I've noticed a common thread among this generation of videogames. Everyone thinks that Russia, or balkan countries, are the axis of Evil. They are terrorists, scumbags, killers and always up to no good. They are Evil personified!

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare:

Russian Ultranationalist Imran Zakhaev launched ballistic missiles armed with warheads at the United States.

GTA 4:

Nico Bellic, of Serbian origin - bank robber, thief and cop killer, are just a few of the titles currently on his resumé.

Uncharted 2

Lazarevic, a Serbian war criminal, went on the run after being convicted of crimes against humanity.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Liquid Ocelot is a fictional character of the Metal Gear series. A gunslinger-themed member of FOXHOUND from the former Soviet Union.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

"Activision has just confirmed to VG247 that a leaked Modern Warfare 2 video of civilians being gunned down in an airport is of real[..] The scene establishes the depth of evil and the cold bloodedness of a rogue Russian villain and his unit"

So... whats up?! Why the hate!

Well if ya think about it most of the modern era has consisted of western civilization versus an enemy which has generally consisted of eastern Europe. So of course in popular culture as well a distinct enemy is going to be defined as well. Starting to already see a shift towards "terrorists" too in some games as that becomes more popular with American developers.

I don't think it is necessarily hate but the people who are creating games right now are ones that lived during the Cold War so these notions of an "enemy" are still going to somewhat persist.

I think it's still just a throw back from the Cold War era. Also Russia and the former eastern block, although enemies, were powerful and considered worthy of respect. You could hardly take very seriously a game where the main antagonist was a disgruntled Australian bushman.

Also I think you may have meant Balkan (not Baltic: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia).

hsrob: Ah, edited. Thanks. And LOL "disgruntled Australian bushman" :D Id LOVE to see a game with a bushman as the bad guy! :D "Stingray - the Revenge on Bushman Irwin" ;)


Zucas: But despite growing up during the Cold War. And if we see a shift towards Terrorists being the main bad guys, wouldn't current events influence them more? Thus making the origin middle eastern? Or is all that still a bit too fresh?

Also.. this thread turned into being very serious :D Well except for the Bushman baddie :D

I guess they have to take the old Enemies in Eastern Europe. Because there is no threat anymore compared to the cold war. The terrorists are not able to destroy the World Russia and his Satellites where able to destroy america and the rest of the World. They have a different Quality as some lonely Terrorists.

Eastern Europe was really an opponent the last big one it was the battle between Capitalism and Socialism. The people were scared of Russia I mean really scared.

The people need a picture of an enemy so they try to push the weak enemys of today so they seem stronger then they actually are. But everyone feels it the russians and before that the Germans were a threat for the whole system the western world is based on.

today there is just north Korea which has another economic system oh and Kuba plus the Terrorists. But they are nowhere near a real threat and Kuba ofcourse is to peaceful to actualy make something.

So the current Enemies have to be maxed in their fear factor. look what Crysis did. They made North Korea scary and powerful infact they are not. And everybody knows that thats why the gamedesigners take east Europe the old GUS States. Because they still have something threatening.

The globalization has begun and forces us to be relatively calm. Together with the upcoming wealth the people will get calmer. But dont worry the media will create new enemys. But they will never reach the same fearfactor as the Russians had.

When developers come up with villains, it depends on the story and the setting. If they want a bunch of espionage in the story, they need Communists. If they want just regular bad guys in a good vs. evil setting without all the spying, playing both sides, weapons dealing, and moral gray areas, they go with Nazis. And if they want a lazer gun in there somewhere, they go with aliens. I could probably make a pretty good flowchart for this system.

its just an american thing to blame others for their own problems.

but don't worry it exists here more than the US.

I think space nazis would fit that role well.

space nazis already exists in the new Wolfenstein.. sort of.