Special Force

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Special force

For other uses, see Special forces (disambiguation)

Special Force is a first-person shooter military video game, allegedly published by the Islamic organisation Hezbollah^[1], created using the Genesis 3D engine.

Special Force allows the player to take the part of an armed member of the Islamic Resistance to the Israeli invasions of Lebanon. On the cover of the game's box, a message to users says "the designers of Special Force are very proud to provide you with this special product, which embodies objectively the defeat of the Israeli enemy and the heroic actions taken by heroes of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon." It adds: "Be a partner in the victory. Fight, resist and destroy your enemy in the game of force and victory."^[2]

Mahmoud Rayya, an official from the Hezbollah bureau, said "This game is resisting the Israeli occupation through the media. [...] In a way, Special Force offers a mental and personal training for those who play it, allowing them to feel that they are in the shoes of the resistance fighters." ^[3].

The game can be played in Arabic, English, French and Persian. The game sold out the first run of 8,000 copies within a week^[4] when it was released in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates in early 2003.

Although largely ignored by western publications and games magazines due to political considerations combined with relative obscurity, it was poorly received by the western media due to perceived cultural insensitivity, combined with fairly poor standards of game design and outdated graphics.