It used to be that only Iraq War protesters made political statements with games, but no more. Enter Tax Invaders, a vertical shooter that allows you to take out aggressions against John Kerry's tax plans. Experience thrills previously known only to America's wealthy elite as you control George W. Bush, shooting down tax proposals like a Texas cowboy.
It is interesting to note that whoever made this game decided that enemy bullets cannot actually harm dubya, meaning that as long as you just keep clicking, the game is impossible to actually lose. Is that, in itself, a political statement, or was the perceived audience for Tax Invaders so gaming-averse that the difficulty had to be removed?
I'd like the game more if it prompted to ask if you were earning more or less than $170,000/year before starting.
And then there wouldn't be any tax raise blocks to shoot if you pick the low value.
Or maybe you get placed where the blocks would have been, and Bush just keeps right on shooting.
Posted by: McGroarty | 06/17/2004 at 12:57 PM
Just FYI, Gonzalo and I have been tracking this segment pretty closely over at Water Cooler Games. Check the "political games" category.
Here's my post on Tax Invaders.
Posted by: Ian Bogost | 06/17/2004 at 09:47 PM
Just FYI, Gonzalo and I have been tracking this segment pretty closely over at Water Cooler Games. Check the "political games" category.
Here's my post on Tax Invaders.
Posted by: Ian Bogost | 06/17/2004 at 10:00 PM
What person over the age of 25 with a college education DOESN'T make over $170k/year? Did you all fall asleep in college or something?
Posted by: Unoriginal | 06/18/2004 at 09:30 AM
Nothing examplifies de Toqueville's principles of tyranny by majority than American's tax law.
Posted by: Unoriginal | 06/18/2004 at 09:34 AM
I'm no expert on political flash games or anything, so you can al correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me this is the most "violent" one. Liberal flash games usually don't involve shooting something (unless the payoff is in the consequences). Here, even something as abstract as tax law requires guns to be a'blazin.
It seems a littl...overbearing, doesn't it? I DON'T LIKE IT KILL IT GOD DAMN IT THAT'S THE ONLY WAY!
Something about this seems to jive with the republican mindset
Posted by: extralife | 06/20/2004 at 08:44 PM
The violence claim depends on your view...
Tax Invaders has you shooting down tax proposals. No violence on a person or animal or any such thing as you are shooting down ideas. Nor can you risk (or intentionally cause) the Bush head to die. It does have "guns," or you could claim shooting as a reference to shooting down ideas or plans (as the game does).
Kick Bush Out (or Bush Ass-Kick as Water Cooler Games calls it) has you choosing increasingly more violent ways for a donkey to physically assault Bush for humorous pleasure. Rather a bit more violent to me. (If you want to argue whether it is a game, it is at least as much as Tax Invaders is.)
Posted by: baines | 06/20/2004 at 10:32 PM
Where's the game where I can shoot hippies?
Posted by: BrainFromArous | 06/21/2004 at 10:11 AM
My Bush head dies if he gets hit by 2 enemy bullets, and it says "John Kerry will raise your taxes".
Sometimes I think you guys look too deeply into things...
Posted by: Holliday | 06/21/2004 at 01:41 PM
My Bush head dies if he gets hit by 2 enemy bullets, and it says "John Kerry will raise your taxes".
Sometimes I think you guys look too deeply into things...
Posted by: Holliday | 06/21/2004 at 01:41 PM
Political facts aside, the game is very easy and has even less overall depth then the original. You can lose, its just the losing screen looks almost exactly the same as the starting screen. Since the majority target audiences are probably not gamers, it makes sense that very little went into the game that a gamer would appreciate. Just an easy concept for the random right-wing web browser. Bush combating the horde of evil taxes. Simple message, simple game.
It makes sense that Bush's head is shooting rather then the Republican Symbol since they are selling a person. The plot (as little and abstract) it were It's very American Dream in that way. One gunman outnumbered but smarter then the bad guys. The taxes are the concept of evil, plus there is the pun of "shooting down taxes". The Texas gunman theme, while perhaps while not purposely meant, is inescapable on a subliminal level just because Bush does continue to maintain strong ties with Texas.
Politics aside, this is a poorly programmed game. The concept insults the audience's intellegence, considering the weight of the issues that it is supposed to be contained within it's play.
Posted by: Darkplate | 06/22/2004 at 10:29 PM
An even better (and actually sort of fun) political game where you play as one of a host of pop culture "icons" and shoot stars at Darth Rumsfeld among other notorious Republicans. You also, for no apparent reason, get to perform sexual acts on Hilary Duff. This game has the avantage of backing up it's anti republican rhetoric by providing several segments of fun filled anti-bush administration facts.
Warning : NSFW
Posted by: Komrade23 | 06/22/2004 at 10:35 PM
Heh. I can't believe nobody's noted yet that a better name for such a GOP-centric game would have been "Tax Evaders."
Posted by: Brian | 06/24/2004 at 01:35 PM
Now now now Brian... You know as well as everyone else that "Tax Evaders" would be as appropriate for Democratic power players as much as Republican ones... :p
Posted by: Baines | 06/24/2004 at 08:08 PM
Think simple. Learn different. Macinstruct.net
Posted by: Ellen | 07/06/2004 at 07:43 AM
Think simple. Learn different. Macinstruct.net
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