Oct 9, 2007

You've played a thousand games. You've killed a million bad guys. And yet, as you stand over the mangled corpse of the end boss, you look up to see another enemy on the horizon. A new game, a new threat. It may look different, and in some ways it is. But the truth is you've met this foe countless times before. For our enemies may take many forms, but when you look behind the veil, you'll likely see one of the same seven evils of gaming. We unmask them over the following pages - know your enemy.

Nazis
Back when Medal of Honor first emerged on PSone, World War II was a fresh setting for videogames. The horrifying evil of Nazi Germany made for a human-shaped enemy that you didn't have to feel bad about filling with lead.

But look at the sorry state of affairs now. So many first-person shooters have picked up on the idea, it's lost all impact. How many games set in WWII actually make you aware of why you're shooting all these Nazis? The atrocities of Hitler's regime have all been shamefully diluted in the meaningless barrage of a billion virtual bullets. So much so, in fact, Nazis are now becoming better known and despised for a different reason. Yup, that's right - we're sick of the sight of them.

Above: Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Call of Duty 2, Wolfenstein 3D