David Jaffe's canceled PSP-exclusive FPS game Heartland was supposed to be more than just "the definitive shooter for the PlayStation Portable." It was supposed to have a message, one that echoed the sentiments of the always-opinionated God of War creator. Jaffe told The Escapist in a revealing feature: "It wasn't supposed to make you hate the Bush Administration so much as, as a layperson political junkie, it was supposed to put into light - using games as a medium - all the things I didn't like about the Bush Administration."Unfortunately, a number of factors led to the cancellation of this project. It appeared that developer Incognito (team behind PS3's Warhawk) simply wasn't interested in working on the game. "They weren't really impressed with A) my politics, and B) story-based games to begin with."
Heartland may have been too ambitious and too graphic for the handheld. "The one thing Sony seemed uncomfortable about was naming the enemy," says Jaffe. "We were going to do some pretty intense stuff." Intense stuff indeed: players would see decapitations, and would face brutal choices: "The player chases after the teenage son, beating him and dragging him down the stairs, and throwing him into the living room. The commanding officer orders the player to douse the family and the house with gasoline, and set it on fire."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-23-2008 @ 12:57PM
Justin Eaton said...
That's a shame. Would've been an interesting title to check out.
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4-23-2008 @ 12:58PM
toefer said...
Just what I was thinking. Politics aside, it's just something different.
4-23-2008 @ 1:01PM
ecco6t9 said...
*rolls eyes.
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4-23-2008 @ 1:17PM
Tom said...
A game doesn't need to be created just because it's "new" or "different". To me, the game sounds too much like a political rant, rather than a fun, gaming experience. I agree with Incognito, not a game worth developing.
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4-23-2008 @ 3:25PM
Noshino said...
Political rant? dude, almost everything is influenced by politics nowadays...
Have you ever seen movies that make you sad or thrilled? just like there are movies of that sort, there can be games that can do that, and some people will find them attractive/interesting.
It is sad that gamers still think it isn't possible for a game to have such kind of stories/themes, there are few developers that want to show that it is possible to invoque a different array of feeling on gamers, that games can be another art medium, but people like you and some other commenters here are the ones that by thinking otherwise give acceptance to Eberts opinion about videogames not being art
For shame Incognito...
4-23-2008 @ 1:34PM
richard said...
I would play this one for sure. I'd buy copies for everyone I know who has a psp
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4-23-2008 @ 2:10PM
Alien said...
This could have become on of the biggest critical hits of any handheld ... to bad that it never made it :? But ther is still some chance . Hes name as a developer is pretty big , and who knows ...
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4-23-2008 @ 2:39PM
cafecito said...
I would've played this for the decapitations and violence alone =P
And yeah, for those who say FPSs can't be played using just one analog stick... remember metroid prime?
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4-23-2008 @ 3:03PM
cyberhomie said...
Good call, Incognito.
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4-23-2008 @ 3:27PM
Frastoglegnia said...
You couldn't possibly know it was a good call unless you'd experienced the game firsthand. It's always a mistake to confuse political messages for artistic content.
Politics do not equal artistic content. If they did, then liberals wouldn't read T.S. Eliot and William F. Buckley's son wouldn't worship Allen Ginsberg.
The film, Soy Cuba, is communist propaganda from beginning to end, but it is so well-made that Paul Thomas Anderson stole the swimming pool scene for Boogie Nights, didn't execute it as well, and still managed to earn praise from critics and film students for getting close.
4-23-2008 @ 3:08PM
Jacksons said...
Would have been a lousy game that's only purpose was shock value. Incognito made the right choice.
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4-23-2008 @ 5:01PM
Frastoglegnia said...
Odd choice of words, "only purpose," since Jaffe's stated purpose was entirely different from the one you ascribe to him.
And "would have been a lousy game" is assuming too much. How many games have looked so good conceptually that you had to buy them on sight? And how many of those games disappointed you in the long run? The opposite can also be true: games that sound boring or obvious in the abstract can turn out to be fascinating and addictive once you play them.
4-23-2008 @ 3:41PM
bryansurvive said...
"Would have been a lousy game that's only purpose was shock value. Incognito made the right choice."
your talking about manhunt right! oh....you werent cus i remember the story line was pretty whack. it was mostly about seeing the people die in pain.
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4-23-2008 @ 4:02PM
EDW said...
"The commanding officer orders the player to douse the family and the house with gasoline, and set it on fire."
wtf? who wants to play a game like that?
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4-23-2008 @ 7:50PM
Jeremy said...
Liberals? In their delusional minds, that's what they think happens to people who speak out against Bush, thus making them brave heros.
4-23-2008 @ 5:34PM
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) said...
ok it sounded interesting but stop talking about it now if your not going to make it. no one wants to sit here and listen to how great something we arent getting would have been.
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4-23-2008 @ 5:46PM
Don said...
Oh man... I am really enjoying a previous Incognito PSP game-- twisted Metal: Head On. Would've been awesome to have another PSP game from them.
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4-23-2008 @ 9:58PM
Ben said...
Why would anyone want to pay for Jaffe's personal political wankfest?
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4-24-2008 @ 10:14AM
cheese said...
I agree. I think the fringe radicals have brought their deranged visions and conspiracies into the mainstream and they give many political figures more credit than they deserve. Some people do not have historical perspective and do not use intellectual honesty when they talk about the current administration. They use false assumptions and make up all kinds of boogie man stories about what's going on.
4-24-2008 @ 4:48PM
anopolis said...
yea nothing better than a video game/hippie rant . I'd have alot more respect if this fluff came from vets and not from those whose life hasn't really been effected. Yea gas prices suck.. so do hippies.
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