Support NeoGAF

[AuthenticM]

From CBC:

As the U.S. grapples with white nationalists rallying in the streets and the violence that followed the protests in Charlottesville, Va., a couple of soon-to-be-released video games are feeling disturbingly timely for some gamers.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, created by the Swedish-based Machine Games, is the hotly anticipated latest instalment in the widely popular series that lets gamers annihilate Nazis — which the game's website calls "everybody's favourite pastime."

So what's new about Nazis as bad guys? The fact that they're in 1960s America, and the Nazi flag is proudly draped along the city's streets — streets where men in Nazi uniforms are fraternizing with robed members of the Ku Klux Klan.

It's a world away from the more traditional Second World War background, where fighting the racist villains takes place on the beaches of Normandy. It's also hitting close to home for some gamers.

"The fact that there is an overlap between Wolfenstein II and reality is absolutely horrifying to me, especially as a Jewish person," said Eric Weiss, a Toronto-based video games editor for pop culture site Dork Shelf.

Weiss also points to Ubisoft's Far Cry 5, scheduled to launch in February, which depicts a rural Montana town under the control of a religious doomsday cult. Players will meet and team up with the town's disenfranchised, some of whom feel abandoned by their leaders — a theme that permeated last year's U.S. election.

Basing the action in an American state is particularly striking since previous versions in the Far Cry franchise have been set on fictional tropical islands or in mountainous regions under the control of anonymous dictators.

According to Weiss, the game sends a message: "We have radicals and extremists right here at home, and right now they're marching in the streets, trying to exert control over small-town America."

But for video games to engage in such charged political themes at all — even those that depict the villains as outlandish caricatures — is "a good thing, because it's something we have to deal with right now," Weiss said, calling it a "necessary reminder."

More at the link

 

[fluffydelusions]

Can't wait for the new Wolfenstein

 

[Always-honest]

Can't wait for the new Wolfenstein

Same here.

 

[Anung]

Wolfenstein is going to be so cathartic. I can't wait.

 

[Trickster]

If this game is close to as good as the first one, then there's only one thing I can say - Buy this game people

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Tis the season, bitches.

 

[darthbob]

Wolfenstein II is running on the same engine that powered Doom 2016, yeah?

Hope so, Doom ran like butter and looked amazing to boot, also it was hella fun

 

[SolarPowered]

If this game is close to as good as the first one, then there's only one thing I can say - Buy this game people

Anything to make the Klu Klux Klan regular bullet sponges in shooters from here on out.

 

[Angelus Errare]

I'm honestly surprised we haven't had a bunch of "think pieces" about how Wolfenstein is "mean" to only furthers the divide.

 

[Bronx-Man]

New Order was one of my favorite FPSes last gen. Can't wait for II.

 

[JeTmAn81]

 

[Bronx-Man]

I'm honestly surprised we haven't had a bunch of "think pieces" about how Wolfenstein is "mean" to only furthers the divide.

If only we had visionairies like Ken Levine to show us how actually, both sides are fault in this political climate.

 

[foxuzamaki]

Oh man, can't wait for wolfenstein

 

[BotoxAgent]

First Ubisoft game I will buy in a long time 😎

 

[AuthenticM]

Anything to make the Klu Klux Klan regular bullet sponges in shooters from here on out.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

If only we had visionairies like Ken Levine to show us how actually, both sides are fault in this political climate.

that's clearly not wat he was trying 2 say!!! Listen 2 an interview instead of judging the finished work!!!

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

I'm honestly surprised we haven't had a bunch of "think pieces" about how Wolfenstein is "mean" to only furthers the divide.

Wait until COD WW2 multi comes out where One side is people playing nazis shooting allies

 

[Human Trashcan]

The fact that Far Cry 5 seems to be skirting the issue of race entirely makes it pretty toothless. It's not actually engaging with the cause of the issue.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

I'll play Wolfenstein, but I think the new Call of Duty looks boring and predictable.


