A US Marine expeditionary force will invade Tajikistan to battle the Chinese People’s Liberation Army: at least, that’s the plot of a new shoot-em-up video game getting attention on gamer websites.
Operation Flashpoint: Red River, to be released by Codemasters in 2011, is the sequel to another anti-Sino-sounding simulation: "Dragon Rising.” Codemasters has chosen Tajikistan’s Vakhsh River Valley - home to several high-profile (and unpopular downstream) hydropower dam construction sites - as the scene of it's latest take on virtual imperialism. Some EurasiaNet readers will be eager to see if the game includes an Uzbek sabotage scene and how the American presence affects regional stability.
Cryptically, one site notes:
The game will be played on the battlefield in the territory of Tajikistan along the Vakhsh River. The region has 1,461,896 males of age 16-49 and 1,642,240 females aging 16-49, who will be enjoying the military activities.
Not sure how much the locals “enjoy” being invaded. But the designers appear to have done their homework. An image from the prototype shows a large dam aflame.
Borat put a horrified Kazakhstan on the cultural map. Could this thrust Tajikistan onto the [small, American gamer] world’s radar?
Certainly, some boys in Dushanbe’s sweaty Internet cafes will look forward to battling it out on familiar territory. I’ll be curious to see which side they choose.
David Trilling is Eurasianet’s managing editor.
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