mabadaba

@ obvlivious and SpaceFox

I'm really curious how returning a game you purchased legally could ever be considered fraud? Walmart has a pretty open policy for accepting returned merchandise from other retail outlets. He isn't planning on opening the game, he didn't steal it, and he isn't attempting to get more from his initial purchase than he originally got. He is talking about buying 3 games on a sale, and then exchanging 1 of those games for a game or its value at a different establishment. Absolutely nothing illegal is being done here. You misunderstand return fraud, he is essentially keeping 1 full priced game and 1 free game, while exchanging the 2nd full price game. Whether it is at a different retailer means nothing, it has to do with that retailers specific return policy on whether they accept products purchased at other retailers, ie do they require a receipt from their own stores.

@SteelFalcon

Congrats on making it home safely man. I was screwed over pretty much the same way. We went to Kuwait for an exercise in October 2002 and got held over till the war kicked off in March. Went up the east side of Iraq with 1st Marine Division, including all that fun in An Nasiriyah in late March/early April 2003, and eventually settled down in Al Hillah(Babylon) once the war was over. I was home for about 5 months before we came back to take over from you guys at St Mere, did a year and some change and headed back for good in March 2005. Got out in 2006 and still don't know what to think about everything that went on. Never made it in to Baghdad but Fallujah and An Nasiriyah were enough 'fun' for me for a lifetime.

Were you a Marine or were you one of the Soldiers stationed out of St. Mere? I was a Marine with I MEF that took over from the Airborne at St. Mere(Later Camp Fallujah) and was out there for both of the 2004 Marine assaults into Fallujah. I hated the sandbox.

Actually Operation Al Fajr was a completely distinct operation from any involved in the power struggle of Central Baghdad. In fact, there wasn't really a power struggle in Central Baghdad at all during that time. Operation Iron Fist 2 had taken place the previous month in Sadr City(formerly Saddam City) which is in Baghdad but was a US Army operation and had little to do with control of Central Baghdad. The US Marine Corps Operation Al Fajr was a completely seperate battle, the second in Fallujah by the Marines following an earlier Op in April of 2004. Central Baghdad was taken in April of 2003, there wasn't much of a rush to power for it after that, control of Baghdad has been in the hands of US Troops since April 2003 with the exception of small groups of insurgents and problems within Sadr City. I was there for the start of the war and the supposed 'mission accomplished' end of the war and Operation Al Fajr didn't even take place until I had gone back to the states for several months and come back for my 2nd tour. I understand that your statement isn't saying in Central Baghdad now but its still misleading because there wasn't really a rush to power of Central Baghdad at that time.

Hello Joystiq, Fallujah is not in Baghdad, I think you might be thinking of Sadr City. Fallujah is West of Baghdad and is not connected in any way to the city of Baghdad itself. Its a small, much more rural, city that is populated, at least was, by predominantly Sunni Muslims and is considered the bottom left point of the Sunni Triangle of cities. NOT IN BAGHDAD!

You really don't deserve a thoughtful reply. You are wrong. Off the top of my head the Kurdish people were attacked with chemical weapons in 1988. Years before Kuwait was invaded and the US, as part of a true multi-national coalition, entered into the first Gulf war. You may also want to brush up on what the UN weapons inspectors thought regarding Iraqi cooperation.

I completely understand your COD4 reference, and for the most part completely agree with you. COD4 is a direct allegory to the conflict in Iraq and it presents aspects of it in a pretty fantastic way. Thats the catch though, it is a fantasy paralleling the war. It's a fictional account. The reason why I think a game called 'Six Days in Fallujah' is too soon is because it really is for me. Not for everyone, not even for everyone who was there. I know a few guys who would love to go relive it, that just isn't me. Just hearing the word Fallujah brings to mind a wealth of imagery that I wish I could move past.

I'm not saying I condemn the developers or anyone who plays or looks forward to this game. I am just saying that for me, there are too many aspects of my service, Operation Enduring/Iraqi Freedom, War on Terror, and everything else that I need to digest on a social and intellectual level before something like this game comes off as anything but a grotesque cash in. I wish I could make my exact thoughts more clear, but in summation, it just feels dirty.

In reply to Drauglim

Konami's VP of marketing, Anthony Crouts, gives the impression that the publisher's still playing it safe, saying, "We're not trying to make social commentary. We're not pro-war. We're not trying to make people feel uncomfortable. We just want to bring a compelling entertainment experience. At the end of the day, it's just a game."

I think the documentary type of game you are discussing would actually be a good thing. I think social commentary is what is needed at this point in time, roughly 5 years from the battle in Fallujah. We won't be getting social commentary from this game. Crouts is stating that. I fear that what we'll be getting is an unrealistic portrayal of the battle via a 'hey lets be a bad ass American and shoot the evil guys' simulator.

I was a Corporal with I Marine Expeditionary Force stationed just east of Fallujah in the former MEK complex dubbed "Camp Fallujah" during the full assault on Fallujah.(Its not in central Baghdad, its actually a reasonable distance west of Baghdad, more rural) I was unfortunately involved in Morturary Affairs operations once the conflict had ceased. What that means is I went through Fallujah picking up dead bodies. I can say without a doubt that this is entirely too soon. I also wonder how true to life this game could even be. Fallujah was most evacuated after a leaflet drop campaign telling the citizens to essentially leave or get blown up. Those that stayed fought and lost terribly. There were numerous casualties on both sides. The issue with this battle is it wasn't a between two forces of adult soldiers. Most of the marines were under 22 years of age and the ages of the combatants varied anywhere from 12-60 judging from their remains.

I play games to enjoy myself, and I feel that there needs to be a certain amount of time before the terrible events of a war can be adapted for this medium. The battle, despite US overwhelming technical superiority, was hard fought and devastating. It shouldn't be revisited so quickly by an entertainment medium, it needs to rest first, people need to digest these types of events for many years. I think there are several methods of exploring these events that should occur well before an interactive simulation of them is created, books and documentaries in particular. Wars should be intellectually explored, and I even think there is merit in using video games as a medium to view war from but it feels entirely too early.

What does ActiBlizzard have to do with Kenny L? I thought he was straight Take2 which last I checked didn't fall under the ActiBlizzard umbrella. What did I miss?