Controversy surrounding MW2.

[NasAssassin]

I'm sure that you guys all already no about the mission in question.
No Russian was a mission mid way through the Modern Warfare 2 campaign that involved your character killing several innocent people in an airport, and you had to choice to skip the mission entirely if you didn't want to partake in it.
What are your thoughts on it? Should Infinity Ward have included it in at all, or do you think as they give you a choice to play through it or skip it completely it is OK?

 

[BTCGuru81]

The freedom of speech is what it is. This isn't a kids game. Parents giving their children access to a violent game with open social mediums are like parents who let their kids roam free in bar rooms. Oh wait, no one actually does that because it's grossly irresponsible. The scene is fine and was a necessary element to really drive home the point that you were dealing with a scenario that prompted a war. It was an "Arch Duke Ferdinand" moment. I think they went above and beyond giving people the ability to skip it.

 

[apriapism]

I remember when this game first came out and everyone was caught by surprise on it. They did have a warning for it so we were warned in advance, I for one thought it was an interesting level and feel some people should just not take it seriously, they did buy a game based around war after all. War isn't pretty.

 

[GreenCamino]

I didn't see any problem with the mission. You didn't even have to kill civilians if you didn't want to. I don't get what the big deal is, you've been killing and killing and killing all game long but now because the models are different and the situation is slightly altered it becomes such a terrible thing to some people. I know someone who skipped it and I thought it was just silly. If you skip that you might as well skip every R rated movie where an innocent person gets killed, which is pretty much every horror and action movie out there. I think it was right to include it and I guess giving people the right to skip it is right but in my opinion it is silly to skip.

 

[Thatguy1232123]

I don't see why it's such a big deal. There are games out there with far more questionable scenes and gameplay. GTA, for example, lets you pick up hookers to increase your health. God of War has a menage a trois scene with Kratos. There are other examples not sexually related i'm sure but you all get the idea. Doesn't mean I plan on going out and doing any of this. Haha

 

[Khronic]

People made a big deal about it, and many referenced to it when it came to unnecessary violence in video games. This whole mission made the plot for the MW2 campaign so much more real. Besides you can skip it, and even if you skip it on veteran you still got the achievement for it.

 

[BTCGuru81]

I didn't see any problem with the mission. You didn't even have to kill civilians if you didn't want to. I don't get what the big deal is, you've been killing and killing and killing all game long but now because the models are different and the situation is slightly altered it becomes such a terrible thing to some people. I know someone who skipped it and I thought it was just silly. If you skip that you might as well skip every R rated movie where an innocent person gets killed, which is pretty much every horror and action movie out there. I think it was right to include it and I guess giving people the right to skip it is right but in my opinion it is silly to skip.

The problem is that we gamers don't understand the mindset of people who don't game or to whom gaming isn't a native part of their life, and vice versa.

-WE- view what's happening onscreen with a detachment typical of younger people especially, who grew up with simulations of people walking about computer screens. We fundamentally separate in-game activities from real life because we intrinsically understand that we're looking at 1's and 0's. To the "non-natives", they look at the screen and see a human being being murdered. It's a fundamentalist point of view that comes from lack of experience and education about the medium. It's the same lack of understanding that drove our grandparent's generation to hate "the devil's rock music".

 

[thethirdeye]

It was one of my favorite missions in the game, period. First of all, it made the story line of the game seem so much more "real". Some say that the mission is not a good influence on kids, however, MW2 is rated M for mature, therefore there shouldn't even be a debate because you should be 17 or over playing the game anyway. Lastly, the mission gives you a choice to skip it. Even if you make the choice to play the mission, you don't even have to fire a shot.

 

[xlSynergy_imported3]

I think what they did was right. If someone would really get offended by that (I mean seriously, how the heck can you get offended by that), then they should give you an option. However, I don't think they should really just take it out of the game just because of some people that would get offended by it.

 

[samb222]

I think it was right to include it. It wasn't exactly out of context, and although you didn't have to play the mission to understand the story, I found it added to the experience. Putting the mission in the game certainly achieved what Infinity Ward wanted; more publicity.
The very fact that we're still talking about the mission years later shows that the fact it was made had a huge impact. Infinity Ward gained free publicity from it, and I personally enjoyed it.

 

[Danblu]

I definitively think it should be in the game as well as being obligatory to play. Games like other entertainment media are made with a certain vision in mind, the vision of their creators. Including sections like that one is part of the experience, it's required to pass a message to the player or a feeling, maybe to understand the characters or situations. We, as humans, have the ability to think critically, to evaluate information and process it, there's no need for hand holding in games, or protecting players from some kinds of more shocking actions.

 

[thethirdeye]

I definitively think it should be in the game as well as being obligatory to play. Games like other entertainment media are made with a certain vision in mind, the vision of their creators. Including sections like that one is part of the experience, it's required to pass a message to the player or a feeling, maybe to understand the characters or situations. We, as humans, have the ability to think critically, to evaluate information and process it, there's no need for hand holding in games, or protecting players from some kinds of more shocking actions.

Exactly, there is nothing wrong with provoking emotions like that in the player. Some people were just too offended by it, instead of capturing the experience for what it is supposed to be.

 

[SkinTight]

Yeah, i kinda felt guilty playing that mission. It was messed up that they included that part in the game.
I really didn't want to kill those people.

 

[ic3]

I'm with everyone else on this. It's really not a big deal, it's all digital. Just because the models are different doesn't mean you have to freak out. Some people are just looking past the border of reality and taking the extra step to make it seem like some criminal act just for including a horrid scene in a video game when the same can be found in thousands of movies.

 

[Dazje]

I think that it is quite obvious that some people ( ex. russians ) would get offended if they played this mission. That's why they added the skip option.

In my opinion, I think they did the right thing. I would get offended too if I had to slay people from my country.

 

[bradman1313]

I think it's fine, as they warned you beforehand and then gave you a chance to opt out of it at any time. I liked the mission, as it basically set up the entire story.

 

[xlSynergy_imported3]

I think it's fine, as they warned you beforehand and then gave you a chance to opt out of it at any time. I liked the mission, as it basically set up the entire story.

Yea, that too. It has to do with the story, so you might be a bit confused if you skip it. But yea, looks like I'm not the only alone here, almost everyone thinks that the warning was enough

 

[icebloodz]

Well I guess it couldnt be helped. I didnt skip it though I just wished I could more than just walk like Im enjoying a stroll through park. ya know. It was an important turning point that will ignite the war, thus paving the way for a next game.

 

[GoodGorilla]

You know what the funny part about it is? No one made you kill anyone while playing the mission. You could just follow the guys while they shoot people and avoid the securty guard shots. If you have a chance- try it out. But back on topic. I really didn't find any problem with that. The game is rated 18 or 16+ I think and people that age are mature enough to know it is just a game. Also Call Of Duty games in general don't have much gore. A little blood splats here and there, but that's all. A lot of movies that kids watch have a lot of more gore and parents aren't concerned about it, so why should they be about a game?

 

[NickJ]

This is so stupid. And the people who are claiming America is becoming too politically correct, are the very same people who want to shut down the gaming, and movie industry because their products are too violent or visually offensive. Can we say hypocrisy?