Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 - Anticipation and Controversy
From 'murder simulators' to homosexual references, Infinity Ward, the developer behind the 13 million copies of Call of Duty 4's; have been taking quite the heat with its upcoming Modern Warfare 2. The most prominent controversy behind the game is the inclusion of a airport massacre by the actual player. After the tutorial in the first Modern Warfare, the story immediately begins with a tense, five minute introduction in which the player is dragged out into a crowd and is assassinated. Seeking to intensify the narrative, the campaign of Modern Warfare 2 places the player behind an armed terrorist at an airport. However, it is up to the player themselves if they wish to kill any of the defenseless civilians - or to even play this scene at all.
Activision, the publisher of both Call of Duty games, responded by stating "players encounter a 'checkmark' in which they are warned that an upcoming segment may contain disturbing elements and they can choose not to engage in the gameplay." Activision also notes that the company stresses the Mature-18+ ESRB rating, both on its box and in advertising. It has also been rumored that choosing not to kill civilians will have positive outcomes later in the game. Video Link (Warning: Contains Violence)
Only a few days later, Infinity Ward fell into another rut with its release of a viral video depicting Cole Hamels, the Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, giving a public service announcement about 'grenade spamming'. For those unfamiliar with gaming jargon, 'grenade spamming' either involves randomly throwing grenades or continuously throwing extensive amounts in one location - often considered cheap tactics. Infinity Ward managed to pull the video extremely early to minimize the backlash - not because of the video's profanity, but because of it's psuedo-service announcement: "Fight Against Grenade Spamming". The title intentionally spells out FAGS, which in most online gaming, is used devoid of its actual meaning; or in other words, it is often just another insult people shout behind faceless characters. Video Link (Warning: Contains Profanity)
The last shocking news, mostly for 'hardcore' gamers, was the decision to remove dedicated servers from the PC version of the game. With the rise of online console multiplayer, it has always been a core concept of computer games featuring player hosted servers. These servers provide friend, or 'clan' support, that allow for user specifications and modifications, called 'mods', to the game. And in the past, these servers were extremely important when internet connection speeds were a problem (ie dial-up). The removal of this has prompted more than 75,000 signatures for a petition in a matter of 2 days after the information was released. Interestingly enough, online petitioning has has very mixed results for gaming, ranging from absolute silence from companies to prompted responses from the company.
And while some may call the controversy as means of garnering more attention, nothing can describe the $150 Prestige Edition that contains functional night-vision goggles. I kid you not.
