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[Mephansteras]

Firaxis has generally been pretty even-handed with portraying various countries and groups in the past. Hopefully they'll continue with that here.

After all, CIV doesn't exactly have Good Guys or Bad Guys (Although it does have Aggressive guys). And X-COM has all the Nations and Soldiers functioning pretty much identically.

[Shadowlord]

Let me just say that playing the Soviets in Red Alert 2 is very fun.

... they also have better music.

[Bouchart]

Nobody has mentioned Stalin vs Martians?

[Jacob/Lee]

Company of Heroes 2;

Someone actually did a video on this one, if anybody's curious. Also a link to the Russian version in the beginning. He has some good points once you get over the couple of delusions he has.

[Puzzlemaker]

Company of Heroes 2;

Someone actually did a video on this one, if anybody's curious. Also a link to the Russian version in the beginning. He has some good points once you get over the couple of delusions he has.

It always annoys me how the Soviets were portrayed during the great war.

http://english.pobediteli.ru/

This is a really cool website that shows how the war went down, it's really interesting.  It's also interesting in that when the Soviets finally pushed the germans back to the pre-war lines (At least at one point) was when D-Day happened.  It really shows how WW2 was more of a russia/germany war then anything else.  I would suggest giving it a watch.

[Fikes]

My point is not that there are no video games where Russia is the bad guy, my point is that assuming that because a game is made in the US it will portray Russia as bad guys shows that you are prejudice and misguided.

Prejudice in the sense that you are basing your opinion on country of origin.  Misguided in the sense that Americans are more than willing to make ourselves the bad guy. In Fallout we were the aggressors and in Deus Ex our country had devolved into the exact corporate run society you guys are talking about.

I'm afraid I disagree strongly. Russians do get a really hard time of it in the western fiction, and I know a lot of Russians who find it really, really annoying. Modern Warfare is the most popular gaming (and one of the top media) franchises ever, and they constantly portray the Russians as really awful (that airport missions!!) so it's not just like it's a small example. Similarly, GTA always portrays them as the mob and Tom Clancy as generic bad guys. Combine that with them being the stock bad guys/mercenaries in most action films, and the women all portrayed as whores, and I can't really say that I blame them for being really pissed off about it. It's not even them being portrayed as 'evil', it's that they're portrayed as somehow lacking in morals compared to Westerners, or that they're easily bought.

As far as Beyond Earth, I do really worry that they'll think that morally grey area factions might be 'too much' for the average gamer and just turn it into 'the good guy, the ok guy and the bad guy'. Really hope not though.


*edited for clarity

My main point does not have anything to do with how Russia is portrayed in western culture and everything to do with the fact that you are being prejudiced yourself. You are running with the idea that "Russia will be the bad guy because that is what western culture thinks." You believe that "western culture" is misinformed or judgmental towards your culture. This leads you to be misinformed and judgmental towards MY culture. You become the thing you hate.

That being said, I want to address the other half of your arguement, regarding villians in popular culture. I can't say much about Modern Warfare has I haven't played much of it, but I believe that a US soldier does take part in that airport mission as well. I will, however, point out that Modern Warfare is part of Call of Duty which has as many games about fighting Nazis as it does about fighting people in modern times.

The fact is when you start believing that people are against you or misrepresenting you, you see signs of it everywhere. You pointed at GTA. How does GTA portray anyone in a good light? All the police and politicians are crooked liars, all the Africans are gangsters, all the Rastafarians are stoned. How often is the bad guy black? Not as often as he is albino, at least that is what an albino would say. If you think the Russians get it worse than the prostitutes or the Italians, I think you are way off.

You keep referencing Tom Clancy. Rainbow Six (the book and first game) where about a US corporation turned terrorist. Clear and present danger (book/movie) was about Columbia drug lords AND US politicians not only fighting an illegal war, but ABANDONING US troops. HawkX is about the Industrial Military complex in the US going bad. Raven Shield is about Nazi stolen art and, if memory serves, involves a South American gang. I am pretty sure the whole Jack Ryan series (Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger, ties into Rainbow, and many other books) from Tom Clancy starts off with Embassy bombings in Africa by Arabic terrorists.

If we didn't pick real groups to be enemies every game would be fighting kobolds and zombies.

Finally I'd like to say that if you really believe American's won't make our selves or our history out to be villainous, I would say you are not in touch with popular culture in America. The Daily Show, Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, most James Cameron movies (Avatar, Terminator), South Park and many many others make it a point to mock or otherwise poorly portray America, Americans, or American ideals.

[Neonivek]

Doesn't matter Fikes.

"Willing to show ourselves as evil" doesn't negate the "overwhelmingly shows Russia as EVIL!"

If Russia was as equal balanced as the portrayal of America (minus the outright racism in a few American games >_>...) then there would be no complaint

[Retropunch]

The problem is that when Western countries are portrayed as bad guys it's a 'secret cell of the government turned rogue' or a PMC or something. When it's Russians, they're just bad because they are Russians. There's no qualifier or background like there is for evil westerners, they're just evil because they are Russian.

That being said, I want to address the other half of your arguement, regarding villians in popular culture. I can't say much about Modern Warfare has I haven't played much of it, but I believe that a US soldier does take part in that airport mission as well. I will, however, point out that Modern Warfare is part of Call of Duty which has as many games about fighting Nazis as it does about fighting people in modern times.

In the airport mission a US person does take part (undercover), but it's a Russian plot. Similarly, whilst no one can argue that fighting against the Nazis is bad, I don't know what that has to do with anything, other than if you're saying that they're both equally bad.

