Over 40 marines are contributing their experiences in one of the bloodiest segments of fighting in our current war in Iraq for the game Six Days in Fallujah. So if Call of Duty, Gears of War and Halo aren't real enough for you, pay attention. Six Days focuses on an on-the-ground soldier’s experience leading a small squad in a populated, hostile and very realistic battlefield. Though some will call the game remiss for not questioning the validity and morality of the war, the authenticity and accuracy are hard to argue with.

Many of the scenarios are based on real-life missions, putting you into the boots of a real soldier. That means civilians wandering into your line of fire and danger not presenting itself as clear and present spiky aliens and guys with bright red communist berets.  

The environments are bullet-riddled and semi-blown up, and every object and piece of cover can be destroyed – at least any part you’d expect to be vulnerable to bullets. We saw marines force a group of terrorists to retreat into a house, and rather than following them in through the front door, and exposing themselves to direct fire, the soldiers planted explosives on the side of the house and blasted open their own entrance.

It's certainly still a current topic, so we can't help but be intrigued by Fallujah, especially if it pulls off an accurate (but still fun) war simulation. On the other hand, it sounds a bit morbid and is arguably based on uncomfortably recent history. Our suspicion is that there will be a balance struck between what actually happens in war – which is genuinely horrible and terrifying stuff – and the fun of playing a videogame (even if advertising tries to tell you war is fun).

Apr 13, 2009