Ahoy is Back! The FAL in Videogames

Ahoy's back, and this time he's talking about the FAL and its history in videogames.

For its purpose, Ahoy's commentary is spot-on. What he missed is that, like the American intervention that forced the FAL into a full-powered rifle cartridge, the FAL's disproportionate appearance in videogames stems from American dominance of the genres where it would be found. Both the makers and the players suffer from a lack of history behind the tools and events that the games present, so it is not surprising to see that left on the table until later when European houses and actors in the business could get noticed and heeded.

By the way, Ahoy ain't kidding about the performance of the FAL. Various knockoffs are making their way into the American firearms market, albeit as semi-automatic only rifles (no full-auto capability), and that recoil is noticeable. That's why you don't see such firearms used outside of a Designated Marksman or Sniper role these days when used by institutional operators. (And no, those are not interchangeable terms.) Even so, the M1A (the semi-auto only version of the M14) is still more popular in the U.S., and more available, even at higher prices.