Never played the first one, but I got Mercenaries 2 for PC. It's pretty fun, with no game breaking bugs and an enjoyable co-op multiplayer. Is it really bad on console or something?

Anyway, the story of the game is that some bad guy businessman/politician overthrows the government of Venezuela in a coup, and the hero must defeat him and presumably return the country to it's previous leadership. That doesn't sound anti-Venezuela to me.

During the course of the game you can help left-wing and/or right-wing factions. Out of everyone, the American oil company are depicted as the most comically inhumane and careless, while the left-wing guerillas are the most sympathetic.

The story in this game is not very deep or anything, but I think setting it in a fictionalized Venezuela is less offensive than Afghanistan..

Chavez is very similar to Bush. Both politicians have their intelligence and sanity disparaged almost universally, but both are infact very cunning and effectivly manipulated/are manipulating their countries using a combination of misinformation, scare tactics, Straw Man arguements and EVERYONE IS OUT TO GET US! Chavez is just using "Imperialist USA" in the same way Bush used "Islamic Terrorism"- as a caire blanche to get away with what he wants by focusing his peoples eyes on a bigbad beyond their borders and scaring the shit out of them that someones going to start bombing their hospitals and schools. Fear + Patriotic Machismo + Misunderestimation (self coined Bushism, a contraction of "Misunderstanding" and "Underestimation") = Victory for a polictician.

It's all an act, I assure you- theres no such thing as a truely 'inept' Demagogue/Strongman/"President". There is no way they would get their posistion/keep it if they weren't able to manipulate the thoughts and fears and others while ruthlessly stamping out opposition to their regime - don't forget, President Bush has over the past eight years completly eradicated non Republican Partisan supporters in both the department interior and the justice department and fired those who opposed his policies, effectivly giving him strong influence over the complete government if not outright complete control, FYI it's going to be hilarious watching the next president try to sort all of that shit out he'll probably have to fire everyone and rehire every posistion.

cleverlymadeup:
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

Yeah that was funny, Chavez got PWNT

But its true. IT IS JUST A GAME, chill out.

It not like people playing it are going to move to Venezuela and start a mercenary organization or anything. Anyway you have to be able to be ale to roll with the punches, accept payback, Chavez ridicules America at every thing, yet complains when America retaliates. Anyway what about films like Red Dawn were Cuba and Russia invade America, did Cuba complain? No. Did Russia complain? Yet again No.

arrr_matey:
Can you assure me that not a single Russian had a problem with COD4?

Maybe a couple of people were offended, but to my knowledge (please do correct me if I'm wrong) the Russian government didn't give a statement condemning it.

Trace2010:

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.

It may be a direct quote. I'm not a Spaniard, but I heard that he told Chavez to, literally, "shut up".

Chavez's paranoia knows no bounds. Hell, he almost makes Castro look sane. Every action the U.S. government takes is automatically construed as "a prelude to an invasion of Venezuela by the evil imperialist forces of America."

TsunamiWombat:

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.

That's not what I meant at all... the point is, a game telling you that it takes place in Venezuela is not automatically more realistic than a game that tells you it takes place in a made-up country.

There was no real reason for Pandemic to have set Mercs 2 in Venezuela, other than to be controversial. Therefore, Chavez is justifiably upset at the way the game portrays his country.

He's dumb to think the game is some kind of big propaganda conspiracy, but honestly, if you read a little bit about South American history I think you can understand why people down there are a little bit paranoid about foreign, and particularly U.S., governments.

Picked up the game for PS2 today, maybe it's just me but so far it doesn't seem as immersive as the first. Maybe it's the cut and pasted together cutscenes. In the first game it was all handled in the game engine.. after all, story was unimportant. Sure it was a DECENT story, but it was pure tom clancy fanfiction hoyay. Let me see how it is the further I get in, the to me it seems less a ding against venezuela and more a ding against greasy corporate assholes.

Also anyone notice they completly changed the Mercenaries backstories from the first game? Jennifer Mui somehow went from the daughter of an aristocrat and a political Envoy to an incredibly poor little girl who joined the military and eventually the private sector for cash.

