The assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, has captivated Hollywood for more than four decades and inspired a multitude of films spouting theories on the murder, most notably Oliver Stone‘s 1991 thriller J.F.K..
Now gamers are getting into the act, so to speak, with a controversial new video game, JFK Reloaded, released to coincide with the 41st anniversary of Kennedy’s murder. The game allows players to simulate the president’s assassination in Dallas and is designed to demonstrate that a lone gunman could have orchestrated it by shooting at Kennedy’s motorcade from Oswald’s point of view. How accurately the player’s shots match the version of events documented by the Warren Commission determines point value.
What’s more, players can replay shots in slow motion, track bullets as they travel and pass through Kennedy’s body and employ a “blood effects” option that enables gory effects.
Tasteless and crass? Informative and useful?
Kirk Ewing, managing director of the Scottish firm Traffic Games, which
developed the game, takes the latter point of view. Ewing told Reuters he understood some people would be horrified at the concept, but he insisted he and his team had nothing but respect for Kennedy and for history and the purpose is simply to undermine conspiracy theories. “We believe passionately there was no conspiracy,” he said.
The Kennedy family, meanwhile, takes the former. “It is despicable,” said David Smith, a spokesman for Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the late president’s brother.
We know what they think. Now you tell us: Is killing U.S. President John F. Kennedy again appropriate gaming? Vote below!
