"no russian"

[HoboJoe]

I thoroughly enjoyed mowing down innocent civilians. Why? Because I know it's just a video game and not real life.

[pureevil]

looks like a good game to me i would like to play it.i don't have any problem with content its just a game ffs not like its real.

[lordofduct]

There's probably a reason no one created this thread yet.

It's going to just be people saying the same thing over and over. We all don't mind the violence in videogames, some of us choose not to play those kinds of games, we don't think people should be suing or censoring, and lastly lets laugh or rage at the media for being doofuses.

/end thread

unless that is some random member I don't know about is going to get all offended by the game. In which case, oh dear... I don't want to be around when that happens.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

its just a game. If people saw this in a movie it wouldn't make news, this however will most likely be blown way out of proportion.

[Erik_Twice]

Also note that the ending is pretty meaningful. However most will not make to the end because they will be calling videogames sons of the devil.

[Jrecee]

Wait so the goal of the level is to kill civilians? Are you playing a terrorist or what?

[equalsign]

Wait so the goal of the level is to kill civilians? Are you playing a terrorist or what?

You're an American agent working undercover.

I might watch this Sessler's Soapbox for more info - link

But I agree.

/thread end

I don't think any of us are offended enough or trolls enough that any discussion is going to happen.

[General Chaos]

I'm not offended that this is allowed to be made. In fact, I would have a big problem if some law or regulation prevented it from being made. Nor am I "offended" that it has been made. I do, however, think that developers need to grow up. They (and some in the gaming community) complain about not being taken seriously, and if this is an attempt to gain respect as an "art form" then things have a very long way to go.

I could understand this as a scene in a movie (albeit probably a lot shorter) but in the context of an interactive piece of entertainment it just seems gratuitous and immature. So no, this does not offend me as a person but it makes me cringe as a gamer.

Also let me note that I don't think games need to be "mature" to be taken seriously. They are GAMES after all. I think something like Littlebigplanet is serious stuff (artistically). This is sophomoric hyper-violence masquerading as compelling, mature storytelling. Give me a break.

[Jrecee]

I'm not offended that this is allowed to be made. In fact, I would have a big problem if some law or regulation prevented it from being made. Nor am I "offended" that it has been made. I do, however, think that developers need to grow up. They (and some in the gaming community) complain about not being taken seriously, and if this is an attempt to gain respect as an "art form" then things have a very long way to go.

I could understand this as a scene in a movie (albeit probably a lot shorter) but in the context of an interactive piece of entertainment it just seems gratuitous and immature. So no, this does not offend me as a person but it makes me cringe as a gamer.

Also let me note that I don't think games need to be "mature" to be taken seriously. They are GAMES after all. I think something like Littlebigplanet is serious stuff (artistically). This is sophomoric hyper-violence masquerading as compelling, mature storytelling. Give me a break.

I agree completely. Rockstar is a perfect example of this. They are trying so hard to convince everyone that GTA is somehow a bridge between games and movies, and that it's some lofty artistic endeavor. But most of the game is just filled with over the top swearing and bathroom humor.

[J T]

I think we as gamers need to stop using the argument of "it's just a game." This argument is applied to every single complaint about videogames. Too sexist? Just a game. Too violent? Just a game. Racist? Just a game. It's not so much an argument as a way of saying "I'm not listening to anything you have to say. Shut up and let me play my videogame."

I think it's time that we were honest with ourselves and said, yes, videogames have an impact. It's not as simple as "OMG! I played Modern Warfare 2! Now I'm going to go shoot up an airport!", as some sensationalists might argue. But even if there is no one-to-one relationship like that, our experience with videogames (and other media) do affect how we think, how we feel, and in turn they do even affect our behavior. If videogames DIDN'T do that, then they wouldn't be any fun and they wouldn't stand a chance at ever being considered art, which many of us advocate for. I think it is worth examining ourselves and asking (even if this is just a game) why am I attracted to this particular type game and how does playing it affect me? What does it mean to play a scene of terrorizing a Russian airport? If we really understood that, we might be able to better explain ourselves to non-gamers than by simply shunting the conversation with the tired old "it's just a game" argument.

I must admit, I personally find this to be the most shocking thing I have ever seen in a videogame, and I'm no stranger to gaming violence. This is on a whole other level than State of Emergency, or Grand Theft Auto, which also involved killing innocent civilians. I'm not sure how to pin-point what I find so unnerving about this, but the methodically slow and calculated movement of the killers, the defenselessness and panic of the victims, and the cold blooded nature of it all contribute to disturbing nature of the scene. What's overall so disturbing about it is that I can imagine something like this really happening, and by taking the first-person perspective, I feel it almost forces the player to imagine the emotionally numbing misanthropy it requires to execute an act like that. It's a mindset I don't feel comfortable getting into and it's frightening that people are capable of shutting down and killing in such a way, especially when they have political and military backing. The only other game that has come close to leaving me feeling this disturbed is Manhunt, which I can't stomach to play for more than maybe 30 minutes because it makes me feel guilty for even playing it.

Another aspect to "no russia" that sets it apart from violence in other games where you kill randomly (State of Emergency, Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt) is that this isn't a game where you expect that to happen. It's a military game. You expect to be shooting soldiers in battle. You don't expect the game to ask you to gun down civilians in an airport. Now, yes, it is fantasy, but the game designers are asking you to imagine brutally murdering innocents and they didn't tell you that you would be doing that when you bought the game. Now, if you want to progress in the game, you have to do this. Some people don't want to even imagine themselves in that role. It's easy for them to avoid a game like State of Emergency where the basic premise is that you will be killing innocents, but in Modern Warfare 2, it just kind of thrusts you into that position without warning. That somehow just doesn't seem fair to me.

Honestly, this clip has largely reduced my interest in playing Modern Warfare 2. Even though I have no doubts about my psychological stability, I don't enjoy pantomiming the massacre of innocent civilians in such a realistic manner. I do, however, think the end of the level adds an interesting layer of depth to the game. If you didn't make it to the end of the clip, as they finish brutally laying waste to anyone in their path and head out of the airport to make their escape, one of the russian terrorists turns around and shoots your character in the face, explaining that once the media sees a dead American terrorist at the scene, Russia will surely want to go to war. This violence was only to beget more violence and you have been betrayed. The fact that this terrorism was a political manipulation to stir up a war between the USA and Russia makes the act even more despicable, but it also begs the question of where is the line between random violence and military violence? Why do we usually feel military violence is usually more justifiable, when it is just as brutal, and sometimes instigated for just as random of a reason? So, there is a point to be made, but is asking the player to play the role of the terrorist the best way for this game to make that point? I don't know.