In the United States, the killing of ancient Greek gods is hardly a reason to try and get a game banned, though I am surprised the topless women and sex scenes didn't have people picketing in droves.

Fixed.

Hmm, go pirates! Be subversive! Normally I'm against piracy, but I'm more against censorship. So if pirating a game is what it takes, I'm all for it in the circumstances.

Kratos isn't killing their god, why would they be that perturbed. If we banned every game that conflicted with religious values, we'd only have tetris.

Theocracy FTW.

I think that the govnerment should let people think for themselves. Would they disallow episodes of House because House is an atheist? I assume not beliving in God goes against Islamic teaching.

but gow3 is coming... :(
they wont play it

Once more we see evidence that parental supervision has become an optional choice regardless of the culture.

Thats right God of War you're a bad boy! You shouldn't kill gods!

Hilarity ensues. God bless video games; destroying the foundation of oppressive religious regimes one pixel at a time.

Sharia Law, coming to your country soon.

I kid. This sucks for those who want to play it but can't. Epsecially considering the gods in the game have nothing to do with the god of Islam.

Oh, and if anyone is offended by my little joke, I emplore you to use your right to not be offended. I see plenty of anti-Christian jokes anytime the subject is brought up, so deal.

@Dragonis:
Err, FTL.
Sorry...

But Muslims are monotheist, so killing "gods" shouldn't bother them, no?

@ph15h needs followers: Tetris is communistic. (is that a word?)

...Jack? is that you?

Ahh... the joys of theocracy!

Btw, I hate when the government decides whether we should watch/play something or not. Talk about freedom.

I have to ask (as I cannot understand) why is the "I cannot see or hear of anyone having a belief different than my own" complex so incredibly powerful in people (true in all people and parts of the world, not just in the UAE)?

I wonder how long before game companies give up and hire localization teams for the fear mongering. One team localizes all the text and dialogue while one localizes the sensational "I played a videogame and it made me a murderer" stories.

@ca$h:
@Dragonis:

Oh i see it's ok to make up words anyway so my comunistic shouldn't be too bad :P

@IntelSilver:

That's what I was thinking. As a Muslim, I see nothing wrong with this game. In fact, I love the game and it was my favorite game for the PS2!

It's no different than learning about the Greek gods or those of any other ancient religion. It's not like the game commands you to worship Zeus.

1) Be Atheist
2) Buy God of War anyway
3) ???
4) Profit

i should note that Sharjah is the only one of the 7 emirates that has strict religion policies , they don't even allow selling alcohol when the neighboring dubai and ajman do it openly, in sharjah they once passed a law forbidding men from wearing skin revealing clothing n such , and you could get arrested if your caught with a woman you're not related to.

i think the GoW ban is because of the sexual content and language and not the "killing of gods" , they aren't the god muslims worship , it's just the fact that the game portrays human killing a "god" is too extreme for them i guess

@Snuffbox:
Exactly. I couldn't have said it better.

@Cchrist:

Theocracy, according to Dictionary.com
1. a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.
2. a system of government by priests claiming a divine commission.
3. a commonwealth or state under such a form or system of government.

Havent you ever read the Dungeon Master's Guide?

I can kind of understand. Yes the God is Greek, but that is not the issue here. Its the fact that the player is killing A God, thats just something you dont do.
Try and look at it from this prespective, You were raised your whole life believing something and then somebody just comes and tries to Destroy your beliefs. What would you do? What would you really do?

Just for the record... and I know that you guys don´t care for my oppinion eidther but I DON`T CARE. I´m sick of game politics.

Games are today for the educators minds what comics were a few years ago. "anyone who like comics will turn into a murderer etc etc" Well, FU.

Ban my ass.

Wow logic much UAE?

Sorry, I forgot that Allah had a part time job as an ancient greek god. My bad. -_-

It's all make-beleive though, right?

I find it odd that the game goes as they say "contradicted Islamic values" when the Greek Mythology has been around a bit longer.

I guess STARGATE is also banned there, cause in the show they also kill false gods many, many times, with bullets...

@I_Hate_This_Place: My sister pointed out an article the other day where the Sharia court in my country is considering the ability to press charges on non-Muslims if they get involved with a Muslim in a crime associated with Islam. That scares me to no end, I'll tell you what.