Far Cry 5, I am not sure about. I have Far Cry 4, but have not even played it. It was gifted to me for free after the Assassins Creed Unity fiasco. Decisions, decisions...

 

[Bubbavelli]

This gif is the exact reason why Mafia 3 was my goty last year

 

[AuthenticM]

The fact that Far Cry 5 seems to be skirting the issue of race entirely makes it pretty toothless. It's not actually engaging with the cause of the issue.

yeah, I know. It's disappointing.

 

[Angelus Errare]

The fact that Far Cry 5 seems to be skirting the issue of race entirely makes it pretty toothless. It's not actually engaging with the cause of the issue.

Pretty much.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

I think the game that's sweating things the most might be Battlefront 2 and it's SP campaign. I have a feeling they went the "not all the space nazi's were bad" route and that's not going to land well

 

[Gattsu25]

If only we had visionairies like Ken Levine to show us how actually, both sides are fault in this political climate.

I never checked out of a videogame faster than I did with Bioshock Infinite.

Get the fuck outta here with that both sides bullshit.

 

[kirblar]

The fact that Far Cry 5 seems to be skirting the issue of race entirely makes it pretty toothless. It's not actually engaging with the cause of the issue.

Separatist religious cults have been a thing in the western US for a long time though.

 

[Bubbavelli]

I never checked out of a videogame faster than I did with Bioshock Infinite.

Get the fuck outta here with that both sides bullshit.

Is that really the ethos of Infinite? I only played shortly after the beginning where the slave auction/show is happening and thought this game has to go somewhere

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Wrong section

 

[theignoramus]

That game had some incredible moments like that.

 

[zeemumu]

Wait until COD WW2 multi comes out where One side is people playing nazis shooting allies

I thought they did that for most WWII shooters. Didn't World at War make you either US, British, Russian, or German in its multiplayer?

 

[AuthenticM]

Wrong section

I think this conversation is more suited for the Off-Topic section.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Is that really the ethos of Infinite? I only played shortly after the beginning where the slave auction/show is happening and thought this game has to go somewhere

Spoiler

The slaves rebel and you/your character lectures them on how they're just as bad as the slavers because they resorted to violence.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Is that really the ethos of Infinite? I only played shortly after the beginning where the slave auction/show is happening and thought this game has to go somewhere

Pretty much. It attempts to say something about how power leads to violence and revolutionaries run the risk of becoming oppressors themselves, but the way it is handled doesn't communicate that properly at all. It's literally just black revolutionary woman is just as evil as white puritanical racist Christian man, pls kill both.

 

[border]

It's really weird how both those titles ended up being so timely, when development was probably started long before the 2016 Election Season.

 

[Gattsu25]

Spoiler

The slaves rebel and you/your character lectures them on how they're just as bad as the slavers because they resorted to violence.

And then you kill a bunch of the black freedom fighters for the rest of the game including one of the latter bosses.

Pretty much. It attempts to say something about how power leads to violence and revolutionaries run the risk of becoming oppressors themselves, but the way it is handled doesn't communicate that properly at all. It's literally just black revolutionary woman is just as evil as white puritanical racist Christian man, pls kill both.

Yupp.

 

[Gai Murakumo]

Nazi's are among the few human bad guys that are cathartic to kill in games. No one would be like you should not kill a Nazi, no one.

 

[RS4-]

Cod gonna have mp dlc option where you only play as the Nazis.

$$$

 

[zeemumu]

Is that really the ethos of Infinite? I only played shortly after the beginning where the slave auction/show is happening and thought this game has to go somewhere

There's a point where

Spoiler

you go to an alternate universe where the rebel faction is significantly better equipped and the revolution is going on and the rebels have gone completely insane, straight up murdering everyone.

 

[Prompto]

Spoiler

The slaves rebel and you/your character lectures them on how they're just as bad as the slavers because they resorted to violence.

