UK official decries video game that lets players be Taliban

August 23, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

LONDON

A video game that allows players to adopt the role of the Taliban is a “tasteless product,” Britain’s defense secretary said Sunday, calling on retailers to show their support for troops by not selling it.

Liam Fox said he was “disgusted and angry” by “Medal of Honor,” produced by Electronic Arts Inc.

“At the hands of the Taliban, children have lost fathers and wives have lost husbands. It’s shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban against British soldiers,” he said in a statement. “It’s hard to believe any citizen of our country would wish to buy such a thoroughly un-British game. I would urge retailers to show their support for our armed forces and ban this tasteless product.”

The California-based company did not immediately respond to e-mails from the Associated Press, but spokeswoman Amanda Taggart was quoted by the Sunday Times as saying the game’s format “merely reflects the fact that every conflict has two sides.”

“We give gamers the opportunity to play both sides. Most of us have been doing this since we were seven: someone plays cop, someone must be robber,” the newspaper quoted her as saying. “In Medal of Honor multiplayer, someone’s got to be the Taliban. Nobody who plays video games is going to be shocked or surprised by this.”

Playing from the perspective of the “enemy” isn’t new to video games. Other versions of “Medal of Honor” have been set in the World War II era. When playing sessions with many players, gamers can choose to be members of Allied forces or the Nazi regime. In “Grand Theft Auto” titles, from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., gamers have the choice to take part in multiple controversial and criminal acts, including killing cops.

Last fall, Activision Blizzard Inc.’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” had gamers play someone inside a terrorist group. Created by developer Infinity Ward, the game had characters that included a CIA agent who infiltrates a Russian villain’s inner circle to defeat him but ends up participating in a terrorist attack on an airport while acting as part of the villain’s group.