Call of Duty: Black Ops upsets Cuba with Castro mission

[Cultural Revolution]

A video game developed in the US that challenges players to assassinate former Cuban president Castro has provoked an angry response from Cuba.


Call of Duty: Black Ops, which which went on sale this week, is set during the cold war, with gamers taking on the role of a special operative as he saves the US from a communist plot, travelling between Cuba, Vietnam and Russia.


However, a mission in which players try to kill a young Castro has sparked a fierce response from the Cuban government.
"What the United States government did not achieve in more than 50 years, it now tries to do virtually," said a story on the government run cuba debate website.

It said the game glorified real US attempts to kill Castro

In 2006 Fabian Escalante, the former head of Cuban intelligence services, revealed how plots ranged from an exploding cigar that was intended to blow up in Castro's face to a fungus-contaminated wetsuit that would infect him with a chronic skin disease.
Perhaps the most fanciful plot involved planting explosives inside a mollusc shell painted in bright colours in the hope that Castro might be drawn towards it while scuba diving in the Caribbean.


In a section of Call of Duty: Black Ops set in Havana, players gun down enemy combatants while pursuing Castro, who was president of Cuba for 49 years before resigning in 2008.

"This new video game is doubly perverse," the article on cubadebate said. "On the one hand, it glorifies the illegal assassination attempts the United States government planned against the Cuban leader … and on the other, it stimulates sociopathic attitudes in North American children and adolescents."


It is not the first military-style shooter game to generate controversy this year. Medal of Honor was banned from US military bases before it went on sale last month because it let players take on the role of Taliban fighters battling US and Nato troops in Afghanistan. Developer Electronic Arts later changed the name of the combatants from Taliban to Opposing Force.

[Rafiq]

Ay, let them make games of whatever they like :lol:

Only virtually can they accomplish their world wide objectives.

[Pretty Flaco]

I saw this coming! :lol:

[Cultural Revolution]

castros like, fuck COD, i was a real guerrilla :)

[Burn A Flag]

I wish there was a reverse of this game so we could gun down US forces around the world. Also we could have special missions to assasinate presidents like Reagan. Also we could do certain other leaders and economists like Milton Friedman. Don't forget Margaret Thatcher!

[Cultural Revolution]

i play operation arrowhead, and play as guerillas against the us, ied them *****es lol

[Manic Impressive]

http://www.revleft.com/vb/virtual-assassination-fidel-t144836/index.html

I suggest these threads are merged

[RedSonRising]

You know as first world consumers exposed to media violence as a social norm, this seems harmless, but from the outside looking in, Cubans probably think things like this are absolutely crazy and beyond the levels of indoctrination complained about the other way around.

[pranabjyoti]

I want links for downloading the video games where I can shoot US marines and tanks and stealth aircrafts etc.

[B0LSHEVIK]

Lol at the thread.

In all fairness, its a double. Fidel actually lives after that episode in the game! Thats as far as I gotten. And it does suck to be shooting people I would consider comrades in real life. Also the yank you pretend to be, is a dumb fuck fighting for supposed freedom.

[Political_Chucky]

I wonder how much of an outcry George W. Bush would make if they made a game surrounding his assasination attempts.:rolleyes:

[Salyut]

Lol at the thread.

In all fairness, its a double. Fidel actually lives after that episode in the game! Thats as far as I gotten. And it does suck to be shooting people I would consider comrades in real life. Also the yank you pretend to be, is a dumb fuck fighting for supposed freedom.

You can play as Castro. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJyWlUXLsho)

[praxis1966]

Thing is, that's just the stand alone part of the game. In all the COD's, you get randomly assigned to one side or the other which means you wind up playing as the commies as often as the imperialists. In COD: Modern Warfare you played as Arab insurgents 'n' shit, so there's that. There's also the small matter of only M-L's being offended about a virtual attack on Castro...

[IndependentCitizen]

i play operation arrowhead, and play as guerillas against the us, ied them *****es lol

<3 Arma

Anyway, I've got Black Ops, and lol'd at the anti-communist agenda that was evidentally in it. However, you never do succeed assasinate Castro.

