The Player

Facing criticism over their new game, the makers of Medal of Honorclaim to have only good intentions, writes JOE GRIFFIN

VIDEOGAMES, once again, have become the subject of unwanted attention when Liam Fox, the British secretary of defence, called for the latest Medal of Honorgame to be banned because of an option in multiplayer mode to play as the Taliban. His low opinion of the game was echoed by his defence counterparts in Canada and New Zealand.

If Medal of Honorwere made by certain other developers, one might assume they were courting controversy. Indeed, the folks at Rockstar ( Grand Theft Auto) practically relish it. But the EA gamemakers seem sincere and respectful. They worked closely with American "Tier One" (elite) soldiers who are, to quote executive producer Greg Goodrich, "doing the good work". As with previous Medal of Honorgames, the makers strove for accuracy in their portrayal of war.

"The [ researchers have] been speaking and working with these guys and seeing their footage and just talking about it," Goodrich says. "They're keeping us honest. That's what Medal of Honorhas always been about; authenticity. We had a team meeting right after the [ game's] trailer and the amount of responses we got, not only from gamers, but from families and wives, and even soldiers deployed overseas saying thanks for giving a shit . . . it really drives us."

Chris Ryan, the British novelist and former SAS soldier, was hired by EA to write a novella as a prequel to the game. "I know this is an 18 game," he says, "but particularly boys from 14 to 18 are reading less and less because of games and TV. I saw this as an opportunity to bridge that gap and maybe encourage the players to start reading."

Ryan says he was "not uncomfortable at all" with the idea of a game based on an ongoing conflict. "To me, games and reading are entertainment, and it's probably a good platform to tell a story from a Tier One operator, of what it's like. I think if you stick to the guidelines, the story unfolds through this game."

Despite the good intentions, for this writer, Medal of Honormade a mistake by including the Taliban option. Yes, you can play as Nazis in other games, and kids have always played cops and robbers, but it was naive to think that such an insensitive feature in a game about a current conflict would go unnoticed.

Of course, debate about videogames is a good thing. Too bad most of the public statements were made by people who had yet to play Medal of Honor.