It had to be Coming: Six Days in Fallujah

Get ready for an Iraq video game :

Six Days in Fallujah.

It's tempting to over-simplify the controversy surrounding Six Days in Fallujah by saying that it's simply "too soon" for this kind of treatment. The scars of the Iraq war remain fresh, both in the nation itself and on the public consciousness of the western world - and blood is still being spilled on the streets of cities like Fallujah. Let time heal the wounds somewhat, detractors urge, before making entertainment from such events.

Yet this exhortation seems to apply exclusively to video games. Other media teems with representations of Iraq. Countless books, newspaper and magazine articles, films and TV shows about the Iraq war have been created in the past few years, ranging from straight-laced documentaries to HBO's critically acclaimed TV drama Generation Kill. Some of these have been controversial in their own right, but none has had their basic right to exist questioned in the way that we are now seeing with Six Days in Fallujah.

This debate isn't about whether it's "too soon". It's about a popular viewpoint which believes that video games are not equipped to deal with the raw complexity and subtlety of an unresolved, multi-faceted conflict such as Iraq. Say the word "game" to a certain part of the public, and it conjures up an entirely inaccurate mental image. The straightforward "kill bad guys to earn points" system which many people erroneously believe exists is no reflection of the narrative power and interactive subtlety of the best modern games.

The horrified response in some quarters to Six Days in Fallujah is a consequence of that outdated viewpoint. If, indeed, this were a game where you simply blasted enemies to boost your score, it would be a disgusting exploitation of the events in question - but talented game developers evolved the medium away from that long ago. War games, both modern and historical, are now often exercises in accuracy and balance, concerned with documenting the reality of conflict as much as with providing an entertainment experience.

In this, they serve the same educational purpose as movies such as Saving Private Ryan, or TV series such as the aforementioned Generation Kill. The best war games inform and provoke thought by placing the player in a combat context and challenging them to experience both the tactical and moral decisions faced by soldiers. Crucially, this is entertainment for adults - not merely because it is often horrific, as war itself is, and rated accordingly by the BBFC - but because such moral or strategic challenges simply aren't entertaining to children.

Games, like all other forms of media, have an important role to play in provoking informed debate over the issues facing our world. Their interactive, immersive nature can give them a unique narrative power. Games like Six Days in Fallujah are not just ultra-violent Space Invaders, as the knee-jerk response to them suggests - they're a vital, thriving and intelligent part of our media and culture. (http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6072924.ece)