Even the most Bible-thumping arch-conservatives have by now realized that America is the 800lb gorilla in a global room filled with tiny, angry monkeys. In recent years our stars have developed particularly sharp edges and our stripes have been strangling dissidents left and right, at least according to people like Venezuela’s El Presidente Hugo Chavez. As a result, it comes as no surprise that Señor Chavez would take issue with the upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, a game developed by Pandemic Studios and set in his home country. The plot of the title revolves around a fictional near-future scenario where Venezuela’s (real) oil fields have become America’s latest target for acquisition and, according to the title, the world bursts into flame — possibly metaphorically.
What is shocking (and hilarious, and possibly chilling depending on your political slant) is Chavez’ reasoning behind his distrust of the gringos at Pandemic. Here’s a quote from one of his lackeys:
“I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later.”
So … by allowing a games company within our country to develop a game loosely based on fictional scenarios, the government is creating an army of teens who will one day overthrow the Chavez regime in a quest to unlock the “Despot Deposed” Achievement?
(Subtext: I’d continue railing against Chavez’ paranoia, but that last sentence is probably more clever than anything else I’ll come up with today, so let’s just end there. — Nex)
[Muchas gracias Aerox]
