In the 1983 film WarGames, Matthew Broderick taps into a super-secret military central computer and inadvertently starts a nuclear countdown with the Soviet Union. **Spoiler Alert** … In the climax of the film, the computer figures out that every war scenario ends with the mutually assured destruction of both sides and it shuts itself down, thereby proving that machines are smarter than we are.
Reuters is carrying a story (which has apparently been picked up by many major news outlets) about an online “game” called Gulf War 2 in which players assume the role of “President” Bush and try to work their way through the Iraq quagmire while receiving advice from caricatures of Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. The U.S.-led army overthrows Saddam Hussein, has to choose a new leader from a group of look-alikes, then stands helplessly by as the entire region becomes enflamed in deepening violence. **Spoiler Alert** … The inevitable outcome is the very definition of pyrrhic victory.
In fact, it is not a game at all, but a thoughtful and thought-provoking bit of flash animation, which the author readily admits on his website. He has also been a bit overwhelmed by the publicity; according to Reuters, about 20,000 people a day are logging on. Naturally, he is also getting his share of hate mail (since apparently anybody who engages in reason and truth is an enemy of the state).
If you have a decent connection and a sound card, check out Gulf War 2 here.