War On Terror - Based On The Hit Board Game, But Could Apple Remove The App?
by Joe White
December 8, 2011
War On Terror ($4.99) is an iOS app based on the hit (or, rather, "cult") British board game that transforms Risk into, as Forbes writes, something that "parodies George W. Bush’s well-documented military campaign." However, the application's controversial content (which includes "nuke cards," the desperate hunt for oil and a parodic war on terror) has many wondering whether Apple might remove the application before it's even sold 2,000 copies.
In an email that reached us earlier today, the developer of War On Terror notes that since the app's release, the application has been downloaded almost 1,500 times. Furthermore, in the UK App Store, War On Terror is the third most popular Strategy app, while it's the number one top grossing board game.
Indeed, the application has been available to download since November 25, and it's still going strong (surprising, considering the original board game was banned from pretty much every U.S. retailer when it was released in 2009). Does this mean Apple has a sense of humor?
That depends on how you interpret the content of War On Terror. Forbes found it troubling, and the application itself, like the board game, is nothing if not controversial. Features of the application, as outlined in its release notes, include:
Also from the release notes, here's what you can expect from the app:
- All original artwork by award-winning illustrator, Tom Morgan-Jones
- Interactive world map, with 49 territories
- Dynamic oil distribution (every game is different)
- Advanced, reactive Artificial Intelligence
- Anonymous terrorist funding
- Original sound and music by Robert Taliesin Owen
- Features the best song ever penned by the one-and-only Jarvis Cocker!
- And perhaps the best credits screen in the history of video games
- Much more to come ...
This is a strategy game like no other - your task is liberate the world and save it from the evil clutches of terrorism. Along the way, you can team up with other players and form superficial alliances, as long as they serve your interests. But fighting a global war of terror is a confusing pursuit. Not just confusing, but expensive too. The Liberation Machine takes a lot of oil, so it helps if you liberate the countries that are sitting on massive oil reserves first. And then there's terrorism. Awkwardly enough, you frequently end up funding the very terrorism you're trying to fight as you eradicate the greater threat posed by rogue empires (usually a former ally). War on Terror is the ultimate game of the ends justifying the means.The aforementioned figures suggest people are enjoying the app. Below, we've included a trailer of War On Terror for you to take a look at. Check it out, and let us know if you've purchased the app (or are ardently against purchasing the app) in the comments. It's available for $4.99.
