heinleinblog

Bad news on the Paul Verhoeven front: The new Starship Troopers video game is based on the movie, no the book:

Rooted firmly in Paul Verhoeven’s interpretation of Robert Heinlein’s novel about an epic battle of humankind against a menacing planet of bugs, developer Strangelite’s Starship Troopers has Roughnecks plowing through literally hundreds of bugs at a time in onslaught after onslaught. The game’s advanced engine allows for well over a hundred alien creatures at a time to bring the hellacious bug fights to life.

For those who saw the movie, but didn’t read the book, here’s the skinny: The movie was was filled with Fascist imagery and concepts. The book was acactly the opposite. And the book wasn’t about “hellacious bug fights.” It was about a young man’s decision to accept responsibility for himself and others by serving in the military. Niney percent of it was about traning and preparation for combat, and about the sacrifices made by those who serve. The fighting was a small part of the novel.

And in the book, [tag]Dizzy Flores[/tag] was a guy. And certainly not someone Rico screwed in his tent before a mission. And the book didn’t have giant bugs shooting plasma out of their butts into orbit, destroying starships.

I don’t play a lot of video games, and this is another reason not to start.

[tags]Paul Verhoeven,Starship Troopers,video games,Heinlein[/tags]