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Ghost Recon 2 plotline irks North Korea

Government newspaper lashes back at American "propaganda"; no word on whether Kim Jong Il enjoyed the first game.

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Red Storm's upcoming mutliplatform tactical shooter Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 has North Korea up in arms, according to the American military newspaper Stars and Stripes. Apparently the North Korean government is miffed about the storyline and setting of the game, wherein a North Korean general diverts food to the military, eventually taking power of the country and invading China. Players join the elite Ghost Recon force as they intervene on behalf of China to repel the attack.

Scenes from videos of the game, debuted at this year's E3, caught North Korea's attention. “Through propaganda, entertainment and movies,” read a recent column in the Tongil newspaper, "[Americans] have shown everyone their hatred for us. This may be just a game to them now, but a war will not be a game for them later. In war, they will only face miserable defeat and gruesome deaths.”

Such strong words did not seem to deter Christopher Allen, a designer on the Ghost Recon 2 team. “When we developed the story background, we aimed at staying away from key current or specific events while still having a reasonable setting for a conflict,” Allen wrote. “We are focusing the story on a splinter group in the North Korean military that sparks this conflict, not the entire country.”

Despite North Korea's protests, development will continue on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 for all consoles and the PC. All versions are set for release in November 2004. Check out the GameSpace for more information on the game.

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