WARNING: This article contains minor spoilers.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few weeks, all you gamers out there should no doubt be frothing at the mouth over the fact that the latest in the uber popular Call Of Duty series - 'Modern Warfare 3' - hits shop shelves TODAY! (08/11/11)
Yes, queues of eager fans have been amassing around the world as thousands of shops put on 'midnight launches' for the most hardcore of fans (and there's a lot of them; it is expected that by the end of the first day of release, the game will have racked up an impressive 7 million sales!).
But, as is now becoming synonymous with the launches of these games - who by their very nature deal with sensitive subject matters such as global terrorism and extreme fundamentalism - this launch hasn't gone by without its fair share of controversies.
"No Russian"
2009's 'Modern Warfare 2' came packaged with a level entitled 'No Russian' in which you assisted a Russian led terrorist plot, wandering calming through an busy airport, picking off innocent civilians with your massive assault rifle. It was possible to skip this level, and players were given a clear warning upon starting up the game, it was not necessary to actually partake by shooting anyone in the scene (this player, for one, stood back and watched helplessly in shock), and the act itself was integral for sparking off the fictional Russian/American conflict integral to the game's bombastic plot, but of course it caused outrage.
Modern Warfare 3
Even before the trilogy's third game was released, footage included in the trailer, showing an London Underground carriage careering out of control under heavy arms fire and careening through concrete support pillars, came under much scrutiny. Perhaps the 'close-to-home' nature of these terror laden scenes has resonated somewhat with a select few games. But, there's more...
According to the Kotaku game blog: "[a] scene shows a family using a video camera to record their visit to London. Then a truck pulls up ahead of a young girl. The truck blows up, killing the girl and the family, and then it spreads poison gas through the air. The camcorder falls to the ground and shows the aftermath for a few seconds."
These scenes are sure to generate much negative attention for the game's developers Infinity Wards and the new-to-the-series Sledgehammer Games. But, should we take these scenes with a pinch of salt, perhaps respecting their context within the game, and their need within the story of the game? Sledgehammer Games' creative director Bret Robbins, speaking to VentureBeat, was quick to add the following:
"We wanted to show the effect of war. What happens if a modern American city gets attacked? What would that be like, what would you see? If you were walking down the street, what would happen? Civilians are part of that, innocent people are part of it unfortunately...
You don't do it just for the sake of blowing everything up, just for the fun of it. You just come up with scenes and moments that would make sense within the story...
Does this make sense? Should the characters be here at this time? Does this fit the plot? You want it to make sense. It can't just be gratuitous... It needs to be real missions; things that could possibly happen in the extraordinary circumstances that you're creating."
"Pushing The Boundaries"
And with Bret Robbins we entirely agree. Films and other visual medias are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is deemed 'acceptable' for audiences to see, so why shouldn't video games? They are, after all, the most lucrative media in the modern world, even eclipsing movies in terms of their net worth and saturation throughout popular culture.
Perhaps it is the immersive nature of these games, and the constant blurring of reality that cause the concern. Whereas when watching a film you just sit back and let it all wash over you passively, within a video game you are more often than not engaging directly with the onscreen action, basing decisions on what you see on your television and acting on them.
The Pull of Duty
No matter what your thinking on the subject, there's no denying that this next installment in the Call Of Duty franchise will no doubt go on to be one of the most successful games of the year, if not EVER. Tight action and addictive multiplayer means publishers Activision will probably be looking at another major Christmas bonus, an annual occurrence for the team we're sure.
Below is a report from a midnight launch of the game in London last night, courtesy of the good folks over at ITN News.