And my best friend is a girl who's also a Muslim, so that means I can't be hanging about with her alone unless I want the Sharia courts to bust my fat atheist ass.

Now look what's happened. There's religion all over my videogame site. No amount of detergent will get THAT out.

@Dragonis: No need for the correction, it could be a sarcastic "ftw", no?

i repeat , Sharjah has a VERY strict muslim government , this doesn't reflect the WHOLE of UAE , got harrassed by police for wearing a tank top on the street there once <_<;

@Fishballs:
That is true. And now that I think of it, thats what I meant to do in the first place....

^_^;;

@黒天使: Your cries fall upon deaf ears, I suggest leaving. I sense another Storm approaching.

@Dragonis: Sure it was. I totally believe you. uh-huh. coff. :D

@TOCATL: funny thing is the stuff that airs on tv there is beyond censoring LOL , you can see full nudity on the arabic Showtime channels anytime past 9pm hehehe

@GUNDAM-RX-78-2:

You understand? Do you also understand those that would blow themselves up? No, I don't think so. There is no logic here. It is a extremist thought and trying to control their country by the enforcement and beliefs of their religion. They don't want any influence outside their country. You have no idea.

LOL Reminds me of one of my cousins (7-9 yrs old, not sure) in the Philippines. His mom (I assume) bought him a Kratos figure, which is the most bloodthirsty figure I've ever seen :) . Afterward, I looked at their PS2 collection and sure enough God of War was there.

When I asked them whether they thought he was old enough to play it, they just shrugged.

Heh, it's interesting how far people can take religion.

I know there are some faith heads out there that have forbidden their kids from having anything to do with Santa Clause because omnipitance (knowing if you've been good or bad, awake or asleep) is a power that only a god should have.
Oh well, major props for the UAE kids that put fun ahead of religion.

@GUNDAM-RX-78-2: Get over it.

it's not the first game to get banned in the UAE though , CoD4 was banned if i recall correctly , as well as San Andreas if not mistaken

@Xcite79: You know thats why I put ... kind of... in there. Ofcourse I dont completely understand, and I problably never will, ignorance is bliss, But dont you think its better the game be banned than have someone stoned to death?
Also read 黒天使's comment It makes alot more sense.

I can kinda understand. Then, I'm reminded of how oppresive a theocracy or any state without enforced separation can be, and I realize my values set me against this, wholeheartedly.

Remember what they say about the road to hell and good intentions? And something about pavement?

Puts australian weapon raping censorship into perspective

@Xcite79: Calm down. Not every religious person is a suicide bomber.

There's a line between strictness and fanaticism. It might rub a little thin in spots sometimes, but it's there, regardless.

That's dishonest reporting (or at least biased reporting). No where in the article is there any objection to the killing of Greek Gods. You're saying they take offense to killing Greek Gods based on their description of the game, WHICH IS TRUE?

And you're judging the UAE based on this? It is one of the most liberal countries in the Middle East, especially if you're a non-Muslim. Alcohol is readily available and John Stewart aptly described it as the bastard child of Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia.

when it comes to strict religious governments nothing comes as a surprise , i still remember when the Gulf countries tried to ban Pokemon for spreading the idea of evolution among kids (evolution is a no no in islam in case anyone is wondering lol) , now it's booming and even got arabic localization , governments eventually get over this stuff

@steliosco: They probably will, they'll just hide it from dad.

@GUNDAM-RX-78-2: Or... ya know... they could NOT stone them in the first place. I do my best to understand other cultures, but a human is a human. This is wrong.

On a related note, I am not for the death penalty and I'm for a punishment that fits the "crime".

@GLaDOS: lol true but that describes Dubai i think , they are 7 states with varying degrees of strictness , sharjah being the most strict

Again, there is no objection raised to the killing of Greek Gods. The objection has mostly to do with the nudity in the game.

@GLaDOS: exactly

@黒天使: I have been all over the UAE. Dubai may be the centre of international activity but the belief that Sharjah somehow has a stricter moral and religious standard is wrong. If it did, you'd see the enforcement of the hijab (which you see in none of the emirates) and other public Islamic laws.