Top 10 Most Atrocious War Crimes in Video Games

"John Brindle examines the topic of genocide, the Geneva Conventions, Gears of War, and more."

[skulldrey]

What about the Kratos God Killing Spree? Checkmate Atheists.

[Blacktric]

"Checkmate Atheists"

You mean greeks?

[MaxXAttaxX]

In Super Mario Bros, King Koopa(Bowser) uses black magic to turn the people of the Mushroom Kingdom into blocks, blocks that Mario repeatedly destroys throughout the game/s with Shoryukens just to get it on with the Princess.

Mario: Mass murderer.

lol

[Hydralysk]

I'm pretty sure Gods and mythical beasts are not covered under the Geneva conventions...

[The Great Melon]

Don't you mean checkmate theists?

[majiebeast]

Nuking Helghan in Killzone 3.

[Hicken]

Wasn't that done by Visari and crew?

[Majin-vegeta]

Anyone care to list them?Not going through that many pages.

By any chance does it include Spec ops white sulfur scene?

[zerocrossing]

Yes

[RBlue_Desire]

did that, see below.

[guitarded77]

:: SPOILER ::

The Spec-Ops white phosphorous came to mind as I recently played the game. It was handled with real weight compared to other games. It made you feel like crap after using it and running through the burning bodies. Many games just throw a nuke out there, and act like it's an action event. Spec Ops really focused on the horror of using an unconventional weapon of mass destruction.

[RBlue_Desire]

10 = World in Conflict – Use of air strikes contrary to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

9. Call of Duty 2 – Executing the wounded in contravention of the Geneva Conventions.

8. The Entente – Deployment of mustard gas in contravention of the Hague Conventions.

7. Rome: Total War – City massacres in breach of traditional laws of war.

6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Destroying civilian buildings.

5. Civilization – Indiscriminate use of tactical nuclear weapons.

4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Torture of surrendered enemies.

3. Spec Ops: The Line – White phosphorous used in a manner contrary to the Convention on Chemical Weapons.

2. Every FPS ever – Teabagging.

1. Gears of War 3 – The crime of genocide.

@Majin-Vegeta

[ma1asiah]

"Genocide is without exaggeration probably the worst crime it is possible to commit. The ending of Gears of War 3 involves the protagonists committing genocide against the Locusts.

Throughout the previous series it is made clear that the Locust are effectively sentient and that they are at war with the human COG because the latter invaded their home territory."

WTF the author obviously knows nothing about Gears Of War, the Locusts did not rise up and attack the COG because humans had invaded their territories on Sera in fact no one even knew that the Locusts even existed prior to Emergence Day. The Locusts came to the surface fleeing their warrens due to the immulsion. Marcus's dad was trying to find a way to save the Locusts as much as the human inhaitants of Sera but ran out of time. Finally the Locusts would have wiped out the human inhabitants in a blink of an eye if the shoe was on the other foot.

The author would have been better to have concentrated their efforts on the hammer of dawn strikes that wiped out close to three quarters of the worlds population in the governments attempts to wipe out the locusts threat that as the series goes on to show failed

[MikeyDucati1]

Whether you like it or not, games are art. And art imitates life. Just look at #6 on the list about COD destroying civilian buildings. You can look up videos where the "war on terror" did the same exact thing.

So maybe we need to start taking a look out ourselves before accusing the mirror for showing our reflection.

[ARESWARLORD]

The Geneva Conventions famously forbid the killing or torture of all persons who are ‘hors de combat’ – literally meaning ‘out of the fight’. In Call of Duty 2, however, the player continually shoots enemies who have fallen on the ground and are rolling around screaming their lungs out.

But this situation is more complicated than it appears. Protocol I to the Conventions defines ‘hors de combat’ as including an enemy combat who is “incapacitated by wounds or sickness”, but also specifically requires parties to “abstain from any hostile act”. The whole reason the player ends up shooting at fallen enemies is because, after ten seconds or so of injured writhing, they invariably pull out a pistol and try to shoot you. In such cases, the player is acting in justified self-defence.

Nevertheless, these mechanics lead most players to adopt a habitual and pre-emptive policy of shooting the wounded – which would be vulnerable to prosecution under the Geneva Conventions. CoD 2 sets up its fake reality so that all the player’s brutal acts are justified, but her response to this situation makes her an effective war criminal.

[MikeyDucati1]

Guatanamo Bay anyone? I don't think they followed guidelines there by a long shot.