Heroes of 1971: Retaliation

A video game set during the Liberation War is proving popular with young Bangladeshis

TOM FELIX JOEHNK         

It is a sunny day in the countryside. From your vantage point you can see mud huts, palm trees and blue skies.
Suddenly, an army truck pulls up and from the back jump half a dozen soldiers – straight into the path of a shooter. He picks them off with his rifle one by one until they all lie dead, with blood oozing out of them. Echoing around the violated idyll are calls of “Joy Bangla!” (“Victory to Bengal”).
“Heroes of 1971: Retaliation” is currently the most popular video game in Bangladesh. It is set during the war of independence, which saw East Pakistan break away from Pakistan to become Bangladesh, and is a sequel to “Heroes of 1971”, which was released two years ago on the anniversary of Pakistan’s surrender.
The objective of both games is to liberate East Pakistan and, in the process, kill as many Pakistani soldiers as possible. Interestingly, the games appear to have received some, if not all, of their funding from the government of Bangladesh: the credits state that they were sponsored by the ICT Division, a government ministry, and the Bangladesh Computer Council, a state-run body.
The original version’s graphics were terrible, but the opportunity to punish Pakistani soldiers made it a runaway success. The new version, which has been downloaded more than 4 million  times since it was released in 2016 on March 26 (Independence Day), is far superior.
The graphics are snazzier and there’s an English language option. It features a new character, Anila, an attractive female guerilla fighter freed from Pakistani captivity, and new missions, which include disrupting Pakistani supply lines, saving women from a Pakistani prison camp, and “a full frontal battle against great odds”. Players even have a chance to punish members of East Pakistan’s fundamentalist parties who collaborated with the Pakistani army.
Both games can be played on a desktop computer or an Android phone. A parental guidance note says they may not be suitable for children under the age of 16, on account of their “strong violence”. The Liberation War – a nine-month struggle – was exceptionally violent. Pakistani soldiers killed hundreds of thousands of people, while 10 million refugees fled to India.
For now, many Bangladeshis appear to be satisfied by getting virtual revenge on their old enemy. One gamer from Dhaka – who even wasn’t born in 1971 – said playing “Heroes of 1971” made him feel “like I am fighting for my country’s freedom”.

Source: The Economist

Heroes of 1971: Retaliation

A video game set during the Liberation War is proving popular with young Bangladeshis

TOM FELIX JOEHNK It is a sunny day in the countryside. From your vantage point you can see mud huts, palm trees and blue skies. Suddenly, an army truck pulls up and from the back jump half a dozen soldiers straight into the path of a shooter. He picks them off with his rifle one by one until they all lie dead, with blood oozing out of them. Echoing around the violated idyll are calls of Joy Bangla! (Victory to Bengal). Heroes of 1971: Retaliation is currently the most popular video game in Bangladesh. It is set during the war of independence, which saw East Pakistan break away from Pakistan to become Bangladesh, and is a sequel to Heroes of 1971, which was released two years ago on the anniversary of Pakistans surrender. The objective of both games is to liberate East Pakistan and, in the process, kill as many Pakistani soldiers as possible. Interestingly, the games appear to have received some, if not all, of their funding from the government of Bangladesh: the credits state that they were sponsored by the ICT Division, a government ministry, and the Bangladesh Computer Council, a state-run body. The original versions graphics were terrible, but the opportunity to punish Pakistani soldiers made it a runaway success. The new version, which has been downloaded more than 4 million times since it was released in 2016 on March 26 (Independence Day), is far superior. The graphics are snazzier and theres an English language option. It features a new character, Anila, an attractive female guerilla fighter freed from Pakistani captivity, and new missions, which include disrupting Pakistani supply lines, saving women from a Pakistani prison camp, and a full frontal battle against great odds. Players even have a chance to punish members of East Pakistans fundamentalist parties who collaborated with the Pakistani army. Both games can be played on a desktop computer or an Android phone. A parental guidance note says they may not be suitable for children under the age of 16, on account of their strong violence. The Liberation War a nine-month struggle was exceptionally violent. Pakistani soldiers killed hundreds of thousands of people, while 10 million refugees fled to India. For now, many Bangladeshis appear to be satisfied by getting virtual revenge on their old enemy. One gamer from Dhaka who even wasnt born in 1971 said playing Heroes of 1971 made him feel like I am fighting for my countrys freedom. Source: The Economist