Sunday was a tough day for Eagles fans (like yours truly).

The Washington Redskins stymied the Eagles' offense all day long and led 10-3 late in the fourth quarter. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Eagles receiver Reggie Brown was stuffed at the goal line by a pair of Washington defenders.

And what song was blaring over the public address system at Washington's Fedex Field?

Oh No You Didn't.

The Wojahn Brothers tune is the theme for EA's hit Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

Cinema Blend, which picked up on the use of the Mercs 2 song, reports:

It's a tough song to describe; essentially it's a rap with piano accompaniment and a choir-style chorus. Somehow, all of these strange elements come together into a catchy masterpiece... it's pretty awesome that a song created for a video game's gotten this sort of mainstream attention.

Some pundits are saying that high profile GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has hijacked the Republican spotlight from John McCain.

No argument here.

But if you require proof, consider that Pandemic Studios is releasing two playable characters as DLC for its controversial Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. The characters are Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, not Obama and presidential rival John McCain.

Among other combat activities, Obama struggles with a tank commander before dropping a grenade into the turret. Palin, clad in a designer red jacket and fashionable black skirt, wields an RPG and beats a helicopter pilot into unconsciousness.

It's all very presidential.

G4's Adam Sessler has a video report (at left). Pandemic exec Tom Stratton offers an explanation, of sorts:

Mercenaries 2 is a game seemingly ripped straight out of today's headlines and fueled with the same type of over-the-top action found in the best summer blockbuster films. It only makes sense we inject the game with a spin on current affairs. The timing was too good to let pass.

Venezuelan government officials and others have protested Mercs 2's invasion narrative in the past about. Placing Obama and Palin in the game will likely generate another round of outrage from the Hugo Chavez regime.

Nor is this the first appearance for 2008 candidates in a controversial video games. Last month GamePolitics reported on the inclusion of Obama and McCain in a trailer for GTA knockoff Saints Row 2

Watch Adam Sessler's report here... Additional Obama/Palin Mercs 2 footage can be seen here...

A member of Great Britain's Parliament had harsh words for Electronic Arts after a marketing stunt for Mercenaries 2 gridlocked her district during the morning rush hour.

Hoping to draw attention to the game, EA gave away £20,000 of fuel at a station in North London. The Telegraph reports on the ensuing traffic jam:

A petrol station which gave away free fuel has been temporarily shut down after motorists flocking to its pumps caused traffic chaos...

 

Norman Tidiman, from Hackney... said: "I saw a girl who stopped because she wasn't going to make the lights, and the man in the car behind her got out his car and started to bully her.

 

Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone (left) was not pleased with EA:

Whilst a lucky few might have got some free petrol, hundreds of local residents have faced misery on their daily journeys this morning. They deserve an apology for being the victims of such an ill-thought out media stunt...

 

Trying to recreate Venezuelan-style fuel riots on the streets of London is completely irresponsible and downright dangerous...

An EA rep told the Telegraph that police ultimately shut the event down as too disruptive. Mercs 2, of course, is set in Venezuela, where petroleum is a huge economic force. As in a similar event held in Los Angeles last week, the station was decorated to match the theme of the game.

The BBC has more, including a video report.

Reuters speculates that tomorrow's release of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will renew past controversies surrounding the game's setting in Venezuela. From Reuters:

A video game depicting mercenaries storming Venezuela, which has been criticized in the oil-rich South American country as a blueprint for an invasion, will be released by a U.S. company this weekend.

 

The release is likely to anger allies of President Hugo Chavez, a Washington foe, who has in the past threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States.

However, as GamePolitics has previously reported, developer Pandemic made changes to the long overdue Mercs 2 in an apparent effort to appease Venezuelan concerns. EA spokesman Jeff Brown downplayed the political impact of the game:

All the controversy around this is kind of comical. At the end of the day you have to remind yourself it's a damned video game.

In 2007, an international group of religious leaders petitioned Bono, a Pandemic investor, to make the game less menacing to Venezuelans.

An EA press release for Mercs 2 touts the game's "massive, fully destructible Venezuela."

A group calling itself the Venezuela Solidarity Network has issued a press release celebrating news that Pandemic's Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has been pushed from EA's holiday release schedule.

According to the GameStop website, Mercs 2 is now set for a February, 2008 launch.

In March, the VSN petitioned Bono, a major Pandemic investor, to block release of Mercs 2, claiming it would deepen existing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments. Said Gunnar Gundersen, who coordinated the protest:
 

I wouldn’t want my sons to buy it and blow up neighborhoods that we can clearly recognize where their cousins, aunts and uncles live.  Still, at least the villain is no longer a Hugo Chavez look alike and the story line no longer mirrors actual international politics.

Chuck Kaufman, another spokesman for the group, added:

As reported by GameSpot, a group calling itself the Venezuelan Solidarity Network has called on U2 frontman, activist and investor Bono to stop production of Pandemic's upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

Bono, of course, is a principle with venture capital firm Elevation Partners, a major investor in Pandemic/Bioware Studios. As described by GameSpot's Tim Surette:
 

(Mercs 2) follows guns for hire as they help topple a "power hungry tyrant" in Venezuela. While no real names are used, protestors see the plot as a clear parallel to the Unites States' troubled relationship with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, and are labeling the shooter as anti-Venezuela propaganda.

The Venezuelan Solidarity Network is collecting support and signatures from a variety of religious leaders urging the cancellation of Mercs 2. A letter from the group says: