Modern Warfare 2 going to far?

[Explodingsims 3]

Modern Warfare 2 Trailer Criticized For "Going Too Far"

Andy Chalk posted on 7 October 2009 1:00 pm

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The Christian Science Monitor has taken issue with the shocking imagery of the "Infamy" trailer for Modern Warfare 2, suggesting that the events depicted in the video and the game might be going too far.

(If you haven't seen the video and want your Modern Warfare 2 experience to be completely unspoiled, you may want to stop reading now. Consider yourself warned.)

As expected, the Modern Warfare 2 trailer that debuted on Sunday night was gorgeous and action-packed; somewhat less expected, I would guess, was the depiction of a blasted and burning Washington D.C. as a battleground upon which U.S. forces were struggling against an unknown foe. To me, as a gamer (and a confessed non-American), it was frikkin' awesome, but Andrew Heining of the Christian Science Monitor has a somewhat less enthusiastic take on it.

"In the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2... the gallant mansion reduced to rubble doesn't belong to some crazed separatist dictator hellbent on all kinds of nefarious acts. Instead, it's the White House," he wrote. "The scenes of post-apocalyptic scenes of carnage play out not in some fictional town in eastern Europe, but in Washington D.C. itself."

He admits that this isn't the first time that D.C. has been blown up in the name of entertainment and, with an obligatory swipe at Grand Theft Auto IV, suggests that Modern Warfare 2 may not actually be any worse than anything else put out by the gaming industry these days. "But this is one of the first times such striking imagery has surfaced since 9/11, when the idea of widespread destruction on US soil was suddenly thrust into reality," he added.

"Games based on current events are seeing something of a surge," he continued. "But something tells this writer there's something of a difference between a cartoonish Flash game where the object is to try to hit George W. Bush with a shoe, and one in which the destruction of a major U.S. city - in near photo-realistic detail - plays a central role."

Of course, this isn't the first time the U.S. capital has been blown up in "near photo-realistic detail" in a videogame, either; as numerous people have pointed out, Fallout 3 let players tromp all over the "Capital Wasteland," including a lead-n-lasers quickie tour through the crumbling remains of the White House. But Fallout 3 was set in the aftermath; only Modern Warfare 2 will, presumably, let you fight in the city as it burns. Is that going too far? Is the depiction of Washington D.C. in the throes of destruction inappropriate or is it merely, as the author himself put it, "striking?"quote>

[Duke87 1,070]

Okay, seriously, that's what they're all worked up about?

Real cities get destroyed in games and movies all the time. And it's not a big deal because it's not real.

[hamsterTK 93]

Yeah I don't care either

[Explodingsims 3]

Originally posted by: hamsterTK

Yeah I don't care eitherquote>

Then why'd ya post? 

I mean, I find it hilarious that they're getting worked up over a virtual city. It just seems so stupid to say that you can't have realisitic war in an American city. What's really more concerning is that they're trying to use 9/11 as justification for this, saying that becuase of that we're not ready to see this kind of destruction.

[Legosim 14]

I know its just a virtual city, just think of spawning a tornado or a robot in simcity and I dont hear anyone complaining

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[townscape 0]

What next ? Call of Duty : Warfare of the Future: Apocalypse

[frdrcklim 139]

Gone too far is such a negative word. It's more like they took it to the next level.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,939]

This is pretty comical. They aren't complaining about the gratuitous photo-realistic man slaughter, but rather where said man slaughter takes place?

Not that I care about the violence ( I loved COD4 and Fallout 3 etc.) but someone seems to have their priorities backwards.

Ga'darn critics!

-Todd

[Jazzmaster 716]

lol.  who cares?

[lordtoddonius 2]

Wow, I like how nobody seemed to care that in COD4 a middle eastern city was nuked. that seems a lot worse to me [since we are apparently taking events in a video game seriously]. And Yeah this is nothing new so I don't see the problem anyway, i actually think that it makes the game more interesting.

[LastTrueChamp 196]

There have been plenty of games depicting violence in real cities but when it happens in the US everybody gets up in arms about it. I don't know if its just me but some americans seem to have this notion of their land being some pure sanctuary away from all the bull in the world. Geez its a game not real life.

[your_adress_here 11]

Bunch of wussies. Who are they, anyways?

