14 DAY TRIAL // Even before the release date arrived, Modern Warfare 2 was marked by controversy. The PC version of the game was set not to offer dedicated servers and multiplayer is limited to 9 versus 9.
The biggest point of discussion related to the first person shooter created by Infinity Ward and published by Activision is the controversial fourth mission of the single player campaign, footage of which appeared two weeks ago, that puts gamers in the shoes of a terrorist as he joins others in rampaging through a busy airport.
I've played a bit of Modern Warfare 2 over the weekend and naturally quickly got to the mission that generated so much controversy. Until that point, the game plays similarly to the first one in the series, with the first mission offers a shootout in Afghanistan, which manages to convey the chaos and the brutality of war and with a stomp through an aviation base that emphasizes a bit of covert movement.
But the terrorist mission really is something else, especially in its first half. The game actually asks twice if you want to experience it and I believe that all gamers, even those who might be offended and nauseated by it, should try to play it at least once. The reason? Walking at pace through an airport lobby watching other shooting civilians is as close as most of us will ever come to actually comprehending what a massacre means and what its effects can be on one individual and on the world.
My first instinct was to actually shoot the terrorists I was partnered with but there's no actual way of taking them out and “winning” the missions. You can only walk alongside them and not shoot as the killing happens and then switch back to shooter mode when the anti-terrorist troops make an appearance. The contrast between the first and second half of that Modern Warfare 2 mission manages to send a mission about violence, war and hatred. Too bad the game begins to fall apart after that.