Good old American patriotism is a culture unto itself. While many of us may believe that we love our country, Americans love their’s the most, and aren’t scared to show it. The opulence of the red, white and blue kicks into top gear with the bastion of explosions and fantasy itself, the video game. To celebrate 4 July and the general love of all things ‘merican, we’ve listed nine of the most patriotic games ever made, that is until the next Call of Duty releases.
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Duke Nukem
The king of ass-kicking, Duke Nukem made hammer meet nail when it came to his admonishment of patriotism. In one incredible game, namely Duke Nukem 3D, the king of carnage ripped through the streets of America with the strength and speed of a nuclear-powered bald eagle. Grab the Megaton Edition to relieve the nineties best shooter, and make sure that Duke Nukem Forever remains buried in the Nevada Desert.
Broforce
Chances are that every American hero, ever is in the best homage to Contra yet, Broforce. The T-800, Chuck Norris, Robocop, Blade, John Matrix from Commando and twenty more star-spangled stars kick major ass in this meaty, head-spinning shooter. Just watch the trailer and try not to gasp. The trailer has a screaming, metal robot eagle for goodness sakes. You can’t escape freedom, don’t even try.
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is patriotism and vice versa. From the beginning of every Call of Duty until the fireworks-crazy ending, America is shoved into the fore. While states like Washington D.C. and New York may get torn apart, American might builds it back together one neck snap at a time. All the major American wars are covered in Call of Duty and weirdly enough it only takes one patriotic man to save the day.
WWE (any of the hundreds on offer)
Nothing, we repeat nothing is as bullet-proof as WWE, sportainment at its very best. Those who’ve watched any show can attest to its adherence to patriotism especially when the audience starts to chant “U.S.A! U.S.A!” as a Canadian wrestler enters the fight. Outside of a tremendous lineup of made-in-America wrestlers like The Rock, Hulk Hogan, John Cena and Brock Lesnar, every WWE game has a cool create-a-wrestler mode, turning a fight between Uncle Sam and Osama Bin Laden from fan-fiction to video game-fact.
The Madden games
While the Madden series aren’t excellent games (most of the scores are in the mid-seventies), they are perfect representations of American sports in mostly underwhelming packages that stretches back into the Nintendo era. If ball-hawking, tailback slashing and pre-snap adjustments mean anything to you, then you’ve probably already played a bunch of Madden games as the burgers sizzled on the post-game barbecue.
Cabela’s Big Game Hunter
Hunting and killing defenceless and often rare animals is a licensed sport in the States and, a terrible series of games, namely Cabela’s Big Game Hunter. Later titles included “angry” animals and a few weak objectives, but the goal remains the same. Shoot an animal so that later, it can be viewed in the hall of trophies. Yes, many other countries have licensed animal killing, but America does it with morbid style, and high-powered rifles.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Set in and around the oceans of New York, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is how Japan sees America: showy, friendly and loud with a giant dose of the surreal. While the later games descend into deserts and jungles, Metal Gear Solid 2 remains as a love-letter to the U.S. There’s Snake, the manliest mercenary who attempts to uncover the mysteries of Metal Gear and Raiden, a boy solider tasked to save the American President. With US-based conspiracy theories, a patriotic soundtrack and thousands of weird in-jokes, it takes a non-American game to make the most patriotic game ever (just wait until the ending, ripped straight from an episode of Law and Order).
Baseball
By Baseball, we mean the 1983 original on the Nintendo Entertainment system. The NES Baseball is rare because it’s both ultra-American and incredibly easy to play. With just two buttons (unbelievable) a fairly fun game of baseball can be enjoyed. It’s a sport impenetrable to most, which has ironically never been beaten by later games. Simple controls, catchy music and
Bad Dudes
The President had been kidnapped, the White House is in danger, who the hell’s going to save them all? Not the CIA, FBI or police force, of course. Instead, the fate of the free world rests on the shoulders of the Bad Dudes, two bro’s with America in their veins and freedom in their fists. When the two dudes (or one dude, if you lacked the coins or friends) save the President, he proclaims, “Hey dudes thanks, for rescuing me. Let’s go for a burger….Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” Watch the video at 20:55 and try your hardest not to salute.
Lead image via MTV.com
