2007: Play the news

News
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Eight mildly amusing videogame ideas inspired by real life news

This is the news

There's reckoned to be more than 100,000 'contractors' working in Iraq right now, privately-financed soldiers in the pay of companies like US-based Blackwater or UK firm ArmorGroup. Distressingly, in September this year, 17 Iraqi civilians were killed in a shootout involving Blackwater operatives, resulting in an FBI investigation and legal action being directed at the American military company.

Transport this to less controversial territory, and give you control of a new PMC recruit who finds himself caught up in chaos caused by his trigger-happy compadres, and you have...

BACK OUT OF HELL

The blurb

"You are Tom Clarke, disgraced SAS soldier turned mercenary with global defence firm Protectorate. Posted with your new team to Indistinctistan, a boiling pit of civil war, your duty is to help keep the peace in the country's 'quiet zones'. Until one innocuous patrol goes terribly wrong. Caught up in the wild actions of your mysterious squad mates, accused by the local militia and thrown into a bare cell, could things get any worse? Yes.

"When nearby forces are wrongfooted by a surprise enemy assault, leaving you imprisoned in hostile territory, your only chance of survival is escape. While clearing your name, digging up unresolved events from your wrongly-maligned past in Her Majesty's army, uncovering the truth, solving the Middle East problem, patching up relations between Israel and Palestine, successfully bringing peace to the Gaza strip, feeding the hungry, housing the poor and figuring out what that stubby bit on Swiss Army knives really does. It's a big job. You better get started!"

The review

"What it lacks in taste it makes up for with an over-ambitious plot that takes you to all of the Middle East's problem areas, while managing to make them all look like each other. There's little resolution in terms of the deep, meaningful politics and social-consequences that are raised by this tangled web of an FPS, but the graphics are sweet and the shooting is so totally awesome, with mega bangs. Yeh!"
4/5, Moreongamesblog

The game

BACK OUT OF HELL

The blurb

"You are Tom Clarke, disgraced SAS soldier turned mercenary with global defence firm Protectorate. Posted with your new team to Indistinctistan, a boiling pit of civil war, your duty is to help keep the peace in the country's 'quiet zones'. Until one innocuous patrol goes terribly wrong. Caught up in the wild actions of your mysterious squad mates, accused by the local militia and thrown into a bare cell, could things get any worse? Yes.

"When nearby forces are wrongfooted by a surprise enemy assault, leaving you imprisoned in hostile territory, your only chance of survival is escape. While clearing your name, digging up unresolved events from your wrongly-maligned past in Her Majesty's army, uncovering the truth, solving the Middle East problem, patching up relations between Israel and Palestine, successfully bringing peace to the Gaza strip, feeding the hungry, housing the poor and figuring out what that stubby bit on Swiss Army knives really does. It's a big job. You better get started!"

The review

"What it lacks in taste it makes up for with an over-ambitious plot that takes you to all of the Middle East's problem areas, while managing to make them all look like each other. There's little resolution in terms of the deep, meaningful politics and social-consequences that are raised by this tangled web of an FPS, but the graphics are sweet and the shooting is so totally awesome, with mega bangs. Yeh!"
4/5, Moreongamesblog

Ben_Richardson

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.