BA6 Contextual Studies - 'Kabul Kaboom' review

'Kabul Kaboom' is a small flash game which was made, presumably, in response to the war in Afghanistan, and in particular, America's involvement in the war. In the game, your goal is to catch burgers, which fall endlessly from the sky, whilst also avoiding the constant barrage of falling bombs. There is no scoring system, there are no levels, no varying degrees of difficulty, only the infinite strafing from left to right. Catching fast food and avoiding missiles is the entire game, as there is literally nothing else to do. This is the screen you are first greeted with:

A very simple screen, with instructions, title, creators etc, presented in a comical and rudimentary manner. This simplicity is key to 'Kabul Kaboom'. It is about conferring a message, rather than about creating a rich, deep, technologically complex game. 'Kabul Kaboom's message is to demonise America, to portray it as a violent, warmongering nation, bringing death and terror to Afghanistan, whilst at the same time, bringing it's fast food to the whole world.

Avoid the American bombs,  eat the American burgers

I noticed that the little character you control when you're playing the game, is actually from a famous painting by Pablo Picasso. She is part of the piece 'Guernica', painted in 1937. She looks to be a weeping woman, crying for the loss of her child, who she holds in her arms. 'Guernica' was made by Picasso in response to another war, the Spanish Civil War. The horror and tragedy of war on innocent civilians was what prompted Picasso to create 'Guernica'. It has since become an iconic symbol of peace and anti-war propaganda. This is obviously part of the game's message. By referencing a powerful anti-war piece of art with 'Guernica', it further emphasises it's own message against American aggression.

By using both bombs and burgers, the game addresses the hypocritical dichotomy of America. With American global fast food chains populating the far flung corners of the Earth, while at the same time, bringing peace and order to foreign countries with bullets and missiles.

The game invariably ends the same way, with the player being caught by a missile and being presented with the game over screen. Even this is subverted in a way that helps bring across the game's message.

Instead of the conventional 'GAME OVER', 'Kabul Kaboom' states that the game is NOT over. There is a point to the fact that you can never win and never truly finish the game. It is the game reflecting the idea that American intervention will never end and that there are no winners.