[Manic Impressive]

Really? I just don't see it. There are a couple of superficial mentions of "how we need to stop communism" but it's just a fair representation of the times from the US perspective. The bad guys are renegades and at no point are you told that they are following USSR orders. There's also a level where you play as a Russian soldier fighting against British troops hardly seems anti communist to me. I would suggest those who find the game offensive stop and think how much worse it could have been if they really wanted to make an anti communist game.

[B0LSHEVIK]

Really? I just don't see it. There are a couple of superficial mentions of "how we need to stop communism" but it's just a fair representation of the times from the US perspective. The bad guys are renegades and at no point are you told that they are following USSR orders. There's also a level where you play as a Russian soldier fighting against British troops hardly seems anti communist to me. I would suggest those who find the game offensive stop and think how much worse it could have been if they really wanted to make an anti communist game.

Really? You know to be honest, I dont follow the storyline. My subtitles are off and I usually cant make out what the game is saying clearly. But I mean fuck, you're fighting on the US side in every major Cold War engagement, except I think Korea. And the hammer and sickle and Russia sure do come up quite often the art work.

Really, a Russia vs british?

[Manic Impressive]

Really? You know to be honest, I dont follow the storyline. My subtitles are off and I usually cant make out what the game is saying clearly. But I mean fuck, you're fighting on the US side in every major Cold War engagement, except I think Korea. And the hammer and sickle and Russia sure do come up quite often the art work.

Really, a Russia vs british?

LoL I like the stories but yeah there's a level towards the end where you p[lay as a guy in the red army you go kill some Nazis then the British come and attack you so you gotta kill them too. My point is how are you going to have a game set in the cold war without mentioning the USSR and ofc there will be hammer and sickles but they could have made it much worse if they wanted to be malicious. The point I made in the other thread as well about playing as a CIA agent and torturing people, it seems to me as if the the US comes away from it looking much worse than the Russians.

[Burn A Flag]

I don't agree. I think they made the USSR look much worse by their depiction of the main villains and the way they behave, including Castro.

[B0LSHEVIK]

LoL I like the stories but yeah there's a level towards the end where you p[lay as a guy in the red army you go kill some Nazis then the British come and attack you so you gotta kill them too. My point is how are you going to have a game set in the cold war without mentioning the USSR and ofc there will be hammer and sickles but they could have made it much worse if they wanted to be malicious. The point I made in the other thread as well about playing as a CIA agent and torturing people, it seems to me as if the the US comes away from it looking much worse than the Russians.

Like I said, I havent really paid much attention to the storyline. But, just from the gameplay, it seems that the 'communists' have the bad rap.

[Ocean Seal]

Imagine the shit that we would have to take if we made a 10mil selling game that let us assassinate American figures which have had assassination attempts against them (for exmaple: Kennedy and Regan). On that day videogames would have gone "too far," and would be teaching our kids "the wrong thing". Because up until then they were just being taught to murder Russian, Arab, and Latin people: the enemies of America, so that's okay.

[B0LSHEVIK]

Imagine the shit that we would have to take if we made a 10mil selling game that let us assassinate American figures which have had assassination attempts against them (for exmaple: Kennedy and Regan). On that day videogames would have gone "too far," and would be teaching our kids "the wrong thing". Because up until then they were just being taught to murder Russian, Arab, and Latin people: the enemies of America, so that's okay.

Yea very true.

Its the same in most countries tho. For example, a Spanish Civil War game for PCs was shut down because it was being sympathetic to the Republic. The 'socialist' govt of Spain had them terminate the whole thing, because it would open up old wounds.

I totally agree with you tho.

[L.A.P.]

I played Black Ops with my friend and the first thing I said was "Wow, the Cold War was 30 years ago. Can we please move on with our lives and get over it?"

[IndependentCitizen]

Atleast JFK and Castro team up to fight the zombies!

[Il Medico]

Like I said, I havent really paid much attention to the storyline. But, just from the gameplay, it seems that the 'communists' have the bad rap.
Welcome to America, enjoy your stay.

[Catma]

Imagine the shit that we would have to take if we made a 10mil selling game that let us assassinate American figures which have had assassination attempts against them (for exmaple: Kennedy and Regan). On that day videogames would have gone "too far," and would be teaching our kids "the wrong thing". Because up until then they were just being taught to murder Russian, Arab, and Latin people: the enemies of America, so that's okay.

