Modern Warfare 2

So, Modern Warfare 2 was released yesterday. I played it non-stop last night, and finally completed the single player game. It was pretty interesting.

For starters, this game series is ridiculously popular. It appears to have sold at least 4 million copies in the first 24 hours, which is insane.

The game is basically like a Michael Bay movie. You play as four different characters who are each interconnected to the same events. To summarize, Russia has invaded the United States, and CRAZY stuff is going down.

The game also has a controversial scene, where you literally play as an undercover CIA agent working in a terror cell in Eastern Europe. Fox News and some other media outlets are trying to spin it as a shocking thing, but I don't really see it. For starters, the game is rated "R." Stores aren't allowed to sell the game to anyone under 17. That being said, you have to treat a game like this on the same standard you would use to critique a rated "R" film. Against that standard, intense violence and psychologically or emotionally troubling content are permissible.

It seems like with this kind of story, media outlets usually do the laziest story imaginable; ie: think of the children! This is a weak argument. Games are just like movies, they have industry-imposed ratings. The FCC reported a study last year and found that among films, music, and games, the three entertainment media which carry industry self-regulatory content standards, video games had the highest percentage of retail compliance in only selling games to those who met the required age. Additionally, the average age of an XBOX 360 or PS3 owner is roughly 25 years, so the notion that this game's target audience is children is again just not true. Thats' like arguing that HBO should censor its content because kids also watch TV, and they might have access to the shows their parent's watch.

As for the substantive argument against allowing the player to take the role of a terrorist and shoot civilians in an airport, in my opinion the key distinction is that you don't "have" to shoot anybody. You can simply stand back and watch in horror as your terrorist comrades kill the civilians. The scenario has a major flaw, however. You can't shoot your terrorist comrades, or the mission ends. The game forces you to play through the entire airport massacre, at which point the terrorist leader reveals that he knows you are actually a CIA Agent, and he thens shoots you. The problem I have with Infinity Ward is that they don't allow you as the player to attempt to stop the massacre. I think it would have made a much more interesting point had they given you the option, and written a separate story progression. Instead, your only choice is to mow down civilians in the airport, or just walk behind your fellow terrorists, and do nothing.

Aside from that, the only complaint I have with the game is that the story was too fractured and chaotic, they don't transition between scenes well enough to give you a coherent idea as to how all the characters will eventually intertwine.

One surprising moment in the game is when Russia fires an ICBM at the United States, which detonates in the upper atmosphere causing a massive electromagnetic pulse (I think) to wipe out all electrical activity on the Eastern Seaboard. You witness this through the eyes of an astronaut as he repairs a satellite. You look up just in time to see an ICBM on the horizon, coming slowly towards the United States. When it explodes, the shockwave destroys the satellite and sends your mangled remains hurtling into space. It was rad.

If you buy this game, you should add me on XBOX Live. I will totally shoot you in the face in multiplayer.

XBL name: lawblob