US Military Base Stores Reviewing Medal of Honor Ban

Now that Electronic Arts has changed the name of the playable enemy forces in Medal of Honor's multiplayer, no longer directly referring to the US faction's opponent as the "Taliban," the game might possibly be allowed to return to stores on US military bases.

A representative of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service told Joystiq that it was "aware of reported changes to the latest Medal of Honor game" and that "the organization has been, and continues to be, engaged in a thorough review to fully understand the extent of the modifications.

The modern-day shooter revamp, set in the current war in Afghanistan, caused upset by allowing players to play as a Taliban fighter against US forces. This led to the AAFES asking on-base stores to pull the game from sale. EA has since renamed the faction to 'Opposing Force,' though you'll still be blasting away at virtual US troops.

As small as the change might be, EA Games president Frank Gibeau had previously defended the Taliban's inclusion as a creative risk that was "creative vision," taken due to the company's belief in video games as an "artform."

"At EA we passionately believe games are an artform, and I don't know why films and books set in Afghanistan don't get flack, yet [games] do," Gibeau told Edge in August. "Whether it's Red Badge of Courage or The Hurt Locker, the media of its time can be a platform for the people who wish to tell their stories. Games are becoming that platform."

"We respect the media's views," he said, "but at the same time [these reports] don't compromise our creative vision and what we want to do."

The decision to 'remove' the playable Taliban was made, according to executive producer Greg Goodrich, not due to media controversy but for "the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice."

With singleplayer by Danger Close and multiplayer by DICE, Medal of Honor is due out for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 12. A PC-only multiplayer open beta test is running from today until 11:59pm PST on October 7. Grab the client from FileShack if you fancy playing, though do check out the system requirements first.