"JFK Reloaded." You may have heard about this game in the news, on the Internet or in the paper. You probably assumed it's just another example of a violent video game in extremely bad taste. But it's worse than that. There's something very different about "JFK Reloaded," something that makes it bizarrely sinister.

For those who don't know by now, "JFK Reloaded" instructs you, the player, to recreate the death of President John F. Kennedy. You are put on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository and given a Mannlicher-Carcano Bolt Action sniper rifle. The game's system gives you full rein to simulate the murder of JFK. The point of the game, as stated by the developers, is to prove conspiracy theories false and the Warren Commission true. Players supposedly debunk the idea of a sniper in the grassy knoll near the motorcade. It's all in the name of "education."

But an additional disturbing aspect of the game is the ability to fire upon whomever you please. Instead of attempting to shoot the president, players can choose to shoot Jackie Kennedy, Texas Gov. or Mrs. John Connally, the driver of the car or members of Kennedy's Secret Service escort. Why does the option of killing the others even exist? The physics are almost sickeningly realistic. Shoot and hit the car, and the bullet may ricochet up, hitting an agent in the head, causing him to fall under the wheels. After you shoot, you can look at your "score" from many angles, you can rotate a 3-D model of the limo, you can freeze-frame your bullets' path.

I suppose, if you stretched real hard, you could claim this game has some "research" merit, but I have a feeling more violent players aren't doing it for knowledge, and I am sure the developers are only in it for the money. And speaking of money, there's a contest attached to this game. The player who most closely matches the shots fired by Lee Harvey Oswald in terms of trajectory and timing can win up to $100,000. The rules state: "Accuracy of your shots will be judged purely by the 'JFK Reloaded' server, which is programmed to audit each shot for timing and injuries, and thereby arrive at a total score." Can you go any lower than this?

I played the game, in order to honestly review it, and it really didn't sit well with me. I've played "Grand Theft Auto," "Doom" and "Halo." But those games aren't the same. In "GTA," I watch the events as totally fictional. Nobody really dies.

This game will have a backlash against all games, and that's too bad. I, like most video game players, know the difference between fantasy and reality. Even as a first-person shooter, I don't remotely think of it as really killing anyone because I don't consider the pixilated characters real. I see them as bits of data. "JFK Reloaded" takes it too far, encouraging the player to "think like a sniper" and offering you the option of a "Chaos Meter" that works by "increasing the level of chaos allowed in the system which will chiefly affect the level of panic amongst the vehicle drivers, and should bring some surprises—especially when not attempting to mirror Lee Harvey's shots!" Does that sound like a real forensic investigation to anyone?

What's next? Shall we lurk outside the Dakota waiting for John Lennon to come home? Will some disgruntled Beatles fans finally get to take Yoko out? Please, no.

In "JFK Reloaded," if I take a shot, and I see that I've killed someone, someone who is or was real, it reminds me of the old footage and pictures I've seen from that day, and I see that real person dying. That's why no other game is as bad as this one, and it should be rejected by players who know the difference.

JFK Reloaded

Rating: 0
Don't Download
Don't Pay
Don't Play
Don't Encourage This Kind of Crap

Previous Comments

ID

84312

Comment

My only familiarity with this game comes from this review and internet news stories surrounding it. However, from the basic premise presented, I couldn't agree more with your comments about the idea of this game. I am probably different from many readers of JFP in that I am a competitive shooter and a collector of military firearms, especially those of a historic nature. Like the overwhelming majority of firearms owners, I have no desire or inclination to harm a fellow citizen, and think that those who are so inclined are missing a huge chunk of whatever makes us human. The very idea of JFK Reloaded is obscene. For years now, I have thought about the anguish of the late presidentís family members exposed to the re-playing of the Zapruder film time and time again. I would think the idea that even a pathetic few would pay money for the chance to shoot the likeness of their loved one to be almost unbearable. It is my fondest hope that this "game" ends up on the trash heap of really bad ideas.

Author

JakeSlade79

Date

2004-12-02T23:01:06-06:00

ID

84313

Comment

Agreed. Yuck. And I agree with you that it should have little to do with one's views toward firearms (or the Kennedys, whom I don't like). Bad taste is bad taste. And as Potter Stewart said, you know obscenity when you see it. And, Jake, you might be surprised how many JFP readers (and progressive types) also like guns. Of course, you're new here.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2004-12-03T12:19:19-06:00

ID

84314

Comment

BTW, forgot to add that this piece is the top featured piece on Altweeklies' front page right now: http://www.altweeklies.com/gyrobase/AltWeeklies/

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2004-12-03T12:20:21-06:00

ID

84315

Comment

Ive got it awesome recreation.

Author

Beaconbouy

Date

2005-01-30T20:52:56-06:00