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  1. Daily Column
  2. New MMOG Articles at TenTonHammer Today
  3. Hot Content
  4. Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

1. Daily Column

You're now in the second day of Cody "Micajah" Bye's stint as Loading... writer. Please bear with me as we continue to press on with our coverage of the MMOG and general gaming industry. But don't bare anything else. Ewww.

To my knowledge, when the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were engaged in their Cold War ballet of threats and subversive action, the U.S. never had to worry about the Soviets making propaganda video games. Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that a group of hard-line Iranian students had developed an anti-U.S. video game with the title: Rescue the Nuke Scientist. In the game, players control a band of Iranian special forces that are trying to rescue husband-and-wife nuclear scientists from U.S. troops that have taken them hostage. Players of the game are required save the scientists – a mission code named “The Secret Operation" – by penetrating fortified U.S. posts from Iraq to Israel in order to free the nuclear scientists from the clutches of the evil U.S. troops. They must kill U.S. and Israeli troops, rescue the nuclear scientists, and nab a laptop full of information in order to complete the game.

According to the press write-up, the students created the game as a response to a U.S. made video game called “Assault on Iran”, which would partially vindicate the Iranians for making a blatantly anti-U.S. game, if that were the whole story.

But it’s not.

In typical AP press style, all the background details aren’t revealed and the scant information that’s pertinent to the U.S. side of the story is only slapped on (in part) at the end of the article. The game that the Iranians are referring to is actually a downloadable mission (Mission 58, for those who care) for the ill-received computer game, Kuma\War. (IGN rated it a 6.3, PC Gamer a 3.9, and Gamespot a 4.1). I’ve never known anyone that actually downloaded or played Kuma\War, but the game is based on the premise of developing missions based on real-life news headlines. In these games, the players are typically U.S. soldiers trying to fight their way to complete a certain objective.

It’s a sensationalist brand of computer game development, and it’s certainly pissed a bunch of Iranians off. However, like the controversy behind the movie 300 (really, there’s no reason to be upset, that story happened THOUSANDS of years ago), this seems to be just an overwhelmingly harsh response to a game (Kuma\War) and development team that has created over 80 missions, most of which take place in Iraq and feature U.S. troops fighting Al Qaeda operatives. There are even some missions that take place in Vietnam (featuring John Kerry!), Afghanistan, Mexico (are they upset?), Sierra Leone, and South Korea. But the Iranian students don’t see it from that point of view.

Ali Reza Masaeli, leader of the group that designed the new game, said it took three years for his technical team to produce it. The team was based in Isfahan, a city in central Iran that houses a nuclear site.

"It is an entirely Iranian product in response to the US cyber war against Iran," Masaeli said.

What cyber war!? I surf the Internet almost every day, and I see more articles about Iranian responses to supposed attacks than anti-Iranian propaganda!

While Kuma\War and all its quickly slapped together missions didn’t make much of a splash in the U.S. news, the retaliatory version from the Iranians certainly has. Media outlets everywhere are picking up the newsfeed, yet the story is far from new. On June 9, 2006, Gamespot mentions that a group of Iranian students had started making a game that featured a kidnapped Iranian scientist. In the article, Kuma states that they were going to release Assault on Iran Pt. 3: Payback in Iraq when the Iranian game was released. All of these items were supposed to occur before July 4th last year, as that was when the third part of the Assault on Iran would be released. Over a year later, we’re just now feeling the brunt of the story and we're still waiting for Assault on Iran Pt. 3..

So will there be a new era of video game based propaganda machines? Probably not, unless true AAA development companies begin taking ideological stands on particular issues, and I’m fairly certain that will never happen. Even Kuma\War, with its in-your-face, ripped-from-the-headlines style, does not make any particular political attack or point. From what I can tell, the developers of the games simply create American troops in close-to-life simulations. Take away the names (Americans, Iranians, etc.) and you’re left with a mediocre shooter. But take away the names in “Rescue the Nuke Scientists”, and you still have the seething aggression that created that game in the first place.

If players fail a mission, a message pops up saying: "With resistance, you can battle the enemy."

"We tried to promote the idea of defense, sacrifice and martyrdom in this game," Fakhrian said.

For those of you that are actually interested in playing the game, you may have your chance.