The fact is when you start believing that people are against you or misrepresenting you, you see signs of it everywhere. You pointed at GTA. How does GTA portray anyone in a good light? All the police and politicians are crooked liars, all the Africans are gangsters, all the Rastafarians are stoned. How often is the bad guy black? Not as often as he is albino, at least that is what an albino would say. If you think the Russians get it worse than the prostitutes or the Italians, I think you are way off.

I'm not saying there aren't other negative stereotypes, and in a way I agree with you. The problem is that there are very few games that deal with evil Rastafarians, whereas every second action game has Russian bad guys. Again, these really aren't one off examples like you make it sound, it's the majority of action games that need a stock villain.

Finally I'd like to say that if you really believe American's won't make our selves or our history out to be villainous, I would say you are not in touch with popular culture in America. The Daily Show, Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, most James Cameron movies (Avatar, Terminator), South Park and many many others make it a point to mock or otherwise poorly portray America, Americans, or American ideals.

Just as Neonivek said.

Lastly, I am part of YOUR culture, so it's not like I'm seeing prejudice as an outsider or anything.

[MarcAFK]

We've gone waaay off topic here and are skirting dangerously close to the post soviet thread here, however I would disagree that the western media always portray Russian people as evil in cold war fiction. Of course Russia is the bad guy, it stands to reason as that is a historical fact that Russia was the feared enemy of the west, the cold war was born of misunderstanding, fear and paranoia on all sides (note that I didn't say both sides as that would also be an unfair generalization by putting people into an us-vs-them situation). Having grown up watching cold war fiction from a western perspective I totally deny that I saw even a significant percentage of Russians in media being portrayed as evil or even as bad people, yes they were the enemy, but most films and novels I read even including comedies generally portrayed Soviet leadership as being the true evil and the people and soldiers in a more positive albeit heavily stereotyped light.c  Even Tom Clancy left me feeling that both sides being portrayed displayed equal quantities ofgood and bad traits, particularly that those in charge are power whores who care nothing about the people under them, and that the common man is just doing his best under the circumstances. I could go into more detail about specific films however I understand where you are coming from, always being portrayed as the bad guy would lead to feeling persecuted but you have to understand that it's not always exactly as you feel.

[Loud Whispers]

The problem is that when Western countries are portrayed as bad guys it's a 'secret cell of the government turned rogue' or a PMC or something. When it's Russians, they're just bad because they are Russians. There's no qualifier or background like there is for evil westerners, they're just evil because they are Russian.

In Western and Japanese media if you want to have an evil western Imperialist he suddenly sports a British accent. They're no secret cell or PMC, they're just British, and damn evil.

[Greenbane]

To be honest, many times the Russians have been portrayed as "evil" after the fall of the Soviet Union (and even before), the villains have also gone rogue and the government has little to do with them. The corrupt, rogue Soviet general is almost a trope unto itself (just like the greedy, corrupt US senator). Sometimes a coup is used as a plot device to have villains overthrow the "legal" government.

The Russian government, if there's no plot modifications, is very seldom portrayed as evil. At most they're an antagonist, which needn't be the same. Take Red Storm Rising, for instance: the Third World War portrayed there is far from a reskinned WW2. The USSR hatches a desperate plan to seize resources from Western Europe after Islamic terrorists blow up a major oil refinery, and the aftershocks threaten to collapse the Soviet economy. I think even the terrorists had reasons to do their bombing. There's no moustache-stroking nor evil laughs.

[Retropunch]

Without going meta-political (and I agree this is getting slightly off topic) trying to divorce 'the people' from 'the state' is incredibly difficult and one of the greatest problems with historical perspective (see: Nazis). This is more so with the Russian people who, via communism, are often seen as an extension of state even after the fall of the USSR. The problem for me is that evil Westerners are often portrayed as being part of a rogue group, whereas Russians are just general Russians being morally bankrupt. There's no back story, they just have an E.Europe/C.Asian accent and so are the bad guys (much like the British arch villain, but that's normally with a pinch of salt).

I agree that there are stereotypes of all kinds and that historically the Cold War made them the go-to bad guys in the 90's which carried over, I just disagree with Fikes' assertion that the US is portrayed or is willing to be portrayed as just as much the bad guy as the Russians. It's not even that I think it's some terrible, awful injustice (although it must be horribly annoying, just like Germans being thought of as Nazis) but just that they ARE portrayed as the bad guy much more than the US and the idea of just 'generally evil' westerners is not common.

Red Storm Rising: Although a great book, it portrays the Soviets as having a shockingly low respect for human life whilst the westerners are grieving over every casualty and trying to save everyone they possibly can. Similarly, the Soviets are going around raping and pillaging whilst the good guy Americans will go out of their way to save the common person at any risk to themselves. Not really the most balanced of views, although this was at the height of CW hysteria.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Even in the typical Modern Warfare examples, the bad Russians in question are a sect of crazed ultranationalists who are at first just terrorists misleading the Russian government, and later coup it to directly get into a war with the US. Also, the airport mission, it should be mentioned, takes place in a Russian airport and is blamed on the US to justify the coup.

[Neonivek]

I always find it funny when something takes place FAR in the future but it seems more like they are handling current issues... except in the future.

"So... Russia... is if current Russia grew a twirly mustache and continued its current path?"
"Yep"
"oooooook... I guess that is possible"

There are two instances in my life where I heard a "future issue" that felt like a future issue...
1) A movie about a court case where they wanted to try someone who made a private videogame of a woman for rape for using her image.
2) Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century has a controversial competition where a Heavy Metal Singer is winning a conservative singing award.

Which is always why it is funny in a game like this whenever they are basically direct offshoots. Why are they expies? Shake things up!

I mean no one says America is just a Britain offshoot.

[Digital Hellhound]

RPS Hands-On. Sounds fairly promising to me, though as the writer says, it's just about the early game.