Guess what was discovered on a bookshelf at Osama bin Laden’s compound during the US raid from 2011? A strategy guide for Delta Force: Xtreme 2 and “videogame guide” by GameSpot.
We should be clear, however, that it’s unlikely bin Laden himself was using these books, as they’ve been classified under “documents probably used by other compound residents.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence today released a bunch of information related to the raid, which included a list of books the military stumbled upon. Here’s the full list:
- Art Education: The Journal of National Art Education Association, “Islamic Art as an Educational Tool about the Teaching of Islam” by Fayeq S. Oweiss (March 2002)
- Arabic Calligraphy Workshop by Fayeq S. Oweiss
- Published Work Sample from Fayeq S. Oweiss (2004)
- Resume for Fayeq S. Oweiss, Ph.D. (2006)
- Delta Force Extreme 2 Videogame Guide
- Game Spot Videogame Guide
- Grappler’s Guide to Sports Nutrition by John Berardi and Michael Fry
- Guinness Book of World Records Children’s Edition 2008 (scans of several pages from)
- Is It the Heart You Are Asking? by Dr. Islam Sobhi al-Mazeny (suicide prevention guide)
- Silkscreening Instructions
I won’t blame the government for getting confused on the title of Delta Force Extreme 2, which, as pointed out above, is actually Xtreme 2. Thanks, Obama!
Delta Force: Xtreme 2 was released in 2009 on the PC, and it was not well received at all. The Delta Force games followed the path blazed by games like Rainbow Six (and did for a while!) but I’ll let this video explain why that’s not in this hip, “extreme” take on Delta Force.
The game’s developer, Novalogic, hasn’t released anything since. Delta Force: Angel Falls has been promised for years, but it’s not clear if the game will ever be released.
As for the “GameSpot Videogame Guide,” I have no idea. I believe GameSpot used to put out holiday-timed print magazines to coincide with shopping season. Maybe that’s what that is?
Photo Credit: Associated Press
You can reach the author of this post at patrick.klepek@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @patrickklepek.