thing to think about... Even the company Blackwater doesn't want to be associated with the name "Blackwater", as they changed their name to "Xe" a few years ago.
I don't want my money going to Blackwater/Xe. I'm sure it's a fine Time Crisis clone but I don't like the idea of supporting their mercenary group with my money.
The game has a right to exist, as does anything else. However, Blackwater should never be glorified for the war crime atrocities they commit, nor should any solider for the same actions.
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