Most people see games as a fun distraction. But others see them as propoganda. Case in point: Mercenaries 2.

The others, in this case, are certain lawmakers in Venezuela, who the Associated Press reports are furiously opposed to a new shooter from Pandemic Studios. The game is Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

In the game, players drop into Venezuela to help settle an oil dispute, take on "a power hungry tyrant," and blow up lots and lots of stuff. Though Mercenaries 2 is based on a fictional scenario, the plot is "realistic enough to believe that it could actually happen," a Pandemic rep told the AP.

Supporters of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of American policy, are not amused. "[Mercenaries 2] sends a message to Americans: You have a danger next door, here in Latin America, and action must be taken," said lawmaker Gabriela Ramirez. "It's a justification for an imperialist aggression." Ramirez also said that Mercenaries 2 could be banned from the country by laws intended to protect children from violent games.

Chavez isn't actually in the game (he's replaced by fictional President Solano), but those loyal to him believe the game intends to mar his image and that of the country by portraying it as a war-torn battle zone mired in chaos.

"I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later," said Venezuelan congressman Ismael Garcia.

Mercenaries has had a history of controversy. Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction was banned in South Korea for depicting you as an instigator for the South Korean - North Korean war.

Link: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/mercenaries2worldinflames/news.html?sid=6151849

Everyone knows Chavez is batshit loco. This in no way surprises me. Also, if Mercenaries 2 is the gov't preparing a "campaign of psychological terror" then they seriously fail.

Some people, man. One day it's "Games are childish, don't take them seriously" the next someone else is shouting from the rooftops about propaganda.

I personally think this game is trying to start a revolution. I mean, they reference being "shot in the ass", which is clearly a metaphor for overthrowing a government from the inside. They also have a jaunty tune in the adverts, which surely is meant to incite violence in the streets.

Venezuela...is this the same country that sells us 80% of its oil to the United States, then uses said revenue to produce anti-US propaganda? Hmm, maybe their opinion is slightly less than relevant.

Honestly, I'm shocked Venezuela still has people brave enough to call themselves "lawmakers." But I guess "people who pay themselves enormous sums of tax-payer money to say 'yes' to the Glorious Leader" is too long.

My biggest "uh...erk?" with Mercenaries is the fact that throughout it, American gamers are amusing themselves blowing up buildings and killing people in the midst of a conflict that has nothing to do with America. Is it healthy to be that nonchalant about wars and political strife just because we're not entirely sure where on the map they're happening? I thought we in the West were supposed to at least acknowledge now that all the little non-us's are human. If they are, that doesn't exactly make their suffering an awesome playground.

Of course, GTA, produced in Scotland, showed the world how much violent fun could be had in your average gun-soaked, virtually lawless, Mob-run American city. So maybe it's not an ethnic or political thing. Maybe people in the West just like any excuse to pretend to blow crap up.

Chavez is a wanker, he sells all his oil to america and invests heavily in america and condemns it every chance he gets.

the best was a few months ago when the King of Spain told him to shut the hell up cause he was an annoying windbag

Don't see what the problem is.

Films do it all the time.

cleverlymadeup:
the best was a few months ago when the King of Spain told him to shut the hell up cause he was an annoying windbag

The best part of that post was that it was almost a direct quote.

needausername:
Don't see what the problem is.

Films do it all the time.

Exactly

Albert Wesker:

needausername:
Don't see what the problem is.

Films do it all the time.

Exactly

i also remember have heard of a show that maybe can be considered... anti-Venezuela propaganda.

and... as a Venezolan, i think that Chavez is one of the few presidents that actually does something for his country, and is actually bashed for that, lies are spread by any media brainwashing people, and... ah i better stop.

Allow me to be devil's advocate here for a sec...

Whatever opinion you may have of Chavez' sanity, it's not like Venezuelans have the market cornered on being way too oversensitive about stuff like this. Look at how badly Americans freak out whenever the news reports about an Iranian or Syrian game where you blow up Americans.

I think the key questions here are:

1) Why did Mercenaries 2 have to be set in a real country at all? What do they gain from calling the country Venezuela when they could have just called it Kookamungaland and made exactly the same game?

2) Imagine if a Venezuelan company produced a game where you got to take down American forces and overthrow the U.S. president? As if Americans wouldn't be outraged.

You've sprung our master plan. We were going to take your country through brain-washing vidjamagames. All is lost.

arrr_matey:

1) Why did Mercenaries 2 have to be set in a real country at all? What do they gain from calling the country Venezuela when they could have just called it Kookamungaland and made exactly the same game?

Because no one wants to save a country with a name like that

arrr_matey:

2) Imagine if a Venezuelan company produced a game where you got to take down American forces and overthrow the U.S. president? As if Americans wouldn't be outraged.

And I have friends in Venezuela and they don't have a problem with it, hell one of them even admitted it made him want to buy the game more, to see what the landscape was like.

Also CoD4's entire second half was set in Russia and they didn't complain.

And the Halo series has hidden anti-religious messages.

Damn, should have paid that colateral damage money.

