Editorial :: That Airport Level

As most gamers will know Infinity Ward has caused controversy with their latest masterpiece Modern Warfare 2. The mission, “No Russian”, involves the player taking part in the mass slaughter of an airport full of innocent civilians whilst infiltrating a terrorist organisation. This level, whilst optional, is pivotal in the games story and sets the scene for the second half of the game.

I have spent time looking at the different arguments raised about how it has been put in simply to promote hype and infamy. Nicky Campbell even raised the issue on his Sunday morning question program in the UK. It was apparent from watching this program how uninformed, narrow minded and against games the large proportion of the public can be. One woman even insisted that the majority of people playing “these games” are aged between 13 and17. In actual fact  in recent studies it was reported that the majority of gamers are adult males between the ages of 18-35, of above average intelligence and income.

These points aside I can understand Infinity Ward’s decision to include the level. By making the player carry out the act it does give you more empathy and insight into these kind of terrorist atrocities. The fact that they went ahead despite knowing the backlash that may come from some, shows how far developers have come in following their vision rather than simply falling in line.

As I said, the option does exist to skip this level entirely but you will still be shown a narrative of the events that take place to allow the story to remain cohesive. However, the game is rated as it is for a reason and I think that by skipping it you are missing the point. It is supposed to show how awful and cruel real life can be, and the lengths some terrorist will go to achieve their goals. If they had made the level a cut sequence I doubt it would even registered as a blip on the public radar, but because its playable the mass media have jumped all over it.

I played the level on release day with little to no knowledge of the controversy and found it to be just another level in the game with set goals and objectives. I didn’t feel great about killing the civilians but I wasn’t shocked or outraged by it. Is it any worse than running over pedestrians in GTA or stabbing witnesses in Assassins Creed?

Maybe after spending the last 20 years gunning down Nazis, zombies and whatnot in games, I have become desensitized to the violence but I feel that as long as the game is certified correctly then adult content should be acceptable. If this had been a movie it wouldn’t even be mentioned but because its “evil games” again the outrage will roll on and on.

As said above the majority of gamers are adults and as with the likes of MW2 and the upcoming Heavy Rain, it’s nice to see developers making adult games, with grown up themes that push the boundaries. Let’s hope this kind of thing doesn’t stop developers from being brave enough to take risks and exploring society’s darker side.

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