[lordtoddonius 2]

Don't you know, America is the Holy Land

[Kryptowhite 9]

Those of us who were alive in 1812 aren't strangers to seeing DC burn down. You youngin's can be so sensative sometimes.

[geek12 0]

Never mind Fallout 3 was a ruined DC. It also included the surrounding area. I don't think it's that bad, i mean poor new york gets destroyed in movies, games, Tv shows, all the time.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Kryptowhite

Those of us who were alive in 1812 aren't strangers to seeing DC burn down.quote>

That was in 1814.

[GMT 389]

So, just to get it straight: It's ok when half of Germany lies destroyed and ablaze in like a billion WW2-Shooters, always with the grande finale in tearing apart the Reichstag, but now that DC gets blown to dust and there's some action-packed firefights going on around the White House, it's like the big no-go?

Hilarious. Simply Hilarious.

Not to mention that there's quite some apocalyptic movies where highend visuals give us the impression of an NYC buried under 200feet of ice and snow and LA torn apart by earthquakes and tornados, NYC, DC, LA and any other big city blown away by some terribly big alien vessel or even the whole planet torn apart by a truckload of disasters ... (I could go on forever) it is ok, but if a game does it it's not ok??

come on, get a life you CSM guys

[fukuda 351]

... It's not exactly the first war game to do so...

Games based on current events are seeing something of a surgequote>

Has Washington been nuked recently?

[Jamonbread 222]

CANADA BURNED THE WHITE HOUSE IN 1812!

this is nothing new, they should be happy its only a virtual white house this time

Anyway ya, whatever. So as long as its some other country's government symbol or whatever its ok. That critic is a bad example of an american.

[SomeRandomAmerican 5]

People are idiots. I've actually heard more complaints about the biblical verse on Cain and Abel that was recited at the beginning, but perhaps thats because I browse the Infinity Ward forums to see the incredible idiocy that goes on there. The day it came out, only two types of threads existed: why DC being destroyed was so terrible and made someone not want to play the game, or why the Bible reference in the beginning was terrible and made someone not want to play the game. Its all these idiots who have too much damned time on their hands and perpetually need a cause to crusade for.

Y'all catch all that?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Games that graphically depict war and carnage need to be made to go the way of child porn.  It is time to study war no more in our new century.  Let the carry overs of the last century fade away into history's lessone, but make sure this history is not forgotten.

War is not a game.  Hate is neither a game nor funny.

Nations that even consider war as any kind of a solution should be ostracized from civilization.  I am sick of people shooting at each other.

Glorification of war is the same as legalizing child porn IMHO.  War mongers should be sent to a small, inaccessible, deserted island.

[Larks2242 251]

I find it funny that this would anger anyone, considering war games have been around for many years now

[autumnsolace 0]

if they know what's good for them they'll sit down, shut up and deal with it. complaining about the game is free marketing for the developers and will probably boost sales, not to mention you may end up having the entire gaming community rallying behind it.

[Jazzmaster 716]

Originally posted by: Jamonbread

CANADA BURNED THE WHITE HOUSE IN 1812!quote>

Pretty sure that was Great Britian...

[Liberater444 11]

What i would think they were going after is the fact that MW2 has civilians in it. And yeah, since when is the destruction of some city for the sake of entertainment looked down upon? Have the CSM even HEARD of the plot line/trailer of the upcoming 2012 movie??? They must be losing their minds over that then........

[panthersimcity4 162]

"The scenes of post-apocalyptic scenes of carnage play out not in some fictional town in eastern Europe, but in Washington D.C. itself."quote>

That is totally ridiculous. I'm not even gonna start ranting about that one

But really, the whole thing is ridiculous. Are people so overly sensitive that even the mentioning of anything violent happening near home becomes catastrophically horrifying? If so, those people need to get out more.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: Yoshiisland

Originally posted by: Jamonbread

CANADA BURNED THE WHITE HOUSE IN 1812!quote>

Pretty sure that was Great Britian...

quote>

I'm with you on that one

[dylan386 0]

No... it was Canada....

[citiesxlfan42 27]

It's called sensitive critics. I don't care. I don't even play those games. Berlin or London gets bombed in video games and no one cares. If people were alive in 1940, they would see this stuff EVERYDAY!