Mexican politicians call for Call of Juarez ban

Politicians in the real-life town of Ciudad Juarez are petitioning for Ubisoft's upcoming shooter Call of Juarez: The Cartel to be blocked from sale in Mexico.

Chihuahua state politicians "unanimously" voted to request that the federal Interior Department ban the modern-day shooter, according to congressman Ricardo Boone Salmon.

Salmon told the AP that "It is true there is a serious crime situation, which we are not trying to hide. But we also should not expose children to this kind of scenarios so that they are going to grow up with this kind of image and lack of values."

Ciudad Juarez has seen 6000 deaths from drug-related violence over the last two years – a factor which also led to a number of senior Texas police recently expressing concern about the game's use of the setting.

State congress leader Entrique Serrano was concerned that the game might provide a negative inspiration to local youth. "Children wind up being easily involved in criminal acts over time, because among other things, during their childhood not enough care has been taken about what they see on television and playing video games. They believe so much blood and death is normal."

The first two Call of Juarez games were set in the 19th century, but developer Techland has relocated the third game to present-day Mexican ganglands.