Game Brain: ‘Modern Warfare 2′ pushes buttons

By Brian Diefenbach
Western Herald

The “Call of Duty” franchise is famous for its semi-realistic portrayal of weapons and military engagements. From the beaches of Normandy in “Call of Duty 2” to the harsh sands of the Middle East in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” players have been everywhere and killed everyone.

They ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.

Infinity Ward’s follow-up to the blockbuster CoD:MW is “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” (that is, unless they decide to change the name again). Though it’s less than a week from its release on Nov. 10, screenshots and teaser trailers have still been fluttering about the Internet.

Kids will have MW2 on their Christmas lists; teens and adults will be waiting in line to pick it up.

Thanks to the Internet though, the biggest surprise in the history of the CoD franchise has been prematurely revealed.

A particularly visceral and realistic piece of gameplay footage was leaked last week, though it was quickly taken off YouTube and other sites. In it, a squad of terrorists takes over an airport, gunning down helpless civilians.

In the middle of the action is the player character, personally leading the terrorists.

Even veteran gamers were shocked at the footage. The entire scenario brings to mind the Mumbai attack from last year. The top-notch graphics probably didn’t help the sick feeling many got from watching the all too realistic gameplay.

The hubbub over a bombed-out Washington DC in MW2 pales in comparison to the controversy associated with committing terrorism in the first person.

The footage was no hoax. Activision, MW2’s publisher, acknowledged its legitimacy to news outlets.
Their explanation was quick to point out that the game features a disclaimer before the gameplay, and players can choose to skip it.

Let’s be honest here. No one who plays games like MW2 is going to skip the scene.

At this point, it’s hard to be certain whether the gameplay is a publicity stunt or a legitimate artistic expression meant to draw players into the game’s story. Either way, it throws a whole gas can on the flames of debate over violence in video games.

Thankfully, most games have overcome censorship and have made violence a legitimate part of the gameplay instead of a cheap gimmick. But is this taking things too far? When does a game go from entertainment to commentary? And is it an appropriate medium for such topics?

Certainly, the player isn’t meant to have fun playing as a terrorist. However, one can imagine juvenile young boys gleefully gunning down innocents. But there’s not much we can do to prevent little boys from being idiots. Is the gameplay meant to frighten adult gamers? Make them think?

I hope so. The battles of World War II, where the majority of the “Call of Duty” games take place, had two or three factions, all dressed in distinct uniforms. In “Modern Warfare,” the bad guys don’t wear uniforms.

From the majority of screenshots, MW2’s characters all dress in blacks, grays, and camouflage. Most of the time, there’s night vision goggles or gas masks obscuring their faces.

It’s become harder to tell friendly from foe. While I don’t consider the original “Modern Warfare” a great game, I was pleasingly unnerved by the fact that I often shot at comrades, believing them to be enemies.

Is that what MW2 is trying to do? Blend in more with the current climate of global terrorism? If it is, it’s a bold move on the part of Activision and Infinity Ward.

While controversy such as this is bound to sell more copies, the stigma won’t endear them or the video game industry to media critics, the government, and would-be censors.

It’s unfair to attack video games for portraying the same subject matter that movies have for the past 40 years now. We’ve come to accept all the sex and violence in movies with a weary sigh.

Heck, special interest groups get more worked up over smoking in movies than anything else. If anything, it’s the interactive manner in which the terrorism is portrayed that makes it more “real” than a scene from a movie.

Part of the problem is that many people see video games as entertainment for children only.
Disturbing imagery meant for mature audiences is seen as an assault on innocent children. Hopefully, as modern gamers become voters or members of elected office, our culture will move toward seeing video games as entertainment for everyone.Of course, not everyone should be exposed to certain content; that’s why we have a rating system.

The ever-quotable Mark Twain said that “censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” The terrorism in MW2 may be hard to swallow for some, but there’s no reason why adult audiences can’t experience it.

We Americans don’t like to acknowledge it, but war has consequences. If we can’t accept its portrayal in a video game, how can we possibly deal with it in real life? Keep your kneejerk reactions in check and actually think critically for a change.

Brian Diefenbach, a copy editor and columnist for the Western Herald, is a senior majoring in imaging. For more Game Brain, visit the companion blog.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Nov 4 2009. Filed under A & E, Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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