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Texas police: Call of Juarez 'capitalises' on Mexico violence

"Sadly enough these kind of games are protected by freedom of speech"

Brownsville, Texas police chief Carlos Garcia has expressed disappointment with Ubisoft's upcoming Call of Juarez: The Cartel for what he perceives as its depiction of Mexico.

The nature of the questions asked by the Brownsville Herald that prompted his response are unknown, and Garcia is acknowledged as not being familiar with the game.

However, in reference to the concept of a shooter set in modern-era Mexico (the series having abandoned its Wild West origins), Garcia claimed that "Unfortunately there are companies that are looking to capitalize on the violent situation in Mexico which has had a very negative impact on the country."

"There have been spillover cases in certain areas of our country with cases of kidnappings and murders. This is a serious topic and this is just another violent video game... This leaves lasting images and ideas in teenagers who get caught up in the game and may try to make it a reality and live the violent lifestyle they see in these games."

Cameron county sheriff Omar Lucio echoed this sentiment, also admitting ignorance of the game in question but feeling that "The title itself leads one to believe that the game deals with narcotic trafficking organizations.

"Games like these create a false idea in the minds of teenagers who are still developing and may grow up and want to imitate these characters. Sadly enough these kind of games are protected by freedom of speech, but the violence that comes from cartels is not a game and it affects us all."

It is unclear whether the lawmen offered these comments based on their own natural concerns, or in response to another party's cautionary summation of the unreleased Ubisoft game. In another, unrelated recent media controversy, Fox News was found to have asked leading questions of analysts regarding EA's Bulletstorm, and apparently electing to run only the more damning responses.

The US games industry is fighting an ongoing legal battle against a number of politicians regarding violent games' age ratings and availability, with the argument seemingly hinging on constitutional rights to freedom of speech.

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Alec Meer

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A 10-year veteran of scribbling about video games, Alec primarily writes for Rock, Paper, Shotgun, but given any opportunity he will escape his keyboard and mouse ghetto to write about any and all formats.

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