''Pakistan Army Retribution'' is a Pakistani
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
video game based upon the
2014 Peshawar school massacre
On 16 December 2014, six gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The militants, all of whom were foreign nationals, compri ...
. Developed as part of a peaceful campaign, it was designed as showing schoolchildren that "the best weapons are the pen and the book". After a negative review by English-language newspaper ''
DAWN
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
'', the developer intentionally removed the game from the
Google Play Store
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sys ...
.
Gameplay
''Pakistan Army Retribution'' is a
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
. It is during the
2014 Peshawar school massacre
On 16 December 2014, six gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The militants, all of whom were foreign nationals, compri ...
, which events the game depicts.
After the game begins by playing the
Pakistan national anthem, the player must defeat Taliban terrorists across nine levels. On-screen controls allow the player to move around, as well as shoot enemies. A radar shows where enemies are.
Development and release
''Pakistan Army Retribution'' is based upon the events of the
2014 Peshawar school massacre
On 16 December 2014, six gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The militants, all of whom were foreign nationals, compri ...
,
the deadliest terrorist attack in Pakistan.
Marking the one-year anniversary of the events, it was developed as part of the Peaceful Pakistan campaign, promoting peace and tolerance in Pakistan.
Being one of "dozens of videos, jingles and social media items", ''Pakistan Army Retribution'' was commissioned by the Pakistan Army and the Punjab Information Technology Board and developed by an independent studio for
Android.
Reception and subsequent pull from Google Play
In its review, Munir Rahool of ''DAWN'' was critical of the graphics and controls of the game. The subject matter especially was thought of as to be "poor taste". "Any recreation of the carnage that day seems insensitive" and questioned if the game was made to honour Pakistan Army soldiers.
After the review, people on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
also outed their criticism on the subject of the game.
After the criticism on social media, Umar Saif, chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board, voluntarily pulled the game from the
Google Play Store
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sys ...
.
Saif said that "In hindsight it was not a good thing to do" and that the developer responsible misunderstood the intention of the peace campaign.
He said the game "opened issue surrounding radicalization" and spoke off security issues.
He thanked people for pointing out the mistake.
References
{{reflist
2015 video games
Android (operating system) games
Android (operating system)-only games
Single-player video games
Obscenity controversies in video games
Censored video games
Video games developed in Pakistan
2014 Peshawar school massacre