To the jerkoffs who support this game I only have one question, is it just because you hate America or love terrorists?

Yeah, I can see how it must be extremely fun to kick open doors and find terrified civilians hiding inside. Hell, lets just blow the place so we can make a new attack route. The civi's will respawn, right? Are the homes going to be vacant like in most FPS's? That's the only way to be accurate and realistic. I mean, you can't simply destroy a building if you aren't sure if there are civilians hiding inside, right?

As I watched the gunfire on screen, I should have been wondering what it was like to actually be in the shoes of those soldiers. But as I sat staring, I instead wondered whether the Marines had bothered to observe that building for civilian inhabitants before demolishing it. I wondered how any Marine that got shot in Iraq could endorse a game based on Fallujah where you can be hit by a hail of bullets and walk away.

A video game was produced by Ocean Software for various formats. The Nintendo Entertainment System version was ported and published by Sunsoft. Loosely based on the film, the object of the game is to survive in the Vietnamese jungle against guerrilla attacks.

And yet developers were extremely hesitant to make Vietnam games up until very recently.

I hope you're having fun, where's your uniform? where's your gun?
better rub up that suntan oil 'cause you'll be fighting in the desert in the hot sun
it's not..vietnam - its just another oil company scam
salute that flag for uncle sam
get your money out - place your bets
it's afghanistan!!
fix bayonets, check grenades
got enough bullets - got enough rounds to wipe out this place
We're the infantry and the cavalary
parachutes fill the skies as bodies burn and people die

The distinction is quite clear if you think about it. WW2 is looked at in a historical context. A 3 year-old battle from a war still going on basically falls into the category of current events. Whether you consider current events to be off limits or open game for developers is a personal matter, but there is a difference.

Immediately it was apparent that Six Days is not aiming for a very realistic take on modern warfare. I never did imagine that Atomic would create a plodding, Operation Flashpoint-esque shooter in the sacrifice of action-packed combat. But considering the extensive marketing on the point of realism, I certainly didn't expect to see soldiers running out into the middle of the street during a firefight, taking a half-dozen bullets in the chest, and then regenerating their health safely behind cover. Not in a planned demonstration for press, at least.

In fact, from what Konami showed us, Six Days is far closer to Gears of War than America's Army. It has the same Gears D-pad weapon selection, the same style of cover system, and the same action-oriented gameplay.

Calling the game "Iraq War Rampage," and lending it the standard shooter setup and exploitative marketing, would be one thing. By picking a specific battle, claiming some level of historical accuracy, and using the faces of real Marines to market the game, Konami and Atomic have created the expectation that Six Days will represent a portrait of warfare that is a good deal more mature than that of Contra. And judging from this early glimpse, there is little evidence of that promise.

Based on the demonstration, I'm skeptical of how effective this strategy will be. As I watched the gunfire on screen, I should have been wondering what it was like to actually be in the shoes of those soldiers. But as I sat staring, I instead wondered whether the Marines had bothered to observe that building for civilian inhabitants before demolishing it. I wondered how any Marine that got shot in Iraq could endorse a game based on Fallujah where you can be hit by a hail of bullets and walk away.

By the end, I was left wondering what Konami was thinking.

And what about the countless millions who've died since WWII. No one seems to have a problem with those games.

Dan Rosenthal, the Iraq vet at Gameslaw.net said it best....

Absolutely unbelievable that Peter Tamte and [creative director] Juan Benito would try to make an "entertainment" experience about a war that we're actively fighting, while soliciting advice and input on how to best kill Marines in game, from people who have worked to kill Marines in real life. The hypocrisy and double-speak coming out of Atomic's leadership is beyond unbelievable.

The game is a "communications tool".....a communications tool for who? The insurgency? And then out of the other corner of their mouths, they try to pass the game off as a "telling of stories"; but that's a rude slap in the face to the approximately 100 Marines who died in the battles of Fallujah when the "story-telling" game includes Halo-style health regeneration. I'm pretty sure I don't remember that being standard issue when I was in Iraq.