Video Game Reviews 4 You

Posted September 8, 2011 by Ben Strauss

Dead Island developer Techland simply cannot catch a break. The highly anticipated title, first revealed by an inspired trailer, has done little to live up to the hype. Coming out of a major breach, noticeably game-breaking glitches and the accidental release of an ‘incorrect’ PC version of the game, Techland has been struck with yet another controversy.

Included within the files of the game, located by a Steam forum user, is an unlockable skill for an in-game character. The skill, daftly named “Feminist Whore,” is reportedly the early name for a skill for the character Purna. Purna, a playable female character in the game, would have been able to deal more damage to male characters within the game. The final name of the skill was simply dubbed “Gender Wars.”

Techland was swift to condemn the problem, noting that the inclusion of the code was more than likely a developer ‘signature.’

"It obviously violates professional and ethical standards at Techland and should never have happened," said international brand manager Blazej Krakowiak to Eurogamer. "We're investigating this right now and we'll issue a statement later."

"For now, I can only express my sincerest apologies for this incident and assure you that whoever acted so irresponsibly did not represent the views and opinions of Techland," he continued. "I'm equally sure that aside from the author of that unfortunate line of code, everyone at the office is as disturbed by this as you are."

Deep Silver, the publisher of the title, has also issued their own statement, saying, “These unfortunate actions were of one individual at developer company Techland and do not in any way represent the views of publishing company Deep Silver."

Ben Strauss is a student at Xavier University studying Marketing and Philosophy. He has been an active gamer since he got his hands on a Nintendo, and looks to help further gaming as a legitimate creative and entertainment development entity.