Military Bases Refuse To Stock New Video Game Due To Taliban Content

It’s billed as the closest you can get to war without actually going into combat. but if you want to get your hands on the newest version of the war game, “Medal of Honor,” you’re going to have to visit a store that’s not on a military installation.

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service announced this week that it would not allow sales of the game, produced by video game giant EA, on any of its 181 exchanges in the country and abroad, or on its online site.

But some players said war games have been played long before this latest game set to hit the shelves of game stores.

“There were a lot of games being done on World War II,” Gabriel Avila said. “World War II was like the biggest thing going on, but it’s just so played out that nobody wants to touch those games anymore.”

Set in the mean streets of Afghanistan, the game allows players to fire virtual assaults from the comfort of an easy chair. You can play by yourself and play the role of a U.S. soldier or you can play with multiple players and possible assume the role of the Taliban.

“When you’re the Taliban, it’s when you’re playing other players online,” Avila said. “You’re gonna have your good guys and you’re gonna have your bad guys.”

Still some people say the game hits too close to home.

“Being a guy, we’re supposed to like that, but if you actually go out there and have to do it yourself, it’s not the same,” Esteban Guzman said.

“I’ve played the game and it’s nothing like the real thing,” Malcolm Turner said. “I mean the real thing, you could die.”

A former airman who has served in Afghanistan, Avila insists the game’s creators were actually pretty responsible when creating the game.

“They talked to military consultants so that the game could be more real, more authentic,” Avila said.

Even though you won’t be able to pick up the game on military bases, game experts predict it will have the selling power of any Hollywood blockbuster.

“You can’t censor one thing and not censor another,” Avila said. “What’s next? Movies, books?”