They retconed that a bit in the DLC I think. Still really dumb

 

[TimeEffect]

Pretty much. It attempts to say something about how power leads to violence and revolutionaries run the risk of becoming oppressors themselves, but the way it is handled doesn't communicate that properly at all. It's literally just black revolutionary woman is just as evil as white puritanical racist Christian man, pls kill both.

Huh. I barely remember the story, but enjoyed Infinite. Is this why a lot of GAF hates Infinite? never understood the hate the game got.

 

[Gattsu25]

Huh. I barely remember the story, but enjoyed Infinite. Is this why a lot of GAF hates Infinite? never understood the hate the game got.

It was hard for me to enjoy a game that made slavery freedom fighters into a regular enemy to pour led into.

 

[kirblar]

Is that really the ethos of Infinite? I only played shortly after the beginning where the slave auction/show is happening and thought this game has to go somewhere

It's an issue with mixing too many themes with each other. The racial stuff really doesn't have a narrative payoff other than to show how bad the world is. Stuff relating to the way in which violent populist/labor movements can have severe issues is introduced later on, but it's a problem because this isn't a predominantly class-based situation like 1800s/1900s Europe, it's a Jim Crow situation. You can tell one story or the other, but trying to tell both at once leads to really bad unintended messages.

This is totally a "you needed to have non-white people working on the game" because I (a white guy) didn't see the issue on my playthrough but the criticism's completely valid.

 

[ClumpSoul]

It's really weird how both those titles ended up being so timely, when development was probably started long before the 2016 Election Season.

Yeah, like the Nazi conversation in Wolf 2 is surprisingly apt considering recent events.

Lets see how Far Cry 5 handles itself.

 

[Bubbavelli]

Nooooooooo guess I won't be playing that then. Good thing I only got it for a dollar

 

[Locke562]

I can't wait to hear from voices like Alex Jones that this is proof the left has violent urges or something.

 

[Kayhan]

I thought this would be about FarCry 5.

Ubi, get your viral team prepped.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Huh. I barely remember the story, but enjoyed Infinite. Is this why a lot of GAF hates Infinite? never understood the hate the game got.

Personally I'm not fond of it for reasons in addition to that, such as the messy story, the crappy boss fights, the backtracking, and the way it managed to shit upon the rest of the series in its DLC in an attempt to explain its own existence (lol).

 

[Fury451]

Wolf looks like ts wearing its message on its sleeve, which is really cool.

Anyone expecting Far Cry to be some subversive and interesting reflection on current politics will likely be sorely disappointed.

 

[Gattsu25]

I thought this would be about FarCry 5.

Ubi, get your viral team prepped.

From the OP:

Weiss also points to Ubisoft's Far Cry 5, scheduled to launch in February, which depicts a rural Montana town under the control of a religious doomsday cult. Players will meet and team up with the town's disenfranchised, some of whom feel abandoned by their leaders — a theme that permeated last year's U.S. election.

Basing the action in an American state is particularly striking since previous versions in the Far Cry franchise have been set on fictional tropical islands or in mountainous regions under the control of anonymous dictators.

According to Weiss, the game sends a message: "We have radicals and extremists right here at home, and right now they're marching in the streets, trying to exert control over small-town America."

But for video games to engage in such charged political themes at all — even those that depict the villains as outlandish caricatures — is "a good thing, because it's something we have to deal with right now," Weiss said, calling it a "necessary reminder."

 

[Nesotenso]

It was hard for me to enjoy a game that made slavery freedom fighters into a regular enemy to pour led into.

been a while since I played the game, but didn't the members of the Vox populi just of the deep end when they rebelled?

I thought one of the reasons they wanted to kill Booker was because he died in the alternate universe they entered or something I like that.

I am probably recalling details wrong.

 

[Pakkidis]

I blame the Nazi uprising because kids didn't play wolfienstein 3d growing up