If you want to see the whole glory (haha) of the cut German version, check this site.
The link points directly to the forgotten swastika the game has been recalled for, see the red arrow on that poster on the wall. Enjoy

[German site, of course, but the pictures speak for themselves]

http://www.schnittberichte.com/schnittbericht.php?ID=5982811#h2

This comment was edited on Sep 23, 2009, 14:50.

A lot of people, perhaps even most people, are mainly interested in the singleplayer, and Wolf's singleplayer was quite good.

Agreed. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I had very little interest in the game based on the previews, marketing, reviews and word of mouth. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like a generic, mediocre WW2 console shooter. Then I played it. It's not revolutionary by any means but the single-player component is well-done and enjoyable. I like the weapon upgrades and the town hub mechanic. I also like the supernatural enemies. +1 to the list of games I've only bought because of [insert highly controversial word that rhymes with 'iracy' here].

swastikas are evil but fasces are OK because it's a symbol of power, not hippy bullshit

yes, hitler - the ultimate hippie

mellow out or you will pay!

CALIFORNIA! UBER ALLES!

The original Wolfenstein ...

This is actually the first "Wolfenstein".

/semantics

Why does the German government have to be such Nazis about this issue?

The original Wolfenstein was a SP game, so to me, the MP is a non-issue.

Single player is balls out awesome but most people were hoping for a good multiplayer experience. Instead we got something.. less..

I've gathered as much... still, calling the game bad overall because of bad multiplayer is quite a bit misleding. A lot of people, perhaps even most people, are mainly interested in the singleplayer, and Wolf's singleplayer was quite good.

Single player is balls out awesome but most people were hoping for a good multiplayer experience. Instead we got something.. less..

its only questionable because hitler used it to identify his movement. the swastika is much older than nazis, its older than germany itself - its been used in asia for thousands of years

swastikas are evil but fasces are OK because it's a symbol of power, not hippy bullshit

I've heard mostly very positive stuff about the single player campaign.

rofl! they should recall the game because it sucks, not because of a few swastika images.

I quite enjoyed it.

Well, you see, there's this special German police force who mobilizes to hunt down and silence anyone who mentions swastikas. I think they're called Gestapo or something...

So if swastikas are banned in germany how do they know what they look like?

Denying and ignoring your heritage is definitely a great way to learn from it. Germany

This comment was edited on Sep 22, 2009, 15:21.

its only questionable because hitler used it to identify his movement. the swastika is much older than nazis, its older than germany itself - its been used in asia for thousands of years

You can't really say Activision is so stupid in general, they removed most of the swastikas, but apparently they forgot ONE somewhere in the game, which is the reason the game is banned now.

According to German news sites which quote Activison Germany to the incident, it must be a rather inconspicious occurence of a questionable symbol, and even just for a very short moment in the game.

Activision Germany immediately stopped the game from being sold after finding out. As I am from Germany, this is another really sad incident... again...

Ooh, someone screwed up. I guess it's hard to make a game that takes place in Nazi Germany without some swastikas slipping through. I wonder if Activision will be fined, and how much?

The reason the swastika symbol is illegal is itself a symbolic gesture. This decision was made right after WWII and it served as a demonstration that germany wanted to distance itself from the brutal genocide that was committed under Hitler.

and laws that lock people up if they deny or even debate the numbers involved in the holocaust? Much of that zeal to "distance itself" from the horrors of WW2 comes from outside Germany via groups like the JDL.

The sentiment behind such laws is understandable, but, it ends doing more harm than good by discouraging debate/discussion and also leads to what we are seeing here, censorship. In no way are Nazi's depicted in anything other than a negative light in Wolfenstein which makes the swastika flag issue nonsensical.

Sie werden nicht beleidigen Deutschland.

That should be "Sie werden Deutschland nicht beleidigen"

Also, how freaking stupid is Activision to release a game with Swastikas in germany? They know it's illegal, yet they do so anyways. Good job publishing there, Activision.

As for the censorship issue, eh, let's just say that Germany isn't exactly thrilled about their Nazi past, and would rather let it die in the fiery pits of hell. I can see their side of the argument.

Creston

But is censorship, in essence just ignoring and hoping the world will forget, really the answer?

It is not about trying to forget. German children learn more about WWII than about any other subject. During my school years we had eight (yes, eight) units about the nazis and WWII in the context of different school subjects.

The reason the swastika symbol is illegal is itself a symbolic gesture. This decision was made right after WWII and it served as a demonstration that germany wanted to distance itself from the brutal genocide that was committed under Hitler.

It is a bit silly to prevent the usage in a WWII game. I agree with that. Especially because you can get permission to use it in other types of art like movies. But that is bureaucracy...