Not every country places such a high value on freedom of speech as America does. The leaders of these countries are within their rights to ban a game from being sold if they think it portrays them in a negative light.

America is a far more mature country in this respect than some others. Free speech is the national equivelent a man driving arround in a pink car. It states that he/we are secure enough in our masculinity/national identity to do something that would cause less secure men/nations to question their identity.

They're just pissed they didn't come up with a game idea first and had Venezuela developers publish something for their current 2600 systems.

Glad to see the Venezuelan government has their finger on the pulse of really important matters, as opposed to...Oh, their own corruption, unemployment, poverty, education and health policies.

Venezuelan Gov't lacky: "Sorry people, there will be no food today....We're waging a war of words with foreign game developers thousands of miles away on game you'll never see or play because you can't even afford a console."

Venezuelan Citizen: "Que?"

needausername:

Because no one wants to save a country with a name like that

Thank you for taking me waaaaay too literally.

It's an honest question though. What difference does it make whether a game is set in a "real" location or not?

needausername:

And I have friends in Venezuela and they don't have a problem with it, hell one of them even admitted it made him want to buy the game more, to see what the landscape was like.

Also CoD4's entire second half was set in Russia and they didn't complain.

I don't recall the original news article saying every single Venezuelan has a problem with Mercenaries, nor did I mean that every single American would be outraged. Can you assure me that not a single Russian had a problem with COD4?

I just don't buy the whole "it's only a game" defense.

hamster mk 4:
America is a far more mature country in this respect than some others. Free speech is the national equivelent a man driving arround in a pink car. It states that he/we are secure enough in our masculinity/national identity to do something that would cause less secure men/nations to question their identity.

There is no free speech, even in America. Speech is always constrained within certain limits. For example, you're not allowed to promote hate, view certain kinds of pornography, or give away important government secrets. We'd probably all agree these are good limits, but we have to also agree that having any kind of limit means that free speech doesn't exist.

They make reference to this controversy in the game, one of the things the civilians say "It's all just propaganda, why whould an american video game company care about us?"

I really think the controversy is really blown out of proportion and it is just a couple guys complaining, i mean it is just so silly.

They are complaining that the US government got pandemic studios to make mercenaries 2 take place in Venezuela. What do they think bushes plan is to invade Venezuela by sending in a single super power Swedish mercenary who can hold a grenade until it explodes in his hand, or get hit in the face with a rocket propelled grenade and not die.

There is no free speech, even in America. Speech is always constrained within certain limits. For example, you're not allowed to promote hate

Actually you can promote hate speech. there are all sorts of hate groups in America (IE KKK)

If he is offended by Mercenaries 2 because of it's depiction of "dangers south of the border" then I think he should be more pissed off with Tom Clancy (exe: Teeth of the Tiger, Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2).

Johnn Johnston:

cleverlymadeup:
the best was a few months ago when the King of Spain told him to shut the hell up cause he was an annoying windbag

The best part of that post was that it was almost a direct quote.

I thought that WAS a direct quote...but my Spanish is still faulty.

blackhydra12:
There is no free speech, even in America. Speech is always constrained within certain limits. For example, you're not allowed to promote hate

Actually you can promote hate speech. there are all sorts of hate groups in America (IE KKK)

Hell, you can even package and sell hate speech (and make millions doing so) as long as you market it under the word "cultural", or "gangsta" or "ethnic" or "freestyle"...

OverlordSteve:
And the Halo series has hidden anti-religious messages.

YAY! The only positive thing I'll ever say about HALO... ever.

Moved to gaming discussion.

Also, Mercs was banned here in South Korea because they felt it was culturally insensitive. For the record this and maybe two other games are the only ones I have ever heard of have been banned in Korea. If you think about it, that is a whole heck of a lot less than Germany and Australia. By those country's standards Korea seems downright liberal for a country engaged in civil war.

Mercenaries 2 is so bad no one could take it seriously, much less be inspired by it. Now that it's actually released (and close to unplayable), Chavez can't really complain. It is not Venezuela it makes look bad - it's the game makers.

Come on! Its a game! Can no one take this at all not seriously? Next they'll be telling us that we cant play Half life for fear that the large hadron collider will open a portal that will pour the combine onto earth! Or that Rainbow 6: LV, is preparing people for a terrorist attack on vegas!

Aeviv:
Come on! Its a game!

It's not "just a game"...

This is the theory: media like books, movies, tv shows, and games all contribute to our understanding of the world. The way we mostly learn about the world is by what we see in these forms of media. Therefore, if what these media present to us is a largely distorted view of the world, then our views will be similarly distorted.

It's not that one game has the power to change our perceptions, it's that this continuous onslaught of media shapes our perceptions.

So, Chavez is a douche for thinking that people are going to instantly be "tricked" that the Venezuela in Mercenaries 2 is just like the real one. People aren't that dumb (I hope). (And he's also dumb for thinking Pandemic is in some sort of collusion with the government)

But, the "it's just a game" crowd don't see the bigger picture. Mercenaries 2 could be contributing to a greater media bias towards South American countries, depicting them in stereotyped ways. (Haven't played it, so can't say).

