| Under Ash is a first-person shooter
sometimes claimed to be a response to how Arabs are pictured in computer games in general and America's Army in particular. Like America's Army, it is considered to be video game propaganda; however, it differs from America's Army in that it is not for
free.
The player takes the role of Ahmed, a Palestinian opposed to Israeli occupation (Zionists). Through the course
of the game, Ahmed progresses from throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers to destroying Israeli military positions. The game has been
criticized for being too hard, and is designed so that it's easy to be killed. Also, if you shoot a civilian, the game ends
automatically. In the end it isn't even possible to achieve a victory.
The game was published by Dar
al-Fikr, a Syrian publishing company, and the first pressing of ten thousand copies
sold out in a week.
Its relevance to the fighting in the Middle East makes it a controversial video game. Some have accused it of being
anti-Semitic or recruiting terrorists, but others have retorted that it is no worse than games like Delta Force (an American game featuring Arabs as the enemy) or America's Army (a recruitment FPS produced by the
United States Army).
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