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Venezuelan government takes issue with Mercenaries 2

By Tim Surette, GameSpotPosted May 25, 2006 11:41 am PT

Pandemic's upcoming guns-for-hire game draws fire from politicos for its portrayal of country; claims game is propaganda.

For most, games are a pleasant time-wasting diversion, an interactive mini-vacation from life's daily grind. For others, they are nothing but a way for governments to plant seeds into the minds of citizens in order to indoctrinate an imperialist attitude.

The others, in this case, are certain lawmakers in Venezuela, who the Associated Press reports are furiously opposed to a new shooter from Pandemic Studios. The game is Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, currently in development for the PlayStation 3.

In the game, players drop into Venezuela to help settle an oil dispute, take on "a power hungry tyrant," and blow up lots and lots of stuff. Though Mercenaries 2 is based on a fictional scenario, the plot is "realistic enough to believe that it could actually happen," a Pandemic rep told the AP.

Supporters of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of American policy, are not amused. "[Mercenaries 2] sends a message to Americans: You have a danger next door, here in Latin America, and action must be taken," said lawmaker Gabriela Ramirez. "It's a justification for an imperialist aggression." Ramirez also said that Mercenaries 2 could be banned from the country by laws intended to protect children from violent games.

Chavez isn't actually in the game, but those loyal to him believe the game intends to mar his image and that of the country by portraying it as a war-torn battle zone mired in chaos.

"I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later," said Venezuelan congressman Ismael Garcia.

This isn't the first time game designers' pursuit of realistic situations has angered a foreign government. Ubisoft's Ghost Recon 2 was called "propaganda" by a government-run newspaper in North Korea. "This may be just a game to them now," the article read, "but a war will not be a game for them later. In war, they will only face miserable defeat and gruesome deaths." Ubisoft's development went on as planned, and North Korea eventually banned the game.

316 Comments

  • imperatusignis

    Posted Nov 6, 2009 6:57 am PT

    It's extrange to see how a Dictator thinks US goverment control the media alike him

  • Balefire

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 7:22 pm PT

    This game is obviously offensive and ridiculous. What if a major game producer from another country made a high profile game in which you play a freedom fighter killing U.S. sponsored terrorists (say, Contras in Nicaragua, or Mobutu's coup in DRC... or perhaps Iraqi troops in Kurdistan) and maybe a few atrocious, murdering CIA agents and U.S. Army trainers along with them? I'll bet no one in America would want the game sold here. This article and every comment I've seen is a hypocrisy.

  • bullsfan769

    Posted Mar 31, 2008 7:16 pm PT

    haha wow whatever happened to american freedoms people, its just a game

  • jordanmurphy007

    Posted Aug 9, 2007 11:25 am PT

    depicting a war torn country has he even seen it its looks gorgeous and i see no war torn nothing all i see is trees and flowers and crystal blue waters (that is till i get my hands on it) but it really depicts it as a pretty beautiful place

  • ildemaro

    Posted Jul 18, 2007 7:45 pm PT

    I live here in Venezuela too and i just can't wait to kill this power hungry tyrant (Hugo Chavez). Freedom of speech is about to end here because of this moron... God bless you Pandemic Studios.

  • jtmarsh1982

    Posted Jul 16, 2007 6:06 pm PT

    Good! I hope to kill LOTS and LOTS of my new enemy in this game. I never wanted a ps3 untuil i read this. I hope that after this game comes out Venezuela and Chavez get bombed by a non American country and wiped off the face of the earth. Why do they have to ruin our fun b/c they dont understand what ENTERTAINMENT means.

    Merenaries 2: Chavez in Tears!

  • aguatacaluseo

    Posted Jul 1, 2007 9:20 am PT

    waiting to kill the tyrant of my country in this game thanks to EA

  • ldow

    Posted Jun 26, 2007 9:19 am PT

    I live in venezuela and chavez is "a power hungry tyrant ". We don't have freedom of speech and he's doing whatever he wants. I'm not against the release of the game because they're fifhting against the corruption of the goverment.

  • -KinGz-

    Posted May 26, 2007 11:51 pm PT

    BlueDevil

    Good to see that freedom of speech & expression is alive and well in Venezuela.


    --------------------------------------------

    Well if that wasn't sarcasm I can update you: Chavez is closing RCTV tomorrow sunday may 27 2007, so much for freedom of speech

  • -KinGz-

    Posted May 26, 2007 11:47 pm PT

    Chavez is a dumbass, I live here, and my most deared wish is to get out of this sinking ship called venezuela.

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Mar 9, 2007 7:02 pm PT

    its a game company don't pblame the whole country

  • sarevokmb

    Posted Mar 9, 2007 2:50 pm PT

    "[Mercenaries 2] sends a message to Americans: You have a danger next door, here in Latin America, and action must be taken,"

    Honestly, the Mexicans are a threat to the U.S. There are more people coming into the country from there than there are people born here. It's kind of scary.

    Now, I have nothing against immigrants, and I even have a friend who is coming here for college, but when the country is close to having them become the majority, it is easy to think of them as a threat.

  • SpaceMoose

    Posted Mar 8, 2007 12:20 pm PT

    "Response: It's gotta take place somewhere."

    It could take place in Antarctica. I always knew those penguins were up to no good.

  • StupidFox

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 12:09 pm PT

    Response: It's gotta take place somewhere.

  • SpaceMoose

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 11:43 pm PT

    If they really want to be controversial, they could set it in Iraq. What is that country but a bunch of different groups fighting for reasons that aren't entirely clear? And instead of the Russian Mafia selling weapons to everyone, it could just be the U.S. Sounds pretty accurate.

    And everyone thought the GTA series was controversial...

  • Quetzalcoatl_88

    Posted Mar 6, 2007 9:43 pm PT

    As this kind of claim is expected from Hugo Chavez, I'm not a bit surprised by this. I know for a fact that Hugo Chavez is usually the source of all jokes among the Mexican-American community, so we frequently like to make fun of the bastard.

    it's funny that the Venezuelan government already got their panties in a bunch about one game, which shows how paranoid they are. No offense to the Venezuelan people, I don't hate any of you, just Hugo Chavez (or should I say Mrs. Castro).

    so here's to Chavez, the troll of Latin America...

  • SpaceMoose

    Posted Mar 3, 2007 12:10 am PT

    Anyone who played the first Mercenaries is aware of the fact that all of the sides in it are somewhat morally reprehensible. The CIA-linked guy is kind of a sleaze really, so if it was meant to be propaganda favorable to the U.S. they did a pretty poor job...

    Really though, they probably should have set the game in Canada with some plot line about a bootleg Maple Syrup cartel. (That will mean more to regular Hotspot listeners.)

    ; )

  • BlueDevil

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 1:57 pm PT

    Good to see that freedom of speech & expression is alive and well in Venezuela.

  • Poshkidney

    Posted Feb 26, 2007 11:44 am PT

    they can ban the game it will only make you look worst it's like when oliver cromwell shut down all the thereters in the united kingdom and banned mince pies but it came back in elleven years

  • Zinimus

    Posted Feb 26, 2007 7:34 am PT

    Chavez should eat a chode

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