Dubai : A new video game depicting post-apocalyptic scenes of Dubai isn't even out yet, but is already causing mixed reactions among gamers in the UAE.
Trailer teasers of Mystery World, a first-person shooter game, have been posted on web blogs featuring eerie animated scenes of a deserted Dubai with abandoned cars on highways and damaged skyscrapers. Scenes also depict a soldier looking at a city skyline ravaged by some natural or manmade disaster.
Getting details on the new game is difficult - game creators 2K, headquartered in Novato, California, declined to comment.
It's not known when the game will be officially released.
Disturbing sight
Abdul Rahman Al Za'abi, 17, after watching the internet trailer of the game, said he was disturbed by the scenes of a destroyed Dubai.
"This is a bad way to be entertained. I think the people who are building this country don't want to see it destroyed in this way."
Other gamers, however, said that it is important to remember that the game is just fantasy and has no bearing on the real Dubai.
Omar Mehais, 17, said it could actually promote Dubai. "I think this is good advertising for Dubai. For the whole time you are playing, you are in Dubai. People might say to themselves this is a beautiful place - let's go and visit," Mehais said.
"Shaikh Zayed Road will be even more famous," he added.
Canadian expatriate student Gabriel St Jean, 17, said he plays video games daily, but is fully aware that the content of computer games is fiction.
"Everyone keeps it in the game. No one takes it outside of the game room," he said.
