Custers Revenge, despite the limited graphical capabilities of the Atari 2600, still managed to be highly inappropriate and offensive, with strong pangs of racism, sexism and rape. The game sees you taking control of the titular Custer as you dodge arrows to reach the other side of the screen. Sounds fairly inoffensive, right? The inappropriate twist is that you are sporting only a cowboy hat, bandanna and boots (along with an amply sized erection) and you are trying to make your way across the screen to rape a Native American woman who is bound against a post. Clearly, the limited gameplay of Custers Revenge is wrong on so many levels. The notion of a Caucasian male forcing himself upon a Native American clearly makes a mockery of the hardships injured by the original inhabitants of North America at the hands of the European settlers. Throw into the mix how the game presents rape as its grand prize and you see why Custers Revenges inappropriateness sparked so much controversy back in the 80s.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
