New video game depicts Venezuela mercenary attack

[Dominicana_1965]

By Frank Jack Daniel


CARACAS (Reuters) - A video game depicting mercenaries storming Venezuela, which has been criticized in the oil-rich South American country as a blueprint for an invasion, will be released by a U.S. company this weekend.


The release is likely to anger allies of President Hugo Chavez, a Washington foe, who has in the past threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States.


The game, "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames," will be released on Sunday by a division of Electronic Arts Inc and is set in a "fully destructible Venezuela," the company said in a news release.


"A power hungry tyrant uses Venezuela's oil supply to overthrow the government and turns the country into a war zone," the company says of the game on its Web site.


In 2006, when the game was first announced, lawmakers from Chavez's coalition called it an example of a U.S. government-inspired propaganda campaign against Chavez that could even help lay the psychological groundwork for an actual invasion.


"All the controversy around this is kind of comical," Electronic Arts spokesman Jeff Brown said. "At the end of the day you have to remind yourself it's a damned video game."


The government on Friday said it could not immediately comment on the game's release.


Chavez, who first tried to take power by force in 1992, was elected to office in 1998. Relations with the United States deteriorated dramatically after Washington initially welcomed a short-lived coup against him.
The former soldier, who is popular among the poor for spending the proceeds of an oil boom on social programs, frequently accuses the United States, Venezuela's main oil client, of plotting to overthrow him.


He has replaced aging military equipment with billions of dollars of Russian weapons including fighter jets and plans to strengthen the country's reservist army to repel, he says, a potential U.S. invasion.


A trailer for the game, set in 2010, features mercenaries with American accents storming oil installations during a bloody coup by a tyrant called Ramon Solano.


"It is time the Venezuelan people stop paying for the greed of foreign interests, we will make them pay dearly for our oil. From this day forward everybody pays," the character says before shots of helicopter gunships and tanks attacking familiar Venezuelan landscapes.


Chavez has nationalized oil projects owned by U.S. companies like Exxon and ConocoPhillips.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2947129120080830?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10216&sp=true

[RedHal]

I hope this blatant reactionary crap will open some revlefter's eye that culture is very political!

[turquino]

It may or may not be a propaganda piece for an upcoming invasion, but it's certainly another example of an american video game promoting neocolonialism and intervention in the Third World.

[Fedorov]

ugh i dont think either the developers or the future gamers of this game will even be smart to make the connection to Hugo so I doubt its anything but an attempt to get fresh ideas for an imaginary conflicted such as combat mission: shock force, a hypothetical conflict with Syria and a dam good game at that.

[Organic Revolution]

I don't think that it is necessarily a 'blueprint' so to speak, of an invasion, but I do think that it is a drumming up of support for an attack on Venezuela.

[mykittyhasaboner]

this game is not propaganda as many are deeming it. the game developers are simply making an involving story line. mainly centering around a corporatist dictator (not resembling Chavez in the least) who has taken power and is committing war crimes and such.

in the game, you are given the choice to work for certain factions. i have only started the game, but so far ive seen you have the choice to work with an American oil corporation, Leftist guerrillas, and modern-day pirates.

if this game were pruely propaganda why the hell would you be given the option of fighting with leftist guerrillas or pirates? in all honesty, theres no propaganda in this game, people are just overreacting.

[spartan]

This is making a mountain out of a molehill.

Personally I think this game is going to be great and couldn't give a shit if it was drumming up support for a potential invasion of Venezuela because I know it isn't.

The Venezuelan dictator in the game is in no way comparable to Chavez and the fact that you are a mercenary (which means that you can be bought to fight not only against Venezuela, but also the US and China) means that it isn't exclusively pro-US or anti-Chavez.

[Harrycombs]

I don't remember anyone being mad about the first game, and in that they invaded North Korea.

Its just a game, but I can see why Chaves would be upset. I hope he doesn't overreact though.

[SamiBTX]

Entertainment has always been like this.
Remember the spy shows back in the 70s where the Russians were the evil bad guys? And 24 where the all-American piece of white bread Jack Bauer takes on America's "enemies" in an orgy of red, white & blue.
It is most certainly on purpose that they create TV shows, games, movies & etc where they attempt to instill the glory of killing America's enemies in the youth.
I can hear all the kids saying how "cool" these shows & games are.
The US government is basically trying to recruit from a young age, fighting will all its might to burn the bridges between cultures & ideas that the information age has brought.

