Posted by Jurassosaurus [148.78.249.10 - cf3.mrt.starband.net] on 27 June 2002 at 21.26.32 ZuluTime:
Hey, wasn't this the same government that was damning the videogame industry for Mortal Kombat and Doom? Gee, now why would the US government do a complete 180 on its stance on videogames? Well, perhaps this quote from xengamers will shed some light on things.
In a move destined for Ripley's Believe It Or Not (or NOTS), the US Army has announced that they are devoting 8 million tax dollar bucks, to making an ultra realistic videogame for the PC. Once made, the game will be released for free, to all who want to play it.
The second half of the game, Operations, also has a tag line, "Defend Freedom," a thinly veiled reference to the war in Afghanistan. This module allows you to essentially join the Army and go on tours of duty. And as luck would have it, one such tour is with the 10th Mountain Division fighting terrorists in a region peppered with mountains. Sound familiar? I can see the ads now: "Visit new and mysterious lands, meet interesting and exotic native people, and kill them!"
And so the propaganda machine has found a new vehicle. It should be interesting to see just how "ultra-realistic" the game turns out to be.