'Call of Duty' makers sued by a former dictator

A game that made headlines due to a brilliant storyline and insane gameplay is now on the news again, but for different reasons. It was a tough day for game designers, Activision Blizzard, as their company was sued by the former dictator of Panama after appearing as a villain in the video game series.

Manuel Noriega was ousted as leader of the Central American state of Panama following a 1989 US invasion. After this, he was sent to a Miami prison on drug trafficking charges where he spent almost 20 years. The 80-year-old - who is now in a Panama prison - is seeking damages from game publisher Activision Blizzard.

He says, in the game he is portrayed as a "kidnapper, murderer and enemy of the state" in the game Call Of Duty: Black Ops II. The game has a character of the same name, who reneges on a CIA deal and betrays the game's main characters. He then shoots members of the Panama army and during the game he is described by characters in vulgar names such as a "piece of s", "ahole" and then to make it worse, they even mention his name, "old pineapple face himself, Manuel Noriega".

Manuel Noriega on the right and his doppelganger in the game

The lawsuit was filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court. Noriega claims the developers made more money from his likeness because "heighten realism" of using real people "translates directly into heightened sales for the defendants". The 13-page suit says no consent was given to use a likeness of his image. These are points he puts in his suit. Furthermore, it looks like Noriega wants to make some money out of this. Noriega wants damages for unjust enrichment, unfair business practices and violation of common-law publicity rights - but not for libel.