In 2011, THQ released Homefront, a first-person shooter that pits the citizens of America against invading North Korean soldiers. Six years later, it's time for the Norks to get some payback: As reported by state-run media outlet Arirang-Meari (via NK News), a North Korean developer has released a new game called Hunting Yankee, a "3D amusement" in which you "shoot down American men with a sniper gun."
The report doesn't clarify whether this is a PC or mobile game, but the underlying objective is clear enough, even through the less-than-perfect translation. "The 3D-amusement entertainment program Hunting Yankee is a fighting game of shooting and knocking down Yankees with a sniper gun… behind enemy lines," the site said. "Users can perform a variety of special actions in a virtual world reminded of a cliff-hanger battle scene."
The "Americans-as-villains" take on a videogame is obviously unusual from our perspective—NK News managing director Oliver Hotham portrayed it a shocking development on Twitter—but I think the real surprise is that it doesn't happen more often. We've been using North Korea as a punching bag for a decade now, after all—Let us not forget that before Homefront there was the immeasurably better Crysis, in which you could (almost) literally punch NK soldiers into orbit—and RT noted in its coverage of the Hunting Yankee that Russians aren't always presented in the most flattering light either.
This actually isn't the first such game to come out of North Korea in recent times: NK Times reported earlier this month that the Advanced Technology Research Institute has recently put out three new mobile games called Confrontation War, Guardian, and Goguryeo Battlefield. You might detect a certain theme emerging there.
I doubt we'll have a Hunting Yankee review going up, but if I'm ever able to get my hands on it and give it a try, I'll be sure to let you know what I think.