Gone Shoppin'? Gone Fishin'? Gone Postal!

By MarÌa del Sagrario RamÌrez
Arizona Daily Wildcat
September 5, 1997

Having a bad day or a bad year?

Even though you're not a particularly violent person, aren't there times you just want to get into your car and run over someone? You might just be stressing and even though you don't mean it, the expressions and the sayings, the sentiments and the feelings are all there, and your friends laugh at you when you say jokingly, "Man, I could just kill somebody." No one takes you seriously; it's just a saying.

Well get ready for a new saying and a new stress-reliever, if you can believe that. For those of you who are anti-violence-video-game fanatics, fair warning and be prepared for the September 22 debut of a new expression: "Going Postal!" Although the expression was referred to in last year's teen-air-head movie "Clueless," executive director Vince Desi is certain his Tucson-based company has a winner on its hands. Running with Scissors and its parent-company, Riedel Software Productions, created the new computer game, Postal, and will give the expression "Going Postal" a whole new meaning.

The game starts when a long, blond-haired stranger dressed in a raincoat gets upset over life's little mishaps and decides, "Ha la chingada con todo! " (The hell with everything!) The crazed man takes to the streets of Paradise, Arizona with his shotgun, an arsenal of heat-seeking missiles and Bouncing Betties and the game begins. Instead of the annoying background music heard in most video games, Postal carries an array of wails from dying victims, screaming for help, begging for their lives as they run for cover. The sound effects include chilling church and chorus music as bystanders are dying, live phone sex and the stranger's deep-raspy voice whispering, "Going Postal." The game takes place in Paradise. Coincidentally, the 17-levels of game playing includes a picket line of video game protesters, an emu farm and an air force base. I'm only told the last level has an interesting surprise. Along with an variety of weapons, the players are equipped with X-ray vision, body armor and immortality.

The game is truly fascinating, allowing up to 15 players to attack each other simultaneously on Internet-linked computers, if they chose, and providing the participants with options of choosing his or her own weapons. The game ends when the gunman finally executes himself. My only complaint was: Why does it just have to be a man? How about a gun-toting woman?

Why am I writing about this, you ask? Because when I first heard the name of the hybrid CD-ROM game, I was appalled, as was Postmaster General Marvin Runyon, who wrote a letter to Desi denouncing the game before even looking at the product. He writes: "All of us at the Postal Service have a sense of humor, but there is nothing funny about your game Postal. It is in very poor taste, and is an erroneous and unfair portrayal of the nation's postal employees." Although true ­ the term was first linked in 1986 to a gun-carrying Post Office employee who went berserk and killed innocent bystanders ­ the game has nothing to do with the Postal Service or any of its employees. It's an adult game that provides a stress-relieving factor, entertaining ­ though violent ­ to those who are looking for a different kind of a challenge.

Where am I going with this, you ask? I'm saying, for those of you who might think being opposed to the name might mean being opposed to the game, give it a chance. If the demand it caused when it was on its Website for three weeks is any indication of its success, the game will be a smash! Getting over 500,000 hits per day, Happy Puppy posted the Postal Website as the No. 1 game being previewed for the fall season.

When I went to check it out, I admit, I had a pole up my ass just because of the name. But once I got pass the skull-smoldering, red-clad introduction screen, I actually found the sound effects and the 3-D animation quite masterful. If anything, it's a fabulous piece of work. Am I promoting violence? NO, silly! I'm a mom. But the game isn't targeting my kids. It's for adults. We are all adults here, aren't we? (For those of you who aren't, go home!)

I'm saying don't rule it out until you see it. Exercise your freedom to choose and explore some options. And if you don't like, don't play, I guarantee it'll be a great conversation piece, if anything. But if you're curious, check it out. Who can it hurt? It's not like there's subliminal messages and you'll go out and want to shoot someone. And it's no worse than any other video game or movie out there right now. I'm just saying, keep an open mind. This stuff is here to stay. So, if you're wondering what your friends might be doing this fall, besides of course, SCHOOL think about it, they just might be going Postal.

María del Sagrario Ramírez is a senior majoring in Mexican-American studies and journalism.