[RedHal]

I wouldn't say it's on purpose, or some government propaganda agency is pulling the strings, that these types of entertainment are produced (movies, tv shows, games etc..). It's that these producers are no different from the rest of the population, they are condtioned thoughout their lives into believing that the US are the good guys, fighting for freedom and democracy against the evil brown people of the world out to take away those freedoms. It's the same with the mainstream news reporters, no need for government funding or control, it's a self perpetuating propaganda machine in the free market.

No one is saying that this one game alone is going to make people think that Chavez is a dictator, public opinion doesn't change because of one movie or one video game. People learn from repetition, the corporate media is constantly calling Chavez a dictator, and this video game will play a part in that.

[mykittyhasaboner]

Why would the US government need to fund propaganda, when these game producers have been conditioned, like the rest of the population, throughout their lives into believing that the US are the good guys that are fighting for democracy and freedom against the evil brown people of the world out to take away their freedoms. No funding needed, it's self perpetuating in the free market.

your jumping to some pretty rash conclusions. how can you just simply say that everyone is "conditioned". that's just a cop out. did it ever cross your mind that game developers can be artists in their own right, and create a realistic and entertaining story? there is no propaganda value to this game at all really, games are just games. nowhere in this game have I (meaning as the player in the game of course) killed anyone who wasn't a corporatist government soldier, or a private soldier for an American corporation. you actually lose money for killing civilians! (or in your words "brown people")

you cant know for sure that these game designers are "conditioned", what if there are leftist game designers, since there are after all leftist video game players?

[F9]

i think you taken this wrong if you see a propaganda to start a war in Venezuella.Its just a game.Game makers the only thing they have in mind is to make a story as realistic as possible and enjoyable.I can now remember a game i used to play some years ago (7 or more cant remember)where you were soviets and you were attacking the pentagon to destroy it(i am not sure who was the game but i am certainly it was one of red alert 2 and tiberian sun).It was a great name and it didnt have to di with preparing attack the pentagon,or other countries as you could play with different "nations".All in all is just a game!

Fuserg9:star:

[RedHal]

your jumping to some pretty rash conclusions. how can you just simply say that everyone is "conditioned". that's just a cop out. did it ever cross your mind that game developers can be artists in their own right, and create a realistic and entertaining story? there is no propaganda value to this game at all really, games are just games. nowhere in this game have I (meaning as the player in the game of course) killed anyone who wasn't a corporatist government soldier, or a private soldier for an American corporation. you actually lose money for killing civilians! (or in your words "brown people")

you cant know for sure that these game designers are "conditioned", what if there are leftist game designers, since there are after all leftist video game players?

Everyone is conditioned from birth. You don't believe that TV, school etc.. conditions people into thinking a certain way? Of course there are people who see through these lies, and become good leftists, including game producers. But leftists programmers don't create reactionary games like this that tows the pentagon line on Venezuela.

[RedHal]

i think you taken this wrong if you see a propaganda to start a war in Venezuella.Its just a game.Game makers the only thing they have in mind is to make a story as realistic as possible and enjoyable.I can now remember a game i used to play some years ago (7 or more cant remember)where you were soviets and you were attacking the pentagon to destroy it(i am not sure who was the game but i am certainly it was one of red alert 2 and tiberian sun).It was a great name and it didnt have to di with preparing attack the pentagon,or other countries as you could play with different "nations".All in all is just a game!

Fuserg9:star:

And who were the bad guys in the red alert series? No one game is going to shape public opinion. No one movie is going to shape public opinion. Not one book, article, tv show etc.. is going to shape public opinion. But when you combine all that and constantly bombard the masses with the same message, public opinion is going to change. People learn from repetition.

This reminds me of an interview a mainstream show did with Chomsky, they tried to argue Chomsky about the manipulative powers of mass media, they asked him how can Chomsky be on their show if the corporate media shows only one side of the argument. Well duh, when you have programming airing 24/7 and 365 days of the year presenting one view of the world, it's not going to change public opinion when you have Chomsky on for 1 hr of that 24/7 365 days.

[mykittyhasaboner]

Everyone is conditioned from birth. You don't believe that TV, school etc.. conditions people into thinking a certain way? Of course there are people who see through these lies, and become good leftists, including game producers.

i certainly do, and i never denied that. but you stated that this game was blatant reactionary crap, but in reality it really isn't.


No one is saying that this one game alone is going to make people think that Chavez is a dictator, public opinion doesn't change because of one movie or one video game. People learn from repetition, the corporate media is constantly calling Chavez a dictator, and this video game will play a part in that.
i highly doubt that this game will play any part in depicting Chavez in a bad light. considering that this game has nothing to do with Chavez, or any type of socialist dictator. the dictator in this game is a corporate asshole, who is blatantly nationalist and changed the Venezuelan flag, making it look similar to the Baath party flag only with different colors.

