A story I've known about for a while concerning one of my favorite games of 2005 is finally making some headway in the gaming press. That is the angry protestations of the Native Americans in reference to the game Gun. In essence, they're very upset about the depictions of Apache and Blackfoot tribesmen in the game and are trying to boycot stores selling the game. They cite the violence directed at the Apache in the game as the reason behind this.
Here's the link to the most recent article on the matter.
Here's my take on this: Gun doesn't treat the Apache any differently in the game than any WWII game does to Germans and Russians. Yes, you kill Apache in the game. And yes, some of the characters make some racist comments about them. But the game also makes fun of the Irish and the Chinese as well. It's an equal opportunity offender, as I've said once before on this matter. The game is set in the 1800's in the Wild West, during the frontier days. Before the railroads and before law and civility. However embarrassing that part of our nation's history may be, one can't hide it anymore than present-day Germans can act as if the Holocaust never occured. Does the game glorify the violence? No more than any other M-rated game.
And besides, having played through the game in its entirety, I can assure you that I killed a hell of a lot more grizzled, angry, toothless white dudes than I did Apache. Am I supposed to boycott the game on account of my ties to the caucasian community? It's a game. Get over it.
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