New Review Posted: America's Army

[Daniel Weissenberger]

Despite what Mike will tell you, there is a game with a longer title than Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, and it's America's Army: Rise of a Soldier: The Official US Army Game®, which I reviewed this week:

"There's something despicable about this game. Something unsettling. As I played through it, I found it bothered me more and more. The limits of technology and control devices ensure that games can only be so realistic. Players understand this restriction, and generally only ask games to be as realistic as their settings require. What unsettles me about this game is that the gameplay is nowhere near as realistic as its setting requires it to be. When Sam Fisher shoots someone in the head and they spin around and start shooting back, I can let it slide because it's just a game. When America's Army: Rise of a Soldier (AA:RoaS) has ridiculously unrealistic content, I can't be as generous because it's not just a game. It's the Official US Army Game®."

I try to get to the root of my general feelings of unease by looking here.

[Hypatia93]

Exactly! Ermm.. the last bit, that is.

I was so flippin' mad when I heard about this game being released with the US Army seal of approval on it and for profit, of course!

People up on the Hill are bitching b/c of violence in games, and State government-types (gubernatorial candidates, legislators, etc.) are doing the same thing, but the US-freakin'-ass-government signs a contract with Ubisoft (a French company -- and Bill O'Reilly is /still/ calling for 'Mericans to boycott the French) to make a game that "trains" gamers to kill. Of course life means nothing to the Army; has it ever? Has Jack Thompson attacked this game; would he even dare do so?

At least Ubisoft gave the government what it deserved: crap.

One last thing: I also despise the Army running their ads on G4TV, b/c it makes war look like a video game. Bastards.