The final episode of KumaWar II, a free online military shooter, lets players lead the raid on bin Laden’s Pakistan home and fire the final bullet.
What’s most remarkable about the game is that it was released five days after the news broke, capitalizing on citizens’ blood lust for the notorious Al-Qaeda leader. Developer Kuma Games is used to this, being that the it releases weekly content based on new TV shows, world events and pop culture trends.
“Methodically working your way through the large compound, you clear the opposing forces, take out al Qaeda’s last defense, clear weapons caches, and gather critical intel,” reads the press release for the Osama 2011 mission. “When the smoke clears, your ultimate target — Osama Bin Laden, murderer of thousands of Americans and innocents around the globe, head of al Qaeda and enemy of the world lays dead.”
In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Kuma Games CEO Keith Halper said his team pieced together the mission based on public sources. Everything from the furniture of the home to the sounds of dogs barking outside was considered in making the mission. Coders and designers updated the map as details came in on the event, according to the press release.
“Bin Laden was a bad man, and people feel relieved that he is gone,” Halper said. “To be able to recreate his death is just an added bonus.”
He believes Americans want closure on Bin Laden’s death, in lieu of photos being released. However, this isn’t the first time players have been able to dish out some patriotic rage on the renowned terrorist. 2002 PlayStation 2 title Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror let players take down Osama via hand-to-hand combat. The beatdown culminates in a knee to the groin as Osama lands in a helicopter hovering over a Cliffside – the words “mission accomplished” flash on the screen.
The controversial Postal is particularly fond of turning Osama into a virtual punching (bullet?) bag. All of the terrorist models in Postal II look awfully familiar and the yet-to-be-releasedPostal III is set to feature Osama as a character. On top of all this, there have been numerous user-made Osama character models for online shooters since his name became known on 09/11.
The reaction to the game’s release has been split between those that find it tasteless and those who think it is an interesting representation of what might have occurred.
“Claiming historical accuracy when the details are still not widely known and heavily contested is pretty poor,” evilthecat, a user on our forums, said. “Heck, its pretty poor taste to cash in on a recent death anyway.”
What do the rest of you think?
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Published: May 9, 2011 05:45 pm