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EA Pulls Taliban from 'Medal of Honor' Multiplayer Mode

by Amar Toor on October 1, 2010 at 02:55 PM

taliban in 'medal of honor'When the newest version of 'Medal of Honor' hits living rooms on October 12th, users will still be able to spend hours of their lives shooting at each other in a hostile, virtual rendering of Afghanistan. One thing they won't be able to do, though, is play for the Taliban, as producer Electronic Arts, has now decided to pull the highly controversial option from the game's multi-player feature.

As originally conceived, the game's multi-player option would've enabled users to play as part of the Taliban, and fight against American troops. Many, however, felt that allowing gamers to play under the Taliban flag would be insensitive to people who have lost relatives in the war, as well as those currently fighting it overseas. The Army and the Air Force even decided to ban the game from being sold at their respective exchange malls.

Ultimately, then, EA decided to modify the game's multi-player feature. Although users will still be able to shoot down American forces, they won't be able to play as the 'Taliban,' having to do so under the title 'Opposing Force,' or 'OpFor.' "'Medal of Honor' is a big thank-you letter to the troops," executive producer Greg Goodrich tells USA Today. "And if this one word caused some troops to not be able to receive that ... let's change it and hopefully people will get that."

We certainly understand that the game could rub some people the wrong way, and, from a business perspective, EA's decision to pull it is probably a wise one. From a more objective stance, though, allowing users to play as anonymous militants instead of clearly identifying the "enemy" isn't without its own pitfalls, either. Instead of targeting a specific group of internationally reviled Islamic extremists, for example, 'Medal of Honor' gamers will be able to hunt down anonymous, vaguely Middle Eastern-looking people with guns.

At the end of the day, kids probably won't care on which side they're playing, as long as they get to pickle their brains while shooting people all day long. But, at a time when American Islamophobia is especially problematic, we can't help but wonder whether EA would do better to keep the game rooted in reality.

Tags: afghanistan, AfghanistanWar, AirForce, army, controversy, EA, extremists, gaming, MedalOfHonor, taliban, top, VideoGames, war

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