Medal of Honour

The latest craze in British youth’s PlayStation culture is stirring controversy, with Defence Secretary Liam Fox branding the game “tasteless.” EA Games are set to re-launch the sensationally successful Medal of Honour franchise next month with an updated modern warfare shooter. Gameplay footage was released at __ games event on __ to wide acclaim. Critics, however, have been quick to identify a moral issue with the game. Players can, for the first time, choose to fight on the side of the Taliban AGAINST American and British Allied troops. The new features include insurgency guerrilla tactics widely used by the Taliban. One section of gameplay footage demonstrated a player detonating a car bomb with a mobile phone signal to kill an American soldier, which prompted Mr Fox to launch a scathing attack on EA. “It’s shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban,” he said. EA maintains that its intention is “to reflect that every conflict has two sides.” In the current climate of political correctness, however, fears are arising that the game may stir racial hatred. Although the game is rated 18, the likelihood is that many younger players will still have access to it, as is the case with most contemporary computer games. The long-term impact of the move remains to be seen, but it’s chilling to think that young teenagers are all set to be get their kicks out of pretending to be killing our boys in Afghanistan; the very same men and women who are fighting to preserve freedoms like computer games, which our generation are increasingly taking for granted. Mr Fox leaves us with a strong message: “I would urge retailers to show their support for our armed forces and ban this tasteless product.”