By Oliver Motok
Every so often, we are reminded of just how far the game industry has to go before it gains the respect that, say, the film industry enjoys.
Granted, progress has been made. Things aren’t quite the same now as they were in 2005, during the infamous “Hot Coffee” scandal of Grand Theft Auto III. And thanks to a certain fellow being disbarred, we don’t hear quite as much courtroom squawking about videogames and their corrupting influence on the minds of children.
Getting to the point, though, and as you might have guessed, I’m here to talk about Modern Warfare 2’s “terrorist” scene, which has been the subject of much scrutiny in both the gaming and the mainstream press lately. To fully understand the discussion, the scene should be described in detail.
During this level, you’re actually an undercover CIA Agent, working with the game’s main antagonist, Vladimir Makarov. The premise is simple: you, Vladimir, and two others walk into a Russian airport and begin mercilessly gunning down civilians. No one is spared, and no resistance is offered outside of a few terrified security guards. Once that’s finished, you and your three companions successfully escape in a hijacked ambulance.
Understand that this is all fully playable; it’s not a cutscene. To say the least, it’ll disturb you. There’s a reason why the game gives two different warnings that the sequence is possibly offensive, and allows you to skip it without penalty.
Is Modern Warfare 2’s “terrorist” scene worthy of discussion and scrutiny? Sure it is. It can be a very upsetting scene, and it’s certainly not something seen before in the world of videogames. However, the tone of both the media and the gaming press seems to phrasing the question as “should the scene exist at all.”
If this fictionalized terrorist attack had been a scene in the next Michael Bay movie, nobody would have batted an eye. If it had been featured as a cutscene in Modern Warfare 2, nobody would have noticed. However, because it’s a playable sequence in the game, people are shocked. Why? Because it’s something they’ve never seen before. And it’s all too easy to fear what you haven’t seen before, now isn’t it?
Stephen Totilo of Kotaku was recently on MSNBC, discussing (or at least attempting to discuss) this very scene. During the segment he said something that I agree with 102 percent: “I think a lot of people look at videogames as children’s books.” And he’s entirely correct – despite how far we’ve managed to come, the general consensus still seems to be that videogames are a child’s pastime. So, when Modern Warfare 2 has the gall to present players with overtly adult material, the world is left wondering how to react.
Naturally, though, as gamers we have a different opinion. Videogames are proven to be a pastime that all ages can enjoy. Modern Warfare 2 has an “M” on the box for a reason – the content of the game is designed for a mature audience. The so-called “terrorist” mission was meant to be experienced by a mature audience. This being the case, then, the question of “should this scene exist” is rendered moot.
There are multiple reasons the scene is beneficial to the game. For one, it’s a guaranteed crowd-shocker, sure to cultivate attention and motivation from the audience. Even hardened gamers who think they’ve seen it all will surely be stunned, and that’s saying something.
Secondly, the segment acts as a major plot point, and it characterizes the main villain, terrorist leader Vladimir Makarov. Sure, it characterizes him as a black-and-white evil bastard, but regardless, it gives a face to the name that players will hear time and time again throughout the campaign. Secondly, it’s this attack that triggers the entire war that the game is based around. In other words, it’s not there simply for the sake of having a “terrorist” level – it’s a very crucial part of the story.
And finally, Infinity Ward is to be praised for embracing the interactive medium to it’s fullest. This is what all games should strive to do. Franchises such as Call of Duty and Uncharted understand that it’s not what you see, but what you do that defines the gaming experience. Naughty Dog could have simply crafted a cutscene for the train sequence of Uncharted 2 – instead, they designed two entire levels in which the player was forced to traverse it himself. Infinity Ward could have put together a hollywood-quality CGI scene that showed the terrorist attack, but they forced the player to experience it firsthand. Controversial as it may appear, it’s simply the best way for videogames – an interactive medium -to tell their stories.
Video games are all about the interactive experience. It’s the single unique advantage that games have over other storytelling mediums. So, should Modern Warfare 2’s terrorist level exist? Absolutely, and hopefully both gamers and developers alike will view it as a solid example to follow. Eventually, the world will get used to it.
The Expected
Modern Warfare 2 Sells Nearly Five Million Copies in 24 Hours
Uncharted 2 Sells Over a Million Copies
Ubisoft Claims that Prince of Persia Could Surpass Pirates of the Caribbean
Oh god, I’m exhausted. Seriously. In a time of crazy work schedules, this week has been a little bit extra. But, unlike Riddles, I still love you enough to give you your weekly dose of Scatter Storming. Still, don’t expect much, this won’t be an epic. Let’s get to it.
The Expected
Multiplayer rocks. It really does. I was quite skeptical, but it works, and it’s completely awesome. It’s annoying at times, sure, especially when your head keeps getting jumped on, but that can also be used as a technique to more easily get to certain areas. It’s also very balanced. If you’re playing with players far less skilled than you, they can just press the A button to float in a bubble to where the other players are. You can’t just have everybody just press A, though, you need at least one skilled player to make any progress. The result is that the skilled players still get the better power-ups, they still find the secret areas, and they don’t get annoyed by less skilled players bringing them down. Sometimes it’s just fun to goof around, however. Even in co-op, all four of us were laughing our asses off while riding Yoshis and spitting one poor soul back and forth between us. It’s a huge relief to see that even with all the measures to incorporate newbies, the hardcore Mario fans truly will not suffer. The play session also showed that the very strong Mario level design is still present. I am beyond excited to test out all these new levels. Even the first world proved that legitimate challenge has not been abandoned.
Before yesterday, I honestly couldn’t recall the last time I sat down and played a game from start to finish, without taking a single break.
Wow. People really DO live in Murfreesboro. There were at least a hundred anxious gamers waiting in line outside my local GameStop last night. Thankfully the line moved quickly, and I was soon back home, testing out local multiplayer with Mr. Babasick and Mr. Lipinski.
I’m about to try out New Super Mario Brothers Wii. I’ll be back with impressions, to be sure. But that’s not it for this week! I’m also getting the chance to try out Link’s Choo Choo adventure this Thursday. It’s a bit of a Nintendo preview week for the Ethos half of Riddlethos. I hear Riddles is loving Modern Warfare 2, and you’ll probably be hearing from him soon, whether you want to or not.
