General Custer might be one of America's most controversial historical figures and that's really saying something. A military leader in a campaign that is a source of national shame, popular depictions vary wildly from the noble to the barbaric. He has been a hero, a villain and everything in between. And in this case, he's a bunch of pink pixels with a hard-on attempting to copulate forcibly with a Native American woman. Well then. Custer's Revenge is over thirty years old now. Everyone has heard of it, everyone has been at least a little offended by it and most people have probably laughed it off, being its shock value belongs to a different generation. So there's not a whole lot for us to add here really, except for this: in the game's original manual - acknowledging that someone's kid might catch them playing this - the advice that the game's creators give is to explain to the curious tyke that "Custer and the maiden are just dancing." If your child goes on to ask why the poor girl is crying and ripping her own hair out in disgust and anger, just explain that sometimes there are very selfish people in the world whose demands for basic liberties and respect make America do things it doesn't want to. Certainly that will put your young one at ease and do no terrifying, lasting psychological damage whatsoever. But the real question here is, can Japan make something even worse? Well...
Eric Day co-hosts the Murderville Podcast at www.welcometomurderville.com
Give it a listen. Five minutes. Maybe you'll dig it. Maybe you'll hate it. But at least you'll have tried something new.
