Warmonger is a video game that exists within the universe of Pepper Ann, for the home console, the FunStation 8000. It is featured prominently in the episode, "G.I. Janie," when Aunt Janie rents it, along with several others, in order to research the effect that video game violence has on players, particularly young players.
Over the course of the episode, Janie is drawn deeper and deeper into the game, blurring the line between fantasy and reality. As a result, her personality begins to change and she becomes much more aggressive and violent. Finally, at the end, Pepper Ann is able to break through to her and snap her out of her obsession, after which Janie delivers her presentation on the potential risks of violent video games.
The actual game appears to be a 2D sidescroller, apparently drawing some inspiration from Contra and some from games like NARC. Pepper Ann describes the game as "a renegade Green Beret boldly disregarding U.N. peace initiatives to wage a one-man-war against the sinister General Zohn!" The player takes on the role of the Green Beret, in a jungle environment, fighting his way through waves of enemies toward the final boss, General Zohn. Zohn appears to be a military dictator, with some degree of mutation.
Although Pepper Ann mentions the game's one-man-war, the episode shows us that it also has modes for two and three players, as by the end, Janie, Pepper Ann, and Milo all play cooperatively, each with their own unique character. Friendly fire is a feature of the game, since Janie kills Milo's character when they are nearing the end level and he is wounded.
The game has at least 38 levels and features numerous weapons, including guns and flamethrowers. There is also the ability for players to call in airstrikes. The characters always play the game using light guns, rather than controllers, and at one point, they upgrade to the Wimp Blaster 700, which has rapid-fire multi-directional shot capability and comes complete with memory chips for night vision goggles and laser sighting!
No one in Hazelnut has beaten the game and, although Janie is about to defeat General Zohn, Pepper Ann talks her down and out of her mania just before she actually does the deed. So the game still remains...unbeaten.