There was a game that was basically a simulation of the Kennedy assassination. There was a huge outcry. I don't remember the outcome, though.


I played Black Ops with my friend and the first thing I said was "Wow, the Cold War was 30 years ago. Can we please move on with our lives and get over it?"

Seriously! Alright, this game gets a pass because it's set in that historical period... but really... MW2 has Russia invading the continental US... what the hell? Who is still going around thinking of the Russians as the big bad enemy? (Besides the old fart capitalists, who can't think past next quarter's profits, I mean.)

[Red Commissar]

There was a game that was basically a simulation of the Kennedy assassination. There was a huge outcry. I don't remember the outcome, though.

Yeah, that was JFK Reloaded, but the difference between the two is that JFK Reloaded was a small-time private project that was online. Initially it was to be bought, but the site folded and it became freeware after that. It got well publicized a few years ago.

Black Ops, on the other hand, is a commercialized product. But honestly I think most of the people who buy the game will just waste their time online anyways.

[Tzonteyotl]

I haven't been into video games for quite some time now, but this isn't really surprising. I mean it's a military shooter game, right? I remember playing SOCOM and thinking to myself while doing so "What the hell am I doing?" And remember the game that the army put out as a recruiting tool? More important to me than the Castro bit and whether the games are "anti-communist" is the glorification of violence and war. Having played those games before, I understand the irony in me saying that now. But with the games getting more and more "realistic" and America's enemies shown as being worthy of death and "fun to kill," isn't the real point here the dehumanization of other people and a desensitization of us to violence? Why else would anyone however much in jest say "I wanna be the other side so I can kill Americans!"?

[Jimmie Higgins]

Have people seen this website:

http://leftgamerreview.org/

I think that's brillient - I know really very little about games (I play Civilization, a little Grant Theft Auto, and some Simpsons Road Rage:lol:) but I always thought that leftists need to start talking about video games like the radical left has about film and literature for so long. Games are bigger than Hollywood and I'm sure there is a lot of space for a left-wing perspective on both the game-play and subject matter (sexism, racism, or even the subversive and good elements of some games) but also of the entire industry as well.

There needs to be a Dave Zirin (he writes about pro-sports www.edgeofsports.com/ (http://www.edgeofsports.com/)) or Jeff Chang (wrote a materialist history of hip-hop) for Video games.

[NGNM85]

Just beat the campaign. Decent game, however, it has markedly less replay value than Modern Warfare 2. I have only just touched on the 'Training Mode' but that and the Zombie minigame don't compare to Spec Ops. I think a lot of the criticism is misplaced. Black Ops, as well as Modern Warfare may be military shooters, but, unlike essentially every other member of that club it absolutely is NOT a masturbatory celebration of US gunboat diplomacy. The Call of Duty series, at least the post-WWII games, are actually kind of subversive. I didn't play the first one, but Modern Warfare 2 was anything but a mindless nationalism festival. It underlines at the dark side of US foreign policy. The game was actually criticized for this, that some people felt let down because the didn't feel like a hero, because the clandestine military operatives were not white nights, in fact, they did some morally questionable things. This is actually why the game appealed to me so much. In addition to the Campaign, there are also the quotes that accompany the death screen every time you get killed. These quotes, for the most part, anything but ardently nationalistic;

"In war, truth is the first casualty" -Aeschylus
"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind."
-John F. Kennedy
"War does not determine who is right - only who is left"
-Burtrand Russell
"Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty."
-Ronald Reagan
"Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die."
-Herbert Hoover
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV
will be fought with sticks and stones."
-Albert Einstein
"If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merits of our
cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning."
-Robert McNamara
"Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't shrink from doing so just
because you might not like what you find."
-Colin Powell
"Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before
destroying them."
-Voltaire
"The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war."
-Ralph Waldo Emmerson
"My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth."
-George Washington
"Anyone, who truly wants to go to war, has truly never been there before!"
-Larry Reeves
And the most pointed quote;
"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.
-Albert Einstein
The game also makes fun of Donald Rumsfeld, citing his famous flub about WMD's being north, south, east, and west, of Tikrit.