[RedHal]

i certainly do, and i never denied that. but you stated that this game was blatant reactionary crap, but in reality it really isn't.


i highly doubt that this game will play any part in depicting Chavez in a bad light. considering that this game has nothing to do with Chavez, or any type of socialist dictator. the dictator in this game is a corporate asshole, who is blatantly nationalist and changed the Venezuelan flag, making it look similar to the Baath party flag only with different colors.

But why target Venezuela? You don't think that the current US policies towards Venezuela has anything to do with the producers of this game choosing Venezuela as the target of an invasion?

[mykittyhasaboner]

But why target Venezuela? You don't think that the current US policies towards Venezuela has anything to do with the producers of this game choosing Venezuela as the target of an invasion?


No, because if it were supposed to reflect the US's policy towards Chavez, a socialist, the dictator portrayed in this game would be a socialist, not a corporate drug lord.

[RedHal]

No, because if it were supposed to reflect the US's policy towards Chavez, a socialist, the dictator portrayed in this game would be a socialist, not a corporate drug lord.

lol, so it's just a coincidence that the corporate media has been calling Venezuela's Chavez a socialist dictator and this game portraying a Venezuelan dictator. I think the drug lord part is just a way for the game designers to say "it's just a game", otherwise it would've been too obvious

[mykittyhasaboner]

lol, so it's just a coincidence that the corporate media has been calling Venezuela's Chavez a socialist dictator and this game portraying a Venezuelan dictator. I think the drug lord part is just a way for the game designers to say "it's just a game", otherwise it would've been too obvious

it is just a game. and it might be a coincidence, and it might not be. whatever the intent of the game developers is, to claim that this game is going to play role in supporting an invasion of Venezuela is just over dramatic. your simply assuming that the dictator portrayed in the game is supposed to represent Chavez, when Chavez's policies clearly are not reflected by Solano's (the dictator in the game). on top of that, you play as a mercenary for fucks sake, not a US soldier.

according to you, the masses of the US are conditioned to think a certain way by repetition. so unless i see like 5 more games portraying Venezuelan dictators, your argument is useless.





you almost sound like the conservatives ranting against Grand Theft Auto for promoting crime, murder, and sex. why don't you try playing the game before you come to conclusions about the media drumming up hype for an American invasion of Venezuela.

[turquino]

Do you really think it's a coincidence that the game developers would choose 2 countries that are real-life enemies of the u.s. as the subject of their video game? It doesn't matter what the character of the leader is portrayed as because 90% of the players won't remember or care. The white trash who pick up this game likely won't even know who the real president of Venezuela is anyways. But what players do immediately understand is that they are entitled to INVADE and MILITARILY IMPOSE themselves wherever they fucking feel like. With mercenary contractors like Blackwater increasingly assuming tasks once relegated to military grunts, the question of whether or not this is pro u.s. imperialism is irrelevant.

[spartan]

With mercenary contractors like Blackwater increasingly assuming tasks once relegated to military grunts, the question of whether or not this is pro u.s. imperialism is irrelevant.

Not when you can work with leftist guerrillas to kill US soldiers it isn't.

[Zurdito]

"The dictator int he game doesn't resemble Chavez"...says a poster on RevLeft.:lol:

To a right-wing US conservative, the dictator may very well resemble Chavez. Propaganda isn't suppsoed to be accurate. The point is to villify and dehumanise the very concept of Venezuela, that's how propganda works, and it is effective.

It's well known that the US government and entertainemnt industry work together on co-ordinating the right message for the US public, btw.

[fatpanda]

its seems to me that the entertainment industry is full if right wing militarist jerks.
in most games/films you have to play on the side of good americans against evil russians,arabs,chinese,norht koreans etc.

of course they use the entertainment industry for their own propaganda
and that merceneraies shit is highly reactionary as well

but its just a "game"...like the kz manager is also just a "game"

[fatpanda]

I don't remember anyone being mad about the first game, and in that they invaded North Korea.

Its just a game, but I can see why Chaves would be upset. I hope he doesn't overreact though.

oh yes it is banned in south korea

[BIG BROTHER]

fuck guys, its just a dammed game. I mean of course it glorifies U.S. military interventions but its nothing more than a game, its not like the people of Venezuela will rise against Chavez, and welcome a U.S. invasion.

plz we got more serious stuff to worry about than a game.