There are a number of forthcoming mainstream commercial games that seem to contain meaningful political commentary. One is Midway Austin's forthcoming BlackSite, lead designed by Harvey Smith, formerly of Ion Storm. Another is the forthcoming Sim City Societies, which promises social simulation that will change the way your city operates. There are lots of other examples from games recent and long past, from Grand Theft Auto to Balance of Power. All of these games incorporate political commentary in some way.

As someone who is strongly, perhaps primarily, interested in political commentary in games, I was intrigued by the email I received recently about Frontlines: Fuel of War, a forthcoming game from Kaos Studios, published by THQ. Here's the description they sent:

Sounds interesting, right? The problem is, the politics are a sham, a cover for what looks like a fairly ordinary combat game. We might call this technique "skinning politics."

Skinning has been around in games forever. Take a proven mechanic and wrap it in a new graphical skin to give it a new fictional context. For example, Funky Bee is a "cute 'em up" that dresses the familiar vertical scrolling Xevious-style shmup in a cute skin of bees and flowers.

A lot of serious games skin politics. One that I call out in particular in Persuasive Games is Congo Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Bark, from the Rainforest Foundation. This is a 2D platformer that's supposed to be about the World Bank support for logging. The problem is, the game doesn't represent the politics of the issue at all; it just points to the idea that the issue exists (if it even does that).

Frontline does something similar with the issue of peak oil, but in the opposite direction -- as a skin to make a commercial game feel more serious, rather than a serious game more commercial. Peak oil is a context that could very well cause massive global unrest. The major features of Frontlines, according to the website, are: Frontline System - a "focused combat" system that "inherently promotes teamwork"; an Open World Environment (you already know what that means); Next-Gen Firepower (w00t!); Customizable Soldiers ("character choices, weapon load-out, and role specialization"); and Advanced Team Play (everyone needs multiplayer). Anything here deal with peak oil? Not so much. I do find myself wondering, though, where all the fuel for so many motorized war vehicles comes from? Maybe the game will clarify that with an in-world fiction. Then again, maybe it won't.

One final note. THQ even created an "enthusiast community" site called BurningTruth.com for Frontlines that, according to the email, would agree to "drive traffic" to my site if I posted banners or a review. A link from the official site is labeled "Advocacy Network." But don't get the wrong idea, advocacy here is a euphemism for marketing. THQ hired word of mouth marketing agency Affinitive to run a promotional and outreach campaign for Frontlines. They're the ones who contacted me, and the ones who run this network, promising to "drive traffic to my site" if I posted banners or a review. So, there you have it guys, although I don't think it's what you expected.

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