Black Ops doesn't offer such words of wisdom with each death screen, and it may not be so obviously critical of blind nationalism. However, there is, albiet, much more subtly, a skepticism about the exercise of American power in the game. I find it interesting that of the four songs chosen for this game, that one of them, which plays while the character is having a flashback to Vietnam, is CCR's "Fortunate Son".

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

More important to me than the Castro bit and whether the games are "anti-communist" is the glorification of violence and war. Having played those games before, I understand the irony in me saying that now. But with the games getting more and more "realistic" and America's enemies shown as being worthy of death and "fun to kill," isn't the real point here the dehumanization of other people and a desensitization of us to violence? Why else would anyone however much in jest say "I wanna be the other side so I can kill Americans!"?

I've been playing violent computer games since at least 12 years of age (I'm now 23), and I have yet to murder anyone or even start a real punch-up since then. I reckon if someone was killed right in front of me, or if I killed someone with my own hands, I would still be incredibly shaken up about it - watching people snuff it in an action movie or pretending to blow off someone's head in a shooter is nothing like the real thing.

Which is why I call a loud and clear "BULLSHIT" on any kind of talk about "desensitisation" to violence. Such fearful talk is also not supported by the data - society is becoming less violent, not more (http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006259.html).

[NGNM85]

I've been playing violent computer games since at least 12 years of age (I'm now 23), and I have yet to murder anyone or even start a real punch-up since then. I reckon if someone was killed right in front of me, or if I killed someone with my own hands, I would still be incredibly shaken up about it - watching people snuff it in an action movie or pretending to blow off someone's head in a shooter is nothing like the real thing.

Which is why I call a loud and clear "BULLSHIT" on any kind of talk about "desensitisation" to violence. Such fearful talk is also not supported by the data - society is becoming less violent, not more (http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006259.html).

I had a feeling you were referring to Pinker's TED lecture.:D I liked it, too. It's amazing, and rather alarming, the difference between people's perception and the way it actually is. An excellent work in a similar vein is Culture of Fear which explores how these bizarre fallacies become general wisdom. It's quite good, if you haven't read it, already.

[NKVD]

I had a feeling you were referring to Pinker's TED lecture.:D I liked it, too. It's amazing, and rather alarming, the difference between people's perception and the way it actually is. An excellent work in a similar vein is Culture of Fear which explores how these bizarre fallacies become general wisdom. It's quite good, if you haven't read it, already.

Pinker is a reactionary fucktard. Don't even bother listening to him.

[refuse_resist]

I never knew the synopsis of the game until reading this thread and doing a google search on what it's about. I knew it was pro-imperialist due to assasinating revolutionaries such as Castro. Damn, it looks like whoever made this game is a hardcore Reaganite! I bet if Ronald Reagan was alive he'd be having wet dreams about this game! It's filled with nothing but revisionist history and "what if's" which are based entirely from a pro-imperialist point of view.

As for pro-socialist video games, I would recommend Red Faction: Guerrilla. VERY pro-worker and anti-capitalist.

Has anyone ever played Singularity? I've been wanting to play it since first hearing about it.

[NGNM85]

Pinker is a reactionary fucktard. Don't even bother listening to him.

Pray tell, what has Pinker done to deserve the appellation 'reactionary fucktard'? Assuming he is one, how does this disprove his analysis of violence throughout the history of human civilization?

[NGNM85]

I never knew the synopsis of the game until reading this thread and doing a google search on what it's about. I knew it was pro-imperialist due to assasinating revolutionaries such as Castro.

It isn't really Castro, it's a lookalike. The main character is also revealed to have actually killed JFK.


Damn, it looks like whoever made this game is a hardcore Reaganite! I bet if Ronald Reagan was alive he'd be having wet dreams about this game!

Not really, see my first post.


It's filled with nothing but revisionist history and "what if's" which are based entirely from a pro-imperialist point of view.

First, you have no idea what you are talking about.

Second, you are therefore unqualified to judge this game.

Third, of course it's revisionist history! It's a game where you play an international spy in the 60's who gets brainwashed by a rogue Soviet general plotting to release a biological weapon who asassinates president Kennedy!