Well, it looks like Electronic Arts will remove the Taliban name in Medal of Honor multiplayer and just call the terrorists “Opposing Force”; does that mean the terrorists will be comprised of an army of Adrian Shephards?
According to executive producer Greg Goodrich:
“In the past few months, we have received feedback from all over the world regarding the multiplayer portion of Medal of Honor. We have received feedback from friends and families of fallen soldiers who have expressed concern over the inclusion of the Taliban in the multiplayer portion of our game. This is a voice that has earned the right to be listened to. It is a voice that we care deeply about. Because of this, and because the heartbeat of Medal of Honor has always resided in the reverence for American and Allied soldiers, we have decided to rename the opposing team in Medal of Honor multiplayer from Taliban to Opposing Force.”
In that vein, perhaps Nazis and Vietcong sides should be removed from multiplayer now. What is EA afraid of? Bad publicity? Ask Activision how badly they suffered from the airport terrorist attack from Modern Warfare 2, which was far more disturbing than just picking a side in a multiplayer game in which you could call them anything, really, and no one would notice. You could change the name of the Americans to “The Playboy Bunnies” and the name of the terrorists to “The Fluffy Scruffy Kitty Kats” and no one would really care. In fact, it could start a few internet memes.
But what did they expect? They’re setting the game in modern day Afghanistan! You could name them Anonymous Enemy and they’d still be the Taliban! They’re still dressed like the Taliban, speaking the same language, still armed like them. Did EA know there’s no Nazi force in Afghanistan? You can call them anything you like, they’re still Taliban! Maybe EA should have stuck to good old, safe World War II. Better yet, World War I and fight the Kaiser.
The only thing that would be worse is calling them “Opposing Force”, a dickless name for a dickless company.
Jonah Falcon is a blogger for TMRzoo and GameStooge.com and covers all gaming consoles and platforms including Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP and computer games designed for Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Jonah provides his readers with reviews, previews and up to date gaming industry news and rumors.
