By Nina Mandell
Daily News Staff Writer
The Call of Juarez: The Cartel came out July 19 week despite calls for a boycott from Mexican politicians.
A new video game about the ongoing drug war in Mexico has turned into a true border fight, with critics claiming it portrays the United States' neighbor to the south in a bad light.
In the video game "Call of Juarez: The Cartel," users can play as a Los Angeles cop, DEA agent or gang affiliate-turned-FBI agent to hunt down cartels from Los Angeles to Ciudad Juarez, a main drug capital in Mexico.
The quest begins when a Mexican drug cartel bombs a U.S. law enforcement agency, according to the game's website. The site urges users to "ignite an all out border war."
"Experience the lawlessness of today's Wild West as you hunt down the Cartel before the violence escalates north of the border," the website brags.
Although the "Call of Duty" games have come under fire for glamorizing the brutality of war, critics say "Call of Juarez" promotes a negative view of Mexico.
"I think this should be taken very seriously, considering the large scale demonization of Mexico and the Mexican people," Kathleen Staudt, a political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, told Fox News Latino.
The game, set for release on Tuesday, could negatively influence young children who grow up around violence, politicians argued.
"Children wind up being easily involved in criminal acts over time because, among other things, during their childhood not enough care has been taken about what they see on television and playing video games. They believe so much blood and death is normal," Mexican state congressional leader Entrique Serrano told The Associated Press in February.
The game's maker, Ubisoft, dismissed the criticism in a statement to Fox Latino.
"While 'Call of Juarez: The Cartel' touches on subjects relevant to current events in Juarez, it does so in a fictional manner that makes the gaming experience feel more like being immersed in an action movie than in a real life situation," the company said.
But politicians like Ricardo Boone Salmon, a congressman in Mexico's Chihuahua State, which includes Ciudad Juarez, are still calling for a ban on the game.
"It is true there is a serious crime situation, which we are not trying to hide," Boone Salmon told The AP. "But we also should not expose children to this kind of scenarios so that they are going to grow up with this kind of image and lack of values."
More than 6,000 people have been killed in Juarez from ongoing drug violence since January 2008.
Its just a game.this politians should worry about themselfs..they are the corrupt ones.
ReplyDeleteThat's what politicians do - point with pride and view with alarm. So they view this video game with great alarm. That way they don't have to actually do anything. Doing things - that's what gets you in trouble.
ReplyDeleteThe pos muni cop that shot and killed a little dog in Juarez should be killed himself. Let's see what Leyzaola does about it.
The little dog would bark and do a little dance whenever somebody bought a drink in the little restaurant. The pos muni cop was annoyed with the barking and shot the dog with his assault rifle at close range. Other patrons and children were in the restaurant. The pos cop retrieved the spent cartridge. The dog's spinal cord was shattered and it died. The dog's name was Canela. See mundo narco.
Anything for money,motto of the world. Drugs,sex,deciet, whatever it takes,the only problem is that the Heros of young people today Auto Theft LA, War,Drug War etc. just think what standards will prevail in 10-15 yrs. The deterioration is clear, just look at Mexico,inner city Urban US massive drug dependency Legal/illegal in Industrial nations. Lying, manipulation are expected, oh well WTF.
