Six Days in Fallujah is becoming more controversial as time goes by. Its creators released a video that underscores how similar it is to other FPS titles.
In a recently released video, Six Days in Fallujah seems like it’s trying to differentiate itself from other FPS titles. Even then, it fails to look any more different than Call of Duty. It doesn’t help that it tries to market itself as a realistic Iraq War title.
Fallujah scared away Konami in 2009
Fallujah is a long-standing game that was close to becoming vaporware. The game was originally supposed to be published by Konami in 2009. However, anti-war sentiments scared the Japanese studio away from the title.
Now, a new trailer came out of IGN, with Highwire Games developing the title and Victura as publisher. The game, even if it’s trying to be something unique, looks like a Call of Duty ripoff. It doesn’t help that it follows the same tropes as Modern Warfare.
“It’s hard to understand what combat is actually like through fake people doing fake things in fake places,” noted Peter Tamte, CEO of Victura and one of the game’s original creators.
“This generation showed sacrifice and courage in Iraq as remarkable as any in history. And now they’re offering the rest of us a new way to understand one of the most important events of our century. It’s time to challenge outdated stereotypes about what video games can be.”
Six Days problematic in subject and form
Six Days in Fallujah details how it sets itself apart from other FPS games. For starters, the game is based on a real-world event called the Second Battle of Fallujah. These were official events in the Iraq War, specifically following Operation Al-Fajr and Operation Phantom Fury.
I watched the Six Days in Fallujah gameplay trailer so nobody else has to.
Here's a quick video with live thoughts as I watched it, and more written out thoughts continue below: pic.twitter.com/wXqctB0LoL
— Rami Ismail / رامي (@tha_rami) March 23, 2021
These events, by themselves, were controversial. Allegations of white phosphorus use are chief among these, including the killing of a wounded Iraqi fighter. Furthermore, anti-war organizations question the underscoring of potential pro-military, pro-US propaganda.
Another claimed feature is the procedural generation for the game. From what it seems, every internal architecture in Fallujah will change per gameplay. By doing so, players are supposed to have different experiences every time.
“They have literally randomized the city of Fallujah so that ‘you never know what’s behind the door,'” said game dev Rami Ismail in a tweet, himself an Arab. “Have to admit that heroically murdering Muslims/Arab/Middle Eastern folks but make it procedural is new. We are literally not human enough to hand-design anymore.”
Six Days in Fallujah does not have a clear release date as of yet. It is ready for a potential Q4 2021 release.
Featured image courtesy of IGN/Youtube Screenshot