Video Game Terror Alert: High

Video Game Terror Alert: High

Friday, January 4, 2008

A Web site makes a tasteless game out of the 9/11 tragedy.

Trying to keep our kids away from violent and sexual imagery is a daunting, never-ending task, and the popular French Web site Uzinagaz isn't making our job any easier. They've created an online arcade-style game called New York Defender, where players try to prevent planes from slamming into the Twin Towers before the buildings are reduced to a pixilated pile of debris.

A follow-up to the game, called New York Defender 2, lets players try to take down commercial jets as they fan across the country blowing up landmarks.Both are painful reminders for anyone who lived through September 11th and the aftermath.

We find the idea of people profiting from tragedy reprehensible, but when you consider the popularity of video games depicting Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, and other painful historic events—is this trend unavoidable?