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Dan Landis, a video game reviewer for Ripten.com writes:

Treading well into the territory of what most would consider “bad taste”, … New York Defender has recently received some media attention. The purpose of this web-based game is to shoot down passenger jets that have gone all hijacky before they have a chance to explode all over New York City landmarks.

The game has you attempting to shoot planes out of the sky as they careen towards the twin towers, first-person shooter style.
…
The planes then race towards a landmark, such as the United Nations building, the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge, and give you a very limited amount of time to suppress your respect for human life and blow those mothers out of the sky.
…
I can’t in good conscience recommend something like New York Defender II to anyone but the most disturbed of individuals (no offense – please don’t kill me!).

WNBC adds:

A company has created a pair of online video games based on Sept. 11, much to the chagrin of those who lost loved ones in the terror attacks. “I find it very disturbing,” said Lee Ielpi, whose son was a New York City firefighter who died at ground zero.

In one of the games, “New York Defender II” (“New York Defender” is its predecessor), a handful of jets roar over a map of New York City. Circles around the planes piloted by terrorists change from green to red, and they dart toward some of Manhattan’s most prominent landmarks.

If the player doesn’t shoot them down in time, the planes pulverize the United Nations, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. The majority of jets are friendly and fly across the screen and land at area airports.

In addition to the game’s visuals, there are numerous realistic sounds embedded in the software. Users will hear the sounds of the departing jets as they roar into the air, explosions emitted as the planes strike their targets and the sound of bullets as the city’s airspace is defended.
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Lance Ulanoff, the editor-in-chief of P.C. Magazine, said the shock value of an Internet game is frequently used to draw traffic and generate ads. “There’s a long and rich history of sometimes appalling video games,” he said. Nonetheless, he mentioned one case in which the game bothered too many people. “There was a JFK assassination game that had to be taken down because of the public outcry,” he said.

Usine Productions, the company that makes and distributes this garbage under the name New York Defender II, touts itself as, “…specializing in the design and development of games for the general public and major internet for children.” Apparently, Usine Productions did not respond to WNBC’s media inquiries yet feel free to voice your displeasure to them directly. Please be at least civil while doing so:

Usine Productions
29 rue Georges Lardennois
75019 Paris
Tel: 06 22 49 72 93
Contact email: Jean-Christophe Calvet (Manager) and Pitcher Jonathan j.pitcher@usineprod.com

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