Same thing with the Resident Evil 4 debate. It's not that people are going to instantly become racist by playing it. I think some people were genuinely concerned that "here we go again with another game that makes black people the bad guys and makes Africa look like a continent of shacktowns and poor people." The stupid thing is that they didn't wait for the game to actually come out and see it before they started complaining.

1) Why did Mercenaries 2 have to be set in a real country at all? What do they gain from calling the country Venezuela when they could have just called it Kookamungaland and made exactly the same game?

A grounding in reality creates an instant sense of immersion- you can relate to whats going on. It makes the narrative and game more compelling. People need to stop being bitches.

2) Imagine if a Venezuelan company produced a game where you got to take down American forces and overthrow the U.S. president? As if Americans wouldn't be outraged.

I'd play it. Sounds cool. As long as you do it with President Bush. And fill it with anti american imperialist propoganda. This isn't a sarcastic quip- i'd play it for the novelty if nothing else.

arrr_matey:
Allow me to be devil's advocate here for a sec...

Whatever opinion you may have of Chavez' sanity, it's not like Venezuelans have the market cornered on being way too oversensitive about stuff like this. Look at how badly Americans freak out whenever the news reports about an Iranian or Syrian game where you blow up Americans.

I think the key questions here are:

1) Why did Mercenaries 2 have to be set in a real country at all? What do they gain from calling the country Venezuela when they could have just called it Kookamungaland and made exactly the same game?

2) Imagine if a Venezuelan company produced a game where you got to take down American forces and overthrow the U.S. president? As if Americans wouldn't be outraged.

1) Because it makes the game feel more realistic. Personally, I hate it when a TV show or game doesn't have the balls to use a real country because they want to be "politically correct." It is hard to take a game seriously when they use "Thisplaceisfakeistan" as a setting instead of a real country because of "political correctness."

2) I don't think anyone would notice, honestly. The game wouldn't be released here, so I don't think anyone would even learn about it, much less care.

Moving on topic:

Really, Chavez? Why are we actually paying attention to anything that bag of hot air or his "lawmakers" say? It is right up there with listening to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chest-pounding. I mean come on, we are talking about a country with a government that honestly thinks every time President Bush takes a piss it is a sign that American aircraft carriers will be on their horizon. Just last month Chavez was rambling about how his 24 new Sukhoi fighters fresh from Russia will be enough to "fend off any Imperialist America expansion."

Chavez can't go more than a few weeks without saying some random thing like "Americans are SATANIC!!" or "America has a fleet gathering to invade us, I just KNOW IT!!!" So why are we taking him seriously? It is like taking a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist who claims that E.T. was beamed down from space and raped him in his sleep seriously.

On a side note, there are worse countries when it comes to game censorship. I won't mention the Germans or Aussies because they already had a passing mention, but look at Saudi Arabia. They banned Pokemon because it "supports Zionism and the Israeli regime." POKEMON! Just because a six-pointed star is in the card game for the "colorless" type. A six-pointed star that doesn't even look like the Star of David.

Or how about China, where they banned a HISTORICALLY ACCURATE WWII RTS because it showed certain territories under Japanese control and not Chinese control. In China, if the game doesn't fit into the government's twisted view of Chinese history, then it is an instant ban.

TsunamiWombat:

A grounding in reality creates an instant sense of immersion- you can relate to whats going on. It makes the narrative and game more compelling. People need to stop being bitches.

I don't agree. I think people who need a game to be based in reality lack the necessary imagination to create their own immersion. What difference does it make? The way a foreign country is depicted in a videogame is just as imaginary and unrealistic no matter what name you call it. Clearly, the Venezuela in Mercs 2 is nothing like the real one so what's the point?

It's not more realistic. If anything, it's less realistic because we can all so easily point out the flaws in the depiction of so-called reality.

It would be like making a game take place in your house, only your house is filled with terrorists and your family are all pirates. Just because I call it your house doesn't make it more realistic.

If Mercenaries 2 is anti-venezuelan propaganda then Chavez has nothing to fear--no one is playing it!

arrr_matey:

TsunamiWombat:

A grounding in reality creates an instant sense of immersion- you can relate to whats going on. It makes the narrative and game more compelling. People need to stop being bitches.

I don't agree. I think people who need a game to be based in reality lack the necessary imagination to create their own immersion. What difference does it make? The way a foreign country is depicted in a videogame is just as imaginary and unrealistic no matter what name you call it. Clearly, the Venezuela in Mercs 2 is nothing like the real one so what's the point?

It's not more realistic. If anything, it's less realistic because we can all so easily point out the flaws in the depiction of so-called reality.

It would be like making a game take place in your house, only your house is filled with terrorists and your family are all pirates. Just because I call it your house doesn't make it more realistic.

By that logic people who play games lack imagination because they should be in their backyards pretending to shoot terrorists with a stick and making pow pow noises with their mouths. Also, I again would play the game your suggesting. Terrorists V. Pirates? Win.