US Military Bans 'Medal of Honor' Video Game Over 'Taliban Mode'

(Sept. 8) -- Sometimes, even pretending to the bad guy is bad enough.

That, at least, appears to be the official position of the U.S. military, which today banned the new multiplayer video game "Medal of Honor" from bases because gamers can assume the on-screen, fictitious identity of a Taliban member fighting against American troops in a vividly rendered, digital approximation of Afghanistan.

"We regret any inconvenience this may cause authorized shoppers but are optimistic that they will understand the sensitivity to the life-and-death scenarios this product presents as entertainment, " Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella, whose office manages stores on more than 180 U.S. bases, told The Associated Press.

A spokesman for Electronic Arts, the company behind "Medal of Honor," said that despite the uncomfortable simulacra of a pro-Taliban virtual scenario, critics of the game were missing the main point about the way games are played.

"Most of us having been doing this since we were 7 -- if someone's the cop, someone's gotta be the robber, someone's gotta be the pirate and someone's gotta be the alien," Amanda Taggart, senior PR manager for EA, told AOL News' Dave Thier last month. "In 'Medal of Honor' multiplayer, someone's gotta be the Taliban."

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One reviewer of the game expressed discomfort in assuming the role of a Taliban fighter. "Watching virtual Coalition troops gunned down by insurgents in the ruins of Kabul, I felt more than a little weird, especially since a friend lost his brother in Afghanistan only a few weeks ago," Dan Whitehead wrote at Eurogamer.net. "This is a real war that is happening right now, real blood is being shed."

Though "Medal of Honor" will not be sold in stores on U.S. bases, it will be available at all other major video game retail outlets beginning Oct. 12.