Operation Patriotic Video Game II
Arab developers give their take on the crisis in the Middle East
Syrian game developers have joined the virtual war on terror, with the release of a game called Under Ash. According to a report from BBC News Online, the game allows players to take on the role of a young Palestinian called Ahmad who joins the intifada by throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. Later on you get to shoot Israeli settlers occupying your people's land, rescue wounded Palestinians, and eventually take on the might of the Israeli army along the buffer zone in south Lebanon. Far from glorifying terrorism though, the game actually penalises you for killing innocent civilians (although presumably the developers didn't afford the same protection to armed settlers) and there's no way to win the war, a sad reflection on the reality of the current situation in the Middle East. "In our modern history there is no solution for the conflicts and the game is some kind of a mirror", one of the designers told the BBC. "There is no solution for Ahmad's case. At the last level of the game there will be no major victory or reclaiming lands." Apparently gamers in Syria have been complaining that the game is too hard, but presumably that's the point. There's no way to fight your way to victory, slaughtering civilians doesn't get you anywhere, and if you're killed it's game over. A bit like life really. Related Feature - Operation Patriotic Video Game : America's Army