New Zealand’s Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, has spoken out against Medal of Honor, which will allow players to control Taliban insurgents and fight against other players controlling coalition forces in its multiplayer mode.

“This game undermines the values of our nation, and the dedicated service of our men and women in uniform,” said Mapp. “Terrorist acts have caused the deaths of several New Zealanders.

“Hundreds of New Zealand servicemen and women have put their lives on the line in Afghanistan to combat terrorism, and this month Lieutenant Tim O’Donnell died in action over there.” 

Mapp’s comments echo those of his English counterpart Liam Fox, who said to the BBC, “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,” finished Fox.

Controversy around yet to be released games is nothing new, and certainly playing on the side of the ‘baddies’ is not unheard of. Both of Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare games have forced the player to fight on the side of ‘evil’ as part of it’s multilayer experience. But that’s the thing, some one has to be the bad guys, from childhood games acted out in the back yard with plastic guns, to the online environment of XBox Live, the games we play would be no fun if we were all on the same side.

It’s this fact of life that Mapp hasn’t considered. He’s more than happy to jump on the bandwagon and bleat about something he hasn’t had the decent courtesy to investigate, just for the sake of some soundbites and media coverage.

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Rate this item New Zealand’s Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, has spoken out against Medal of Honor, which will allow players to control Taliban insurgents and fight against other players controlling coalition forces in its multiplayer mode. “This game undermines the values of our nation, and the dedicated service of our men and women in uniform,” said Mapp. “Terrorist acts have caused the deaths of several New Zealanders. “Hundreds of New Zealand servicemen and women have put their lives on the line in Afghanistan to combat terrorism, and this month Lieutenant Tim O’Donnell died in action over there.”  Mapp’s comments echo those of his English counterpart Liam Fox, who said to the BBC, “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,” finished Fox. Controversy around yet to be released games is nothing new, and certainly playing on the side of the ‘baddies’ is not unheard of. Both of Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare games have forced the player to fight on the side of ‘evil’ as part of it’s multilayer experience. But that’s the thing, some one has to be the bad guys, from childhood games acted out in the back yard with plastic guns, to the online environment of XBox Live, the games we play would be no fun if we were all on the same side. It’s this fact of life that Mapp hasn’t considered. He’s more than happy to jump on the bandwagon and bleat about something he hasn’t had the decent courtesy to investigate, just for the sake of some soundbites and media coverage.