Following clergy accusation that Capcom’s Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles promotes the occult, spokesperson Leo Tan has thrown down a calculated response of surprising sass and passion.
The Wii’s spiritual successor to the manoeuvrably inept Survivor series came under criticism from Bishop Bryant of Jarrow, Archdeacon Brian Smith and Rt Rev John Goddard for its glamorisation of violence and suggested promotion of the occult. Goddard, speaking for the triumvirate, said “if we dabble in this area we open ourselves to influences and put ourselves at risk”. Although surely not as ill-informed as to imply that a distinctly last generation shaky-cam rail shooter would breed anything resembling The Exorcist, he continues “I would regard any encouragement for children to be drawn into this behaviour with extreme horror”.
Despite being little more than a reactionary knee jerk, the trio’s religious credence elevated the complaint above traditional tabloid hubbub. In response, Tan, speaking like an atheist scorned, cried “This is scaremongering and typical religious hysteria. You cannot blame society’s ills on video games. It’s just absurd”.
Most games (and movies) like Resident Evil show characters fighting evil not supporting it. Video games are entertainment and like horror movies or other scary films they are covered by a ratings system. Resident Evil for example is a 15 and not suitable for anyone under that age. Parents have to be trusted to adhere to these age restrictions and use common sense.
In the uncharacteristically tight industry rebuttal, Tan accused the holy-men as being “too quick to splash the holy water”, a statement sure to have earned him a mild telling off by Capcom superiors, but finger shattering high-fives out of work hours.
Via: MCV
