Israel

The Arab-Israeli War of 1948-49 is called the "war of independence" (from the British) by the Israelis -- and the "Nakba" or "catastrophe" by the Palestinians. Israeli Independence is, however, a single-player board wargame by Darin A. Leviloff in which, as the Israelis, you must attempt to fight off the converging armies of Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon and achieve the Jewish Homeland.

Global Conflicts: Palestine takes a very different approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from PeaceMaker; rather than casting you as one of the opposing leaders, you are a journalist, and rather than making high-level decisions, you are exploring a 3D environment meant to represent a section of Jerusalem.

Can a Game Make You Cry?

Certainly... At least if its subject is enough to make you cry.

PeaceMaker begins with a cut scene--brief video clips from the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, beginning in 1948 and ending with the present day.

In any game, the purpose of an initial cut scene is to set the emotional context; for most games, this means bombast and violent triumph. For PeaceMaker, it means--sorrow, and perhaps despair.

Created by a mixed American, Israeli, and Palestinian team, PeaceMaker deals with the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Playing as either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President, you must try to satisfy the urgent needs and demands of your own people, while establishing a degree of trust on the opposite side--and, with (a great deal of) luck, an agreed resolution to the conflict.