Will New Video Game Let You Live Out Fantasy of Shooting Tea Partiers?
Glenn Beck, a notable conservative author, activist, and radio personality, denounced a recently unveiled video game as being anti-Tea Party.
The trailer for Battlefield Hardline included statements by the villains that indicated they are Tea Party activists, Beck claims.
The first person shooter game created by Visceral Games and Electronic Arts known as Battlefield Hardline is scheduled to be released next year.
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On his radio program, Beck denounced the portrayal of "American constitutionalists and Tea Party people" in the game.
"Let's go to the game that has just come out that makes American constitutionalists and Tea Party people the enemy. And you can go and shoot them," said Beck.
"[The gamer] knows that we're members of the Tea Party, if you will. We support it. He goes over and plays that game… 'Well, wait a minute. My dad believes in some of those things.' …. What does he think?"
Battlefield Hardline is a shooter game put in a cops-versus-criminals storyline. The game promises large scale settings, a campaign mode, usage of a wide variety of weapons, and the option of playing as police or lawbreakers.
A 12-minute trailer for Battlefield Hardline was put online and featured a sampling of the games, plots, and options for players.
While Beck expressed concern about the apparent portrayal of the Tea Party in the game, various members of the Tea Party Movement are not concerned.
Taylor Budowich, executive director of the Tea Party Express, told The Christian Post that it seemed like "a stupid game" that did not have anything to do with his cause.
"I don't believe it portrays the Tea Party at all. Given the peaceful means and history of the Tea Party movement, no sane person could equate that to domestic terrorism and be taken seriously," said Budowich.
"I would also challenge the claim that the Gadsden Flag is an anti-government symbol. The Gadsden Flag is a patriotic symbol of the American revolution, representing the values that led to America separating from Britain."
Of particular concern for Beck was a character named "Tony," which he claimed was meant to be a negative representative of the movement.
Christina Botteri of the National Tea Party Federation told CP that she had her doubts that the video game developers were overtly targeting the Tea Party.
"The way a particular story element/character in this game seems to have been interpreted by some is as a 'Tea Partier' — but has that been confirmed by the developers? I haven't heard either way," said Botteri.
"In any event, the character 'Tony' I've seen described in Battlefield Hardline is unlike any Tea Party person I have ever encountered."
