This post is about the level “No Russian” in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In the weeks leading up to the game’s release we were puzzled why it was rated an 18, all other Call of Duty games have been rated 15 and this one didn’t look any different. This classification information from the BBFC pretty much clears it up, I’ll quote it here but click on through for more details.
The ’18′ category was, however, deemed more appropriate for a particular mission in which the characteristics of the violence differ from the rest of the game. In this mission, the player has infiltrated the terrorist group and joins them as they execute an attack on innocent civilians at an airport. The violence is bloody and intense, and aggravated by the fact that, unlike other combat sequences in the game, the civilians cannot fight back and are massacred.
Footage of the mission they’re referring to is available here and as explained it’s quite shocking.
In this case I support the BBFC and the 18 certificate was justified. Why me? Of all people: a person who fervently opposes the censorship of games supports the censorship of this one. I contradict myself.
Of course I want to be shocked, I want to have my foundations shook to the core, my perceptions shifted, to gaze in awe and feel my spirit lifted (I’m not a poet). What I find issue with here is that Modern Warfare 2 has no artistic shield to stand behind. I’ve lived through the most beautiful adventures in games which immerse the player in wonderful worlds of magic and excitement. The most brilliantly written narratives make me genuinely care about the peripheral characters.
And that’s why Modern Warfare 2 makes me so sad. It eschews a good story, good characters and any shreds of what might be called art to put a gun in the player’s hand and scream SHOOT PEOPLE!! To help understand I’m going to use the example of Grand Theft Auto: IV, it’s a game which features the most outrageous scenes of casual violence. However, GTA: IV presents a parody of American society and presents how it forces people to commit horrible acts. It doesn’t literally force the player to do anything, the player is guided towards a vicious circle of violence and crime and the story charts his descent. On various points along the way the game exposes failings in American society which prevent the player from living a normal life. Modern Warfare 2 does nothing to justify the violence.
I also recognize that I haven’t played Modern Warfare 2, and that my dislike of the Call of Duty series does make me biased against it. A criticism made of the many politicians who pour hate down upon video games is that they haven’t played them. Taking all this into account yes, I’m a hypocrite, I’m biased and my arguments are made without first-hand experience. But I stand by what I say, that scene is both unnecessary and unjustified.
writers brother said on November 9th, 2009 , 9:25 pm
Yes you are biased, but if you were neutral it would make you a pretty boring blogger. People read blogs for opinions and reviews for neutral things. It is good you can voice your opinion as others are interested in it instead of you just saying it is amazing like a lot of other people say and think.
Rick Ashtray said on November 22nd, 2009 , 3:01 pm
You can’t be fervently opposed to censorship except for censoring things that you deem to require censorship. That is not being opposed to censorship, that is being in favour of censorship. You are either pro-censorship of anti-censorship. Anti-censorship except sometimes is the same as pro-censorship because the whole idea of censorship is that it censors things in exceptional circumstances.