A storm in a Modern Warfare 2 teacup

Right from the start, I'd like to warn everyone that the following word-vomit may contain spoilers for Modern Warfare 2. If you want to play the game without being exposed to anything important beforehand then you should click away.

Hello, everyone else.

Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward - PS3, Xbox 360) is, if you don't know, a realistic first-person shooter type game set in the present and involving missions to do all sorts of important things. Recently, the developers have stirred the dying embers of controversy via a video that was leaked online. The game footage shows a level where an airport is the centre of a terrorist attack, similar to semi-recent attacks in India. Innocent, unarmed civilians are murdered in mass quantities.

The devil is in the perspective. The player is cast as a CIA operative who is working undercover with the terrorists. Because of this, he (and therefore the player) is forced to participate in the attack. While you only need to kill the security guards to complete the level, the other terrorists will be shooting as many defenceless bystanders as they can. Not only are you powerless to stop them (lest you fail your larger mission), you can also choose to join them and gun down unarmed human beings.

Outrage has been prepared. Boycotts have been suggested. Sides have been taken.

On one side (let's call it the wrong side, just for fun) we have the moral crusaders. Their position is that the scene is abhorrent and crosses a line that should not be crossed. Showing such horrific events is bad enough, but to actually have control over them and become complicit in mass murder is definitely too far.

The other side says that the scene is sickening because it's supposed to be. Most people who play through the scene will be ill-at-ease with their role as a filthy terrorist, and that's the point. Just like a film may contain scenes which we may not agree with, games should be free to put us in situations we may dislike. And like any good piece of art, it raises big, scary questions.

Is it okay to kill a dozen innocent people to save a thousand later? What about a hundred? Does the end justify the means?

Can you still be a good person if you do bad things?

Why does killing imaginary people make real people uncomfortable?

Key to the whole scene is choice. The player has a choice in how to approach the mission, i.e. do they only kill when absolutely needed and risk their cover, or go all out, murder civilians and step right into their role as a terrorist. Importantly, you also have choice taken from you. To reach your goal and solve a larger problem you are forced to participate in a horrible event. You can't save the people in the airport, only decide how to handle that fact.

I think it's great that Infinity Ward has put this out there for people to discuss, argue over, and be forced to think about. I may go out and buy a copy, even though war games make me want to stick my head in a bucket of water, just to counteract the people avoiding it because it makes their brains sad. Here's hoping that gaming continues to mature and we see more unique ways of playing with the interactive elements.

And if you still don't like it, you can just skip it. But if the world ends up ruled by evil Russians just because you wouldn't shoot a few screaming women and children, don't come crying to me.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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