A joke: what do you get when you cross a PS3 game and a cathedral? A possible lawsuit! Bud-um-bum-tish.
But seriously, officials from Manchester Cathedral are expressing great anger as they feel that PS3 title Resistance: Fall of Man is encouraging the gun crime that is a troubling problem for the city. The fact that a game has been released where you go John Rambo in a holy place doesn't help matters, they've said. Not those exact words, but, well, you get the picture.
And so, here come demands from God. A letter has been sent to Sony that demands an apology for the use of the Cathedral after permission was not sought, removal of the game from sale until the cathedral's interior is removed from gameplay, a substantial donation to the cathedral from game profits, and Sony's support in anti-gun crime projects within Manchester.
The gamer's side of the argument seems to focus on three points: why is the developer Insomniac getting off easily? Why should the Church of England be demanding a sizeable amount of money? And why is it that a big deal is being made over shooting little alien Chimeras? You are not being asked to assassinate the local priest, before you reach your ultimate goal to de-hat the Pope, but rather save the Earth from gruesome alien infection.
The debate is likely to rage on for a fair amount of time, continuing the age-old argument (and firm favourite of Jack Thompson) of "games cause violence". My personal viewpoint, as I'm sure you're all dying to read it, is that games, just like any other media, will never cause violence if the player's mental condition is that of a stable one. Young players should be protected by age ratings, and psychotic members of the public should be under sufficient care to be denied the opportunity to play violent games. Nobody in their right state of mind will play Resistance and feel the need to take out the local clergy because Manchester Cathedral was a focal point for one level.
The finalé to Act 1's events is Sony's response to the Church of England's accusations, which you can read after the jump.
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