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GUEST: Ed Halter, contributing critic for The Village Voice, a graduate of Yale and New York University, author of “From Sun Tzu to Xbox”

The LA based Pandemic/Bioware Studios are developing a new videogame simulating an invasion of Venezuela set in 2007. According to the game’s website, “Mercenaries 2: World in Flames,” is based on the premise that “A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela’s oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a war zone.” The Venezuelan Solidarity Network, concerned about the game, is seeking to halt the manufacturing and distribution of the game. Pandemic Studios claims that “Venezuela was chosen for the setting of Mercenaries 2 [because it] is a fascinating and colorful country full of wonderful architecture, geography and culture.” The U.S. Army and C.I.A.-funded Institute for Creative Technologies has subcontracted Pandemic studios in the past. The target market of the game will be young men of military age.