Have some respect, for the fallen, and for other’s opinions
by: Luke Reilly 01/02/2008
On November 4, 1944, RAAF Flying Officer Kevin William Reilly of 463 Squadron took off from Waddington, England, behind the yoke of an Avro Lancaster – serial number NE133, JO-X. It was the sixteenth sortie for he and his crew, seven men in total, and they had had a hard tour thus far. They rarely flew the same aircraft for more than two ops and were damaged several times.
In September they were hit by heavy flak over Kaiserlautern and lost an engine. The following month they suffered major flak damage over Flushing and only just managed to limp back to base by jettisoning every removable fitting on the aircraft. Early in November they were again hit by heavy flak in Hamberg. Things weren’t easy. The target tonight was Dortmund-Ems-Canal, an important artery of the Ruhr industrial area and a target they had hit in the past.
Unfortunately for Kevin and his crew this would be the last time. JO-X, a tough old bird and veteran of 64 missions, was shot down. All seven men on board were killed in action.
Kevin Reilly was my great uncle, one that I never knew but have immeasurable respect for. He was one of more than 4,000 Australians who died in the skies above Europe, and one of more than 60 million or so other men, women and children who had their lives cut drastically short by the Second World War. His last moments spent in the hostile skies above Europe were half a world away from his home and family on the outskirts of Sydney. He was 21.
This is just one story from WWII, the largest conflict in human history. There are millions of others waiting to be told.
Of course, games journalists don’t want to hear them.
“We're all sick to death of WWII shooters…” (source) moans this one. “Another World War II shooter, eh? Before you join us in a collective sigh…” (source) quips another. Or how about my favourite – “Another year, another flood of WWII first-person shooters.” (source). These I gleaned from five minutes or so of perusing the web – I’m sure there are plenty of others, so I apologise in advance if you’re the author of any of these remarks and you feel singled out. I know you’re not the only ones.
My gameplayer colleague, Mark Serrels, for instance, isn’t a big fan of WWII shooter either. This is something I’m quite happy to indulge because he has a rad accent and he runs funny (which is always good for a laugh) but primarily, he doesn’t temper every piece he writes with trendy put-downs and hip reflections on how we’re all over WWII shooters. It’s because he doesn’t speak for me. Coming to you as a peer, don’t speak for me. Feel free to tell me what you don’t like, I’ll either agree or ignore you – but don’t tell me what I don’t like.
I really don’t get all the ill-sentiment anyhow – are there really too many WWII shooters? Is there really a flood, or are you all just whining bitches? What WWII shooters are coming out this year? Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway is the heavy-hitter. Saboteur may release late 2008. Treyarch’s effort with Call of Duty 5 is likely to shoot for a temporary return to the Second World War. Hmmm. Three. Shit, that’s excessive!
Before we all start rolling our eyes, let’s glance at how many sci-fi shooters are on the way this year: Killzone 2, Haze, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Turok, Rage, Borderlands, Fracture, Frontlines: Fuel of War, Red Faction III, Dead Space, Unreal Tournament 3. Did I miss any? Probably. Yep. These WWII shooters are a real blight on the FPS market, huh?
Don’t think you’re immune from this either, Joe Public. I’ve seen the comments you leave around forums. I’ve heard the dissent. Here are a bunch I grabbed a few minutes ago:
“Pleeeaseeeeee no more WWII games.”
“This genre needs to die”
“No thanks… we have enough WW2 shooters as it is.”
Perhaps all games should be screened by cats like these before they’re approved for development. It’s clear there are some people who believe they’re the authority on what everybody likes – so why don’t we find them and just play the games they tell us we’re allowed to?
Or why don’t we just find them and rub their joypads on our balls?
WWII is an immensely rich backdrop. It was violent. It was epic. It works well in games. Get over it. If you want me, I’ll be playing Call of Duty 2… again. Lest we forget.
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