A while back when I heard that a video game was in development based on the shady, Christian mercenary private security group, Blackwater, I thought it was a joke. After all, Blackwater, which changed it’s name to “Xe Services” because of the horrible reputation it made for itself, is just sort of, well, evil. So the fact that this actually exists without much of a big deal seeming to be made about it is kind of shocking, I think.
Reports the AP:
In the world of video games, realism reigns supreme, but the makers of a game based on the infamous private security firm Blackwater are intentionally steering clear of it.There’s no blood, the enemies are fictional and civilians can’t be killed. With no moral dilemmas in “Blackwater,’’ it’s simply a matter of shoot — or be shot.
“It’s a game,’’ said Erik Prince, the company’s founder. “This is not a training device. This is not a simulator. We’re not doing this to teach folks how to conduct military operations in an urban terrain. That’s not it at all. This is more along the lines of kids running around their neighborhood playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians.’’
Prince partnered with developer Zombie Studios and publisher 505 Games to create the game using Microsoft Corp.’s motion-sensing Kinect technology for the Xbox 360. The camera-based system detects players’ movements as they dodge enemy fire, kick down doors and lunge across rooftops while shooting foes across virtual battlefields in a fictional North African country.
The game’s protagonists are a team of made-up Blackwater operatives tasked with protecting aid workers and other dignitaries in a volatile nation overrun by a warlord named General Limbano. Along the way, the four-man team — with each member armed with a different type of weapon — must blast away the hordes of encroaching minions.
In truth, the game looks and sounds kind of fun, though I could never buy it and be able to sleep at night knowing that my purchase helped to put a few bucks in Blackwater founder Erik Prince‘s pocket. That guy’s like the bloodthirsty lovechild of Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney or something. He totally drinks puppy blood with his breakfast.
Now, on a happier note, here is Tom Cruise engaging in a dance battle at a wedding to Maroon 5’s “Move Like Jagger.” You’re welcome.