Genre: First Person Shooter
Year: 2009
Developed by: Infinity Ward
Published by: Activision
Platforms: PC, PS3, XBOX 360, OS X, PS4, XBOX One
#80
Feeling Like: I’m not sure, at this point
I really wish I’d chosen any other day to explain why Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is among my favorites. November 11, Veteran’s Day or Remembrance Day depending on where you are is an important holiday, particularly if you have, or have ever had, family members serving in the armed forces. It’s a time of reflection, and I usually use it as an excuse to learn about Canada’s history and sacrifices in the World Wars. It is a humbling experience. Tim Cook’s duology of “At the Sharp End” and “Shock Troops” focusing on Canadian soldiers in World War 1 was a harrowing, brutal read. There’s a picture early on that showed men lining up to sign up to serve in Victoria, right on Wharf Street. I’ve walked past that building hundreds of times. Many of them were decades younger than I am now. It is sobering to think about, and while it’s a fascinating topic, the more I learn the more I wish I didn’t know.
So I’m not sure what it means that I typically adore war simulators. I don’t know if it should count as entertainment; I would never, for one second, actually like to be shot at or have a desire to dodge an incoming grenade. I would not like to kill somebody whom I’ve never met, or anybody for that matter. And while I’m conscious of my guilt, I still get a thrill playing a first person shooter that leaves me wanting more.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is one such example.
The history of Call of Duty will be very interesting to study one day, I’m sure. We’re in a much different period of time now than we were in 2009 and global conflicts seem to be losing their justification with each subsequent decade. What could possibly be worth the cost of so many human lives?
It must be very difficult walking the tightrope of who to make the villains in Call of Duty games, especially when Activision ensures there’s a new release every year. For a while, the Russians were the easy mark. Then China. Then the Middle East. But the more you label a specific group as “the bad guys” the more you risk alienating your audience. Plus, the stench of xenophobia starts to creep in. Not that I’ve kept up with the franchise, but lately I am seeing the majority of the enemies are usually labelled as extremists from a country, or terrorists and that’s much safer. We want to shoot the bad guys and not think about it too much. Right?
The campaign is only five hours long, if that, and I’m not one to even attempt Call of Duty multiplayer. So it’s safe to say the experience was short, but powerful. I was frequently impressed with the immersion, the voice acting was top notch and the scenarios left little room to take a breath. The gunplay is tight as ever, each shot fees like I’m handling the most destructive force on the planet. I’m sure gun nuts would be able to scrutinize the actual models and tell me what Infinity Ward got right and what they got wrong, but it would be lost on me. I’m here for an interactive Michael Bay-esque romp, not a documentary.
But the most notorious level, one that websites are still debating and may not even be included in the upcoming campaign remaster, is “No Russian.” Not many levels are so impactful that they require their own (lengthy) Wikipedia article, but after reading the basic premise, you can easily see why. Even reminiscing makes my skin crawl. I’ll let Wikipedia give you the rundown.
“No Russian” begins with the player in an elevator with Makarov and three other gunmen. Makarov tells the group “Remember, no Russian” – an instruction to only speak English; the group also uses American weaponry.[5] After exiting the elevator, Makarov and the other gunmen proceed to shoot at a large group of civilians at an airport security checkpoint.[3] The player then accompanies the gunmen as they walk through the airport killing any remaining civilians.[3]
“No Russian” is noticeably more graphic than any other level in the game – civilians’ screams can be heard throughout and the crawling injured leave blood-trails.[6][7] The player is not forced to shoot any civilians, however, and may instead walk through the airport as the massacre unfolds.[1] The game does not explicitly encourage the player to shoot civilians, and the gunmen do not react if the player does not shoot.[8] The player can shoot the gunmen, but they will retaliate, causing the player to fail the mission.[8] Once the player exits the airport, they enter a firefight with FSB-agents, some of whom have riot shields.[2] The agents must be killed in order to complete the level.[9]
At the end of the level, Makarov kills Allen, and reveals that he knew of Allen’s true identity; his goal was for Russian officials to discover that one of the assailants was an American, in order to frame the attack as being committed by Americans (hence “No Russian”), and for Russia to declare war on the United States.[3]
Yikes.
As soon I exited the elevator and saw innocent people just standing in line for security, as we’ve all done, I very quickly lost any sense of fun I was having. No chance I would shoot at anybody, but I was witness to the carnage. I’m not sure what it means to sit through something like this, when attacks like this have happened in real life. You can’t even attack the bad guys here, since you’ll fail the mission. And you’re just a pawn in a grand scheme anyway – you get killed at the end regardless of your actions.
It’s a harrowing level, one I’ll never forget. Infinity Ward made the smart choice to give players the option to skip the level entirely. At the time, I remember thinking that felt like a cop out. Like they were trying to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted controversy, they got it. But they still wanted to give players an out so they couldn’t be fully criticized. In retrospect, it was the smart decision but it certainly gave me pause. I started to ask myself deeper questions about why I enjoyed this type of video game. As graphics get more realistic, scenes are no longer obvious fantasy and may hit too close to home for me to fully enjoy them.
Hmmm.
I appreciate when video games make me feel; it’s a select few that really stand above the rest with memorable moments like “No Russian”, for better or worse. I don’t blame people for hating this level, or Infinity Ward’s inclusion of it. It wouldn’t surprise me, nor would I cry afoul, if the upcoming campaign remaster skipped the level entirely. The political climate is shaky enough and with Russian’s ongoing invasion into Ukraine, who the hell wants to play toy soldiers in this manner?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was a big box of empty calories, a sugar rush unlike any other snack. Smarter people than me can delve into why “No Russian” fails, or succeeds, but with the rest of the campaign as strong as it is and that one level hovering over the experience, I can’t put it any lower on the 500.
For further reading on the level, I recommend IGN’s article.
The 500 