ReplyDeletehell why play the game when you can live the life.. as you can in Mexico....oh yeah..i forgot ... the target audience ..the millions of American kids insulated from the real thing but indoctrinated with gratuitous violence ..obsessed with death , and gruesome displays ..living life vicariously from the safety of the suburbs
ReplyDeleteyesterday i was in a dollar store..they had a display of plastic feet , hands ,, and assorted blood drenched body parts ..being sold for toys??..like you see around halloween ...three months from now...disturbing....i thought of Mexico..and how the kids there get to see the real thing...scattered in the streets...probably not much of a market for plastic , made in china ,body parts
we as Americans are protected from this kind of thing ..but at the same time are bombarded by fake violence...just about every tv show has a shoot out ..or shows an autopsy...or some other nasty shit ...we live in a sick society...what is wrong with people who would allow the sell of fake, blood drenched body parts as playthings for their children
these games are a symptom of an underlying disease..a mental disorder.. an obsession with violence...zombie movies used to be scary..now they are funny..criminals used to be looked down on...now they are idolized..good is bad bad is good ...MTV culture has millions of young people admiring and imitating some of the lowest forms of humanity ...we are living in a twisted upside down world
funny ..in Mexico the tv has music , goofy clown shows, and programs designed to entertain instead of promote violence and perverted sexuality...all the while in reality..killers and whores are a ubiquitous part of the landscape...the tv programs are no doubt designed to divert attention from the real situation
in the USA...we have tv that promotes any form of twisted perversion and violence imaginable...but it is far safer, and the damas por la noche are kept out of sight as much as possible ...funny how effective continuous massive indoctrination is
through the controlled mass media we have been turned into ghouls
and what do young ghouls enjoy more than play killing and dismemberment
Juarez can boycott all it wants too...but that will just turn the game into contraband and inflate the price...the piratas are already on it
a new business opportunity in our world that is rapidly descending into madness
Maybe someone needs to make a game where you are a Narco moving merchandise north and
ReplyDeletehave to shoot your way in.
id buy it.
theyve tried banning guns, narcocorridos, video games. guess theyve tried everything
ReplyDeleteBrito; That by far is the BEST rant you`ve ever gone on. I like your style. Everything you have stated is true. Society as a whole is deteriorating fast. Take it further. Kids see politicians getting caught with their pants down all the time. No consequences other than with the wife. Groups pushing their views on you, wether you "believe" in their life choices or not, you better, or you`ll be a racist, a bigot, a homphobe or whatever else they can slander you with because you don`t agree with them. Schools indoctrinating kids with their own ideology. Unions brazenly challenging laws of this country to get their agenda passed so the "bosses" can live high off the sweat of the workers. On and on and on. Corruption is rampant in the USA, we know,it just used to not be so blatant. At least in Mexico you pretty much know who`s corrupt, or at least you have a sense of who is. I`m never been known as a religous person, but I`m beginning to wonder if the "good book" isn`t as prophetic as the christians have claimed? Just my opinion from my little corner in South Texas
ReplyDelete@9:04
ReplyDeleteI agree, they have tryed everything, less start a REAL war agains the cartels. Cause this 'war', come on, it's just a cartoon.
Regardless of whether this horrible game is banned or not, I will never play it. Well, I've never played an M rated game in my life, but even if I did, this game seems way too insensitive and distasteful for me. And this is coming from someone who doesn't even live anywhere near Mexico. Keep this game very far away from me, and just let me stick to the loads of E rated games that I have.
ReplyDeleteWhat's next? A video game about all the conflicts in the Middle East? What about a video game about a tsunami killing tens of thousands of people? Would any of you want to play those? I sure as hell would not.
Video games are not the cause of violence. If you are worried about exposing your children to violence first you should tackle the dismembered bodies lying in the street. When you have that under control move on to video games.
ReplyDeleteThere are games about Iraq and Afghanistan, many games actually. Seriously who cares.
ReplyDelete@7:09 that's s great idea.I'm pretty sure alot of ppl would buy it too
ReplyDeleteMr Logical you are wrong. When you promote anything you are saying it is good. Young minds exposed to this type of tripe are formed by it. Given the right occasion they will act out on what they have learned by the promoter, your solution is to lock the gate after the horse ran out. It doesnt work that way . Education is the key element here. Not schoolyard stuff but how to deal with other human stuff. Real education about being human.....
ReplyDeleteI agree, a video game about Juarez is tasteless and classless, if not disgusting and morally reprehensible.
ReplyDeleteit's life imitating art imitating life. live with it. i have decided not to buy this game myself but i have no problem with someone else buying this game. i don't approve of a parent allowing his child to play this game though. this game should only be for adults.
ReplyDeletefor those who are disgusted by the release of this game, here's a barf bag for you.
Yeah!!! Lets blame video games, books, movies, and music for all our problems. Hell lets start a book burn and start it with the US constitution! Lets blame the objects and NOT the people who are responsible for their action!!! Rabble rabble rabble
ReplyDeletesarcasm end