Fakhrian said his group was trying to market the video game first in Iran and other Muslim countries. But the group also has plans to bring the game, which comes on a CD for computers, to Western countries, he said.

At the end of the day, this is yet another “controversy” for U.S. video game companies to take in stride. With the Iranians merely “responding” to an initial U.S. “attack”, there will be no shortage of agitators in the States that will be calling for the removal of all video games from store shelves to “ease tensions”.

Ugh.

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Have any thoughts on Rescue the Nuke Scientists or Kuma\War? Will this hurt the U.S. video game industry? Comment in the blog (now with direct link goodness) or email me directly.

2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

  • Blog: What Happens When Games/Companies Die?
    "Every time a game or a development company goes under, gets axed, or simply fades away, most gamers are left wondering what exactly happened to this game/company and why hasn't there been any attempt to resurrect them. Cody "Micajah" Bye explores this problem and wonders how we might find some answers to our burning questions."
  • E3: Aion Preview
    "Aion: The Tower of Eternity was one of the highlights of our visit to NCSoft's suite at Santa Monica, CA and E3 last week. "Gorgeous" would be an understatement to describe this atypically deep and robust Korean import in development, and the Asian flavor only augments Aion mechanics unique to Aion such as flying combat. Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle shares his impressions of Aion's visuals and gameplay in our latest E3 preview."
  • E3: Tabula Rasa Hands-On Preview
    "Although E3 may have been drab and flacid compared to years past, a shining star rose above the ranks of the other MMOGs and shone brightly. The originality and innovative gameplay of Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa made John "Boomjack" Hoskin wish he had more time with the game, but he was eventually pried away from the keyboard and has written up a terrific preview of the upcoming MMORPG. Take a look!"
  • E3: Tabula Rasa Demo Video
    "When we sat down to edit 22 minutes of video footage from Producer Starr Long's demo of Tabula Rasa, we ended up with a 21 minute, 40 second video. There simple wasn't anything we could justify holding back from you, our audience, bandwidth and all. In this insightful video, you'll see up close everything that's making this late 2007 title the buzz of the beta community."
  • E3: World of Warcraft Preview - A Visit to Zul'Aman
    "What tricks did Blizzard have up its sleeve for World of Warcraft at E3 2007? Ethec and Shayalyn toured the upcoming 10-person raid instance of Zul'Aman with WoW's Associate Producer, Robe Foote, and learned about some of the clever dynamics that should make this raid both challenging and fun."
  • Dungeons and Dragons Online: Custom Build - Master Healer
    "Have hard time with mana sponges? Wish your party members knew the use the newest invention to reach Stormreach, known as a "shield". Well, say goodbye to your worries, you'll never have a hard time keeping your party in tip top condition with Darkgolem's newest build: The Master Healer!"
  • Guild Wars: Sneak Peek of Eye of the North
    "Following in the marketing footsteps of many massively multiplayer online games, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will feature a special "prerelease bonus pack" that provides incentives for players to preorder the latest expansion of Guild Wars from their nearest retailer. Along with in-game items, the prerelease pack will also give purchasers access to the "sneak peek weekend" that is set for August 24-26, 2007. To provide you with the most thorough information possible, Ten Ton Hammer has picked up the official press release and four screenshots of GW:EN for you to peruse. Enjoy!"
  • Lord of the Rings Online: Guide to Prospecting
    "If you enjoy digging in the dirt like many, then Prospecting might just be the crafting skill for you. Ten Ton Hammer has your guide to the hows, whats, and wheres of this important profession."
  • Lord of the Rings Online: Epic Guide - Book Two
    "Epic Guide: Book Two has arrived. Keep this guide in hand as you delve deep into the Lone Lands and the swamp of Haragmar to aid another member of Gandalf's order.Now that Book One is out of the way perhaps you are ready to aid in the task of Book Two. Gandalf needs your help, but to aid in this task you will have to seek out another member of his order. The famed figure Radagast the Brown."
  • Ten Ton Hammer Wiki: Ballerium and Battle for Wesnoth Updates
    "Two new pages have been added to the Ten Ton Wiki. They hold information on the games Ballerium and Battle for Wesnoth."

3. Hot Content

4. Real World News

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com.

Cody "Micajah" Bye

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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