2. Resident Evil 5

The Resident Evil series of video games are amongst the most violent and gory video games. Anti-video game politicians like pointing an accusing finger at them, blaming them for society’s evils. But Resident Evil 5, released in 2009, was not only controversial due to its violence, but because it was accused of racism. You see, in the game protagonist Chris Redfield mostly ends up killing zombies that have dark skin. Which is not altogether illogical, given that the game is set in the African continent.

In the game’s defence I can say that Chris Redfield’s partner Sheva Alomar is a woman of colour and that she is every bit as capable as Chris, and that there are zombies with white skin among the angry mobs you have to deal with. Also the game’s creator made it clear in an interview that he had no intention of making a racist game, saying that “I think everyone understands that we never set out to with the intention to make anything that was racist”.

→

Next: 3. Max Payne 3