Game Off: JFK Reloaded

There is a strange new "game" out (no, not Katamari Damacy!). JFK Reloaded has been hammered with a barrage of harsh criticism, and publicity; I'm sure they love it. The Scottish publisher Traffic says the game is designed to test theories about the 1963 assassination of President Jack Kennedy by providing "a realistic environment for users to test the lone gunman theory." You get to be Lee Harvey Oswald in the tower at Dealey Plaza. They released the game on November 22, the 41st anniversary of the death of JFK.

I played the demo of the game. You see the tip of the rifle, first person shooter-style, and aim at the motorcade. Unlike typical FPSs, however, no one is firing back. You empty your carbine at the limo and then see a slo-mo replay and a ballistics and trajectory analysis of where and who the bullets hit.

Senator Ted Kennedy was, naturally, outraged. Senator Joe Lieberman spoke out against it, too. He "was sickened by the game," according to his spokesman. But Lieberman is probably sickened by some things I consider wholesome fun...so I discount that a little bit. I wasn't really sickened. . .just depressed.

Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas also shipped recently. I'm not a big fan, but I can live with them. There's something about this one that really fries me.

My review of the demo itself: it crashed the first time I ran it (not usually a promising sign); the character models were weak; the motion and physics of the cars seemed fair; the environment and sky cube were pretty low-res (especially considering they trumpeted a robust level of detail system). As far as gameplay: this is really just barely even a game. It's difficult to envision any real game from the demo, which is the shortest demo I have ever seen. Either there's not much there, or the game itself is so creepy they don't want to tip their hand before you part with your $$$.

The publisher says their intention is to debunk the myriad conspiracy theories floating around by verifying the Warren Commission's conclusion (that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots, acting alone). One bullet missed entirely, one hit The President in the neck, and the third went into JFK's head. Traffic will be giving away "up to $100,000 in February" to the person who most closely matches Oswald's shooting. What a cynical piece of dogs**t! I'm not saying let's stop this game from being distributed. I like the first amendment, but let's not encourage these imbeciles. Vote with your wallet. /jack
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