First of all, the title makes it sound worse than it really is. Actually this is just a little follow-up to Thomas’ and Adam’s posts about medical board– and computer games. This time though, the roles have been reversed. In Crazy Monkey Games‘ nifty (and free!) little game Pandemic 2, you take on the role of the disease rather than the doctor -and instead of curing the disease, your goal is to infect and kill the entire human population. How’s that for the ultimate in computer violence?
When you start a new game you’re given the choice of whether your disease will be a virus, bacteria or parasite, each of which has different pros and cons in the game. Then you’ll just have to think of a name for your disease and you’re all set to start infecting.
![pandem-2[1]](https://www.corporeality.net/museion/wp-content/pandem-21.jpg)
Virus, Bacteria or Parasite? Decisions, decisions.
![pandem-6[1]](https://www.corporeality.net/museion/wp-content/pandem-61.jpg)
The game's world map or "playing field". The green areas represent uninfected regions.
![pandem-3[1]](https://www.corporeality.net/museion/wp-content/pandem-31.jpg)
The disease "Museion Fever"; an airborne, heat-resistant and mutable disease with great promise. Although it's not quite as infectious as we might wish for 🙂
![pandem-7[1]](https://www.corporeality.net/museion/wp-content/pandem-71.jpg)
Curses! Foiled again.
It might be slightly too morbid for some, but personally I find the game immensely enjoyable. I also think it’s quite interesting to to ponder what it is that make us transform the things we experience as threatening into entertainment -even to the point of identifying with it and make destroying mankind our goal. Even as a complete fiction that just seems pretty “heavy”. But I guess that’s one for the (other) philosophers or perhaps the psychologists.
At any rate, if you have time to kill you might consider trying out Pandemic 2, as it is very entertaining. But beware, it’s quite infectious!