Playable Taliban Won't "Push Too Hard" in Medal of Honor

EA DICE admits that the ability to play as the Taliban in the upcoming Medal of Honor is potentially controversial but says it's not "pushing or provoking too hard" because in the end, it's only a game.

The Taliban is the one group of scumbags that can make Nazis and stormtroopers look maybe not quite as bad as they normally appear. Much of that is due to the fact that the Nazis were crushed more than a half-century ago while stormtroopers, as envisioned by Lucas, were purely imaginary. The Taliban, on the other hand, is very real and continues to infest the world with its despicable brand of primitive thuggery, which might lead a person to wonder why DICE would include it as a playable faction in the multiplayer component of the new Medal of Honor.

"I think it is a fair point," producer Patrick Liu said when asked about concerns that gamers may not want to join a team known for executing aid workers and throwing acid in schoolgirls' faces. "We do stir up some feelings, although it's not about the war, it's about the soldiers."

"We can't get away from what the setting is and who the factions are, but in the end, it's a game, so we're not pushing or provoking too hard," he added.

The inclusion of a playable Taliban will inevitably add up to some seriously knotted panties in certain quarters, but Liu's stance is disappointingly weak. DICE is only working on the multiplayer side of the coin - Medal of Honor's single-player campaign is being made by Danger Close, previously known as EA Los Angeles - but if EA is going to set a videogame in an ongoing war then it should have the stones to commit to it fully. Waffling about it being "only a game" just looks ridiculous.

Source: Connected Consoles