War games and controversy. They go together like Peanut Butter and Bananas. It seems like every new war game that comes out is bathed in reports of "BAN THIS SICK FILTH!!!" 6 Days in Falluja, a title that was supposed to come this year, was dropped dead because of bad press. Who'd of thunk it. It's a bit of a ball buster to see videogames not being observed as a medium to be taken more seriously, but what can you do. The medium is still relatively young compared to others like music and movies. So now we see Medal of Honor gets the tried and true negative attention that all those give to something they don't understand.

In case you forgot or were uninformed, Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella has decided that AAFES (Army/Air Force Exchange Service) and Gamestops located on Army and Air Force bases will not sell Medal of Honor. I belong to the ladder, and therefore had to cancel my preorder conveniently located on base. No big deal right? Just move the preorder right? Well sure, I have taken those steps. The people over in Afghanistan (where AAFES is the only way to buy things) don't really have that luxury. They have to wait the weeks it takes for mail to get to them. The problem also lies in whether this violates free speech. So why exactly was the game removed from military installations?

In Medal of Honor's multiplayer, you could play as the Taliban. "BUT CALL OF DOODY DOES THE SAME THING, WHY WASN'T IT BANNED???" No it didn't. In the multiplayer, the enemy was named "OpFor", short for Opposition Force. In Medal of Honor, the enemy was explicitly named "The Taliban". How does this create a problem? Well, it can be seen as very disrespectful to current soldiers giving their lives not only for our protection here, but for those in the Middle East without rights. To play as the very real enemy that our forces are currently fighting is still a sticky situation.

Personally, I believe it was wrong for Danger Close and DICE to bring the Taliban in their game, but I also stand by the rights that the Constitution grants us and don't want the game banned because it's risque (thank you Dictionary.com word of the day).

Now, EA recently announced that the multiplayer has been changed, and will no longer feature the Taliban, being renamed to OpFor. Reflecting my statement above, I like this. I feel that it is still a little too soon, and with our current enemy still a major threat, this could have been used for propaganda for the baddies much like the Florida pastor Quran burning was. I'm still extremely excited for this game and can't wait to play. It just has to be a few minutes later than I wanted.



The attached image is a billboard conveniently located outside of the Air Force base I work at. Irony is hilarious.