The "serious gaming" community is abuzz over Raid Gaza:
in which you take on the role of the Israeli military, building tanks, fighter planes and missiles in order to pummel the Palestinian territory and kill as many people as possible within three minutes. Bonus points are awarded for hitting hospitals and police stations. Meanwhile, the Hamas threat is characterised by spluttering Qassam missiles, which whir out of Gaza and usually explode uselessly in fields. The author of the game claims in a recent interview to have begun the project almost two years ago, in response to a UN report on the human cost of the continuing conflict.Reactions have been mixed. News site Kotaku clearly feels it's in poor taste, but political gaming expert Ian Bogost writes that Raid Gaza is successful as a polemical attack on Israeli tactics.
At the heart of the debate is an ongoing question - are videogames an appropriate medium for political satire? -- Keith Stuart, Guardian
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