http://www.gamesetwatch.com/islamo.jpg Reprinted from the latest issue of CGW, 1UP has posted the excellent feature 'Looking For Videogames In The Muslim World' by Ed Halter, and it's a well-researched, interesting read.

Halter notes a planned 'Commander Bahman' game in which you have to rescue an Iranian nuclear scientist kidnapped by American special forces (!), explaining: "Spiked with the tensions surrounding U.S.-Iran relations, the untitled Commander Bahman project is not the first Islamic videogame to appear in the Middle East. In fact, in the past half decade a number of projects have emerged from the Muslim world, all sharing a similar goal: to subvert the typical gaming stereotype of Arabs as bad guys by replacing the typical American or European action hero with a recognizably Muslim protagonist."

He continues: "Like many of their American counterparts, these games often base their narratives on real-life wars and battles: While Westerners replay WWII and Vietnam, they twitch through virtual recreations of the Palestinian intifada and the 1982 Israel-Lebanon war. Though relatively small, Islamogaming is also a diverse field, ranging from amateur projects by students, unabashed anti-Zionist propaganda produced by an internationally recognized terrorist organization, religious games produced to teach Islam to kids, and a set of more sober games designed to explore the complex realities of Middle Eastern history." More nuanced write-ups of adult topics, please?