A roving horde of zombie followers of an evil cult headed by Rasputin, attack a press conference in an attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin in a new mobile phone game starring the president.
With the help of an American sidekick, alcoholic and aggressive American tough-guy Mike, the politician battles the infinite host of zombies with wit, style, and a pen.
The game "You Don't Mess With Putin," is due to be released around Halloween this year. The role fits the steely Russian president like a glove, the game's Belgian developer told RIA Novosti.
"Putin has this tough guy image and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty," Smeets said in a phone interview. "He hunts, he rides, he shoots. A leader should be strong, and in my opinion Putin is the only world leader that really fulfills this image."
Putin also leads the battle against darkness in a Russian comic book series, Smeets noted, so he's not the only person who envisions the president as a superhero.
Even though Putin plays the good guy in "You Don't Mess With Putin," the game does not reflect the developer's political views. "I'm not supporting socialism — I just like the guy [Putin], as a person and as a leader," Smeets said.
In the game, Putin holds a press conference to demand the Westernization of Russia's video game industry. An army of zombies attacks the meeting killing everyone but the president and an American video game expert.
The game's dialogue is full of one-liners based on things the Russian president has said in real life, Smeets said.
After Putin stabs a zombie with a blunt writing instrument, he says, "Give me back my pen!" — an echo of the leader's similarly blunt dressing-down of oligarch Oleg Deripaska in 2009.
Putin's cameo appearance in Smeets' last mobile game "Run Snowden Run," was received enthusiastically, he said, which is one reason that the politician and martial arts enthusiast made a return as the main character in the new game.
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