Pakistan has removed a video game based on horrendous attack at an army-run school in Peshawar by heavily-armed Taliban militants, after criticism.
At least 150 people, mostly children, were > killed in the attack on the school on December 16, 2014.
The attack prompted Punjab province’s IT Board to develop an Android game and release it last month. After running for weeks, the game failed to attract favourable reviews and the families of the victims were not impressed. Many took to social media to flay the idea as well as the attempt. “The APS game has been removed. It was in poor taste. Thank you for highlighting the mistake. We have made the amends,” tweeted Umar Saif, chief of Punjab IT Board.
The first-person shooter game titled ‘Pakistan Army Retribution’ begins with the national anthem and depicts events that took place on the dreadful day. The player’s task is to lead soldiers into the main building and eliminate the heavily armed terrorists scattered throughout the premises.
“The game may be an attempt to pay tribute to the Pakistan Army, but the app itself is not very well made considering the name behind it, and the market it was placed in,” the Dawn reported.
It said that one can understand the emotional attachment to the story but as a game, it falls flat.
“No one, especially families of the victims, would ever want to re-live that dark day. But oddly enough, the developers decided to recreate those moments for a gaming experience,” the paper said. “From visuals to controls, the game just doesn’t deliver.
Even when taking on such an unlikely subject, the Punjab IT Board is expected to deliver something far superior,” it said.
