A few decades ago the masses believed video games were a waste of time for lackadaisical youths to pacify themselves while ignoring their responsibilities as both kids and young adults. As more and more people started understanding the benefits of gaming so too did the perception of what a video game is and, most importantly, the benefits gaming can bestow on a person’s life changed. Hi, my name is James Bullock and I am a gamer who has spent the better part of his existence testing the laws of physics, exploring the vastness of a world ruined, and been a champion inside various arenas courtesy of digitized worlds both driven by reality and created through pure unbelievable ingenuity unlike anything seen by human eyes. And as a gamer I’ve discovered something else video games provide: life lessons.
Today I examine a game drenched in American patriotism in the craziest way possible, “Metal Wolf Chaos”.
Patriotism Comes With Service
It’s that time of the year again for some of us western hemisphere dweller. For us living in the United States it’s the week where we’re eating a lot of barbeque, corn, maybe ingesting some alcoholic beverages, shooting off fireworks, and waving flags aplenty to show our support for where we live. But that’s not the only way people show their love for the U.S. What has become a viable option are, of course, video games. While some games simply feature moments of American patriotism, very few actually are all about American patriotism presented in the most absurd way possible. Take for example “Metal Wolf Chaos” – an original Xbox exclusive developed by future “Dark Souls” creator FromSoftware. While most of you reading this might not have a clue of what a “Metal Wolf Chaos” is because it was never released in full outside of its home country of Japan.
Your eyes are probably widening even more after you read that sentence and said to yourself, “Japan made a game based on American patriotism?” Well, yeah, but it also features something a lot of Japanese video game developers love – mech battles. “MWC” features a story where the player takes control of the fictional, George W. Bush-looking President of the United States (who was actually a relative of former President Woodrow Wilson) as he blasts his way through his country in a power armor called “Metal Wolf” featuring a gatling gun and enough rockets to blow up more than three countries to take his country back. Why would the President need to liberate the United States? Because the Vice President joined a group of seceding state leaders to re-install slavery and downright murder anyone who didn’t approve of their ways after usurping the President’s position.
This game is just digitally dripping in red, white & blue even if most American gamers haven’t heard of it, let alone played “Metal Wolf Chaos” – though there was a demo of the game in an issue of “Official Xbox” magazine and it has been announced that the game will come stateside in the next year or two. Here’s to every red-blooded American (or Canadian, or Mexican, or whatever other nationality you are) eventually having the chance to blow up the Vice President of these United States while “My Country, Tis of Thee” plays in the background!
Have you learned any major life lessons from playing (or watching game play of) “Metal Wolf Chaos” or any video game for that matter? Leave them in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.
