George McGovern once said “I thought the Vietnam war was an utter, unmitigated disaster, so it was very hard for me to say anything good about it.”

This sentiment is far from an unusual one in the American zeitgeist. Which might be why the conflict in Vietnam seems so unable to have a popular and/or well-made game centered around it.

Perhaps, however, all that unpopular blood bath needed is the right developer and a new coat of paint. And that’s exactly what Vietnam ’65 intends to dish out. Developed by Every Single Soldier and published through Slitherine, Vietnam ’65 is a game for PC and iOS set in that distant, dangerous jungle of so long ago.

Far from the gutbucket, bro-tastic FPS style of many other games based on historical wars, Vietnam ’65 has the intention of highlighting the hazy middle ground of this war in Southeat Asia with a strategy style that centers around winning the hearts and minds of the local population. Instead of, you know: killing them.

The Beta was announced today, and signing up seems worthwhile, if only to see how well the project goes. If fairly lengthy list of cerebal war titles on their resume is any indication, Slitherine might be working on a title worth having a discussion about.