I am a bit surprised by this actually. I chose to work for the "Allied Nation" which took alot of shots at the American Gov. and the war in Iraq. Saying stuff like "we are here for peace as long as there is reporters around." I got the impression it made Venezuela more of a victim than anything else. All these superpowers invading for thier oil. Raping and pillaging thier cities for no other reason than they can.

JayDig:
Never played the first one, but I got Mercenaries 2 for PC. It's pretty fun, with no game breaking bugs and an enjoyable co-op multiplayer. Is it really bad on console or something?

Anyway, the story of the game is that some bad guy businessman/politician overthrows the government of Venezuela in a coup, and the hero must defeat him and presumably return the country to it's previous leadership. That doesn't sound anti-Venezuela to me.

During the course of the game you can help left-wing and/or right-wing factions. Out of everyone, the American oil company are depicted as the most comically inhumane and careless, while the left-wing guerillas are the most sympathetic.

The story in this game is not very deep or anything, but I think setting it in a fictionalized Venezuela is less offensive than Afghanistan..

hmmm, it doesnt sounds so bad then, i may try it if i find a copy one of these days.

squid5580:
I am a bit surprised by this actually. I chose to work for the "Allied Nation" which took alot of shots at the American Gov. and the war in Iraq. Saying stuff like "we are here for peace as long as there is reporters around." I got the impression it made Venezuela more of a victim than anything else. All these superpowers invading for thier oil. Raping and pillaging thier cities for no other reason than they can.

Thanks for the info. That's the number one problem with people who criticize games, Hugo Chavez included. They never play them. Same with people who criticize books and movies based on assumptions rather than experience. At least get your kid to play through it before you start slamming it.

i would like to hear more about the storyline, know a bit more about the suposed controversy

arrr_matey:

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 am an American, and I would play the shit out of that game.

The PS2 version is horrible, terrible shit thats inferior to the original in every way.

This GAME is the controversy..i'm out 40 quid.

Sir Legendhead:

arrr_matey:

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 am an American, and I would play the shit out of that game.

Seconded.

Sir Legendhead:

I am an American, and I would play the shit out of that game.

But you can't deny there would be other Americans who would be offended.

arrr_matey:

Sir Legendhead:

I am an American, and I would play the shit out of that game.

But you can't deny there would be other Americans who would be offended.

Yeah, but we offend each other all the time. I would like to think that most of us are mature enough to get over it.

It's just that the whiners are the ones that you hear from the most, that's all.

TsunamiWombat:
The PS2 version is horrible, terrible shit thats inferior to the original in every way.

This GAME is the controversy..i'm out 40 quid.

Well, I can't say the trailer made me too happy. While the big explosions, big fun concept still seems to stand, the first game captured a country in the midst of war so incredibly well. The soundtrack, the constant fog of war, the deserted, shelled out cities... Mercs 2 looks more like Super Mario Sunshine on steroids and bourbon.

And wait, it's out for PS2 as well? Isn't it like fancy next-gen graphics or was that just hype? Guess I might buy it when the price drops, it still looks like a bit of casual fun.

TsunamiWombat:
The PS2 version is horrible, terrible shit thats inferior to the original in every way.

This GAME is the controversy..i'm out 40 quid.

So is the 360 version.

It's a pretty disapointing game in general.

cleverlymadeup:
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

¿Por qué no te callas?
Now the most popular ringtone in the Spanish speaking world.

arrr_matey:
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.

For the record, I would so love to play this game. Hell, we may do it live-action and make it a part of family night.

Saskwach:

cleverlymadeup:
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

¿Por qué no te callas?
Now the most popular ringtone in the Spanish speaking world.

That happened? How come I never heard of that? That's hilarious!

I love Spanish people...

Sir Legendhead:

Yeah, but we offend each other all the time. I would like to think that most of us are mature enough to get over it.

It's just that the whiners are the ones that you hear from the most, that's all.

I just find it ironic that people who say they hate they way Chavez whines about America are so good at whining about Chavez.