Before I begin this second take on MW2, I need to mention that I will be using a lot of spoilers. Pretty much everything discussed has to deal with the story of MW2, so please be warned before reading.

I wrote two weeks ago that I was displeased with the way Infinity Ward had incorporated the “No Russian” airport level into MW2. I didn’t understand how killing random civilians could serve the plot of the story.

Their official stance on the matter was that “No Russian” was included to, “Show off the real face of war.” After now having beaten the campaign in MW2, I think that is probably farthest from the truth.

To start off, the first level in the game has something that made me cringe. I turned to my left towards some stairs and noticed three soldiers chilling out with an MP3 player (or a cell phone, I wasn’t sure). Was this a cruel joke at how glamorized the Iraq War is in the media?

I’m fairly certain that no self-respecting soldier would just rip-out their cell phone during the middle of a battle. It honestly makes no sense, especially with enemies firing back at you. So either Infinity Ward is trying to make more than just a realistic statement, or they simply tacked on the level.

My beef doesn’t end there. When I got to the said level, I honestly had no strong reaction to it. Maybe this was because I was prepared for it, or because the plotline never really detailed who my character was. I simply beat a level and went, “Oh, I guess the controversy starts.”



I decided to take the “Good Samaritan” route and not shoot a single person. While cruising through the airport, I suddenly died. So I reloaded the checkpoint and realized that security guards can gun you down. Not only is Infinity Ward putting some kind of horrible trauma of war into their game, they are making damn certain that you have to sink to the terrorists level.

If I do not want to partake in the carnage, why am I forced to? What really makes me pissed off at this whole level is the ending. Your character simply gets killed because the terrorists actually knew you were an undercover agent (something I only knew from reading it online).

Once again I am forced to ask, “Why?” What is the point of giving me a gun and not letting me gun down the terrorists if I will only end up dead in the end? Makarov is right there; I can kill him and end this whole tragedy.

You may be saying, “That is counter-productive to the plot. Without Makarov, there wouldn’t be a game.” While that is certainly true, the game’s reason for me not being able to kill Makarov is that I need to retain my undercover status. At least just blatantly tell me, “You need to be a terrorist or else you can’t proceed.” It would be more truthful.

So I could maybe put that aside if the rest of the game at least showed a realistic depiction of war. Instead, Infinity Ward decided that MW2 was the game where they would throw in the kitchen sink. Every set piece is larger than life and honestly does nothing to show how an actual battle is fought.



There was also a lot of build up to the entire White House invasion sequence. I remember watching the last season of 24 and saying to myself, “It would be impossible for terrorists to actually invade the White House.” Well, somehow it happened (again).

The Russians (or someone, I honestly have no clue who anyone was throughout the plot) eventually launch a nuke into space and take out a satellite. This, in turn, destroys a large portion of the air space around the White House, causing debris to rain from the sky.

The game culminates in a level where you end up killing everyone indiscriminately. You see that Russian soldier over there? Dead. How about your former US team mates? Gone. It honestly makes no sense why you suddenly are killing whomever you feel like, even after watching Ghost and Ramirez getting gunned down by a supposed US General.

If you can get past all the ridiculous plot twists, moronic set pieces and extremely one-dimensional characters, then you definitely are a true gamer. You play titles for the actual gameplay and not some epic story arc.

Maybe I took Infinity Ward too seriously on their stance about “No Russians.” I really thought they may have had something great to back up their claims. Instead, I was treated to one of the most preposterous campaigns modes in any game I’ve played in the past decade.

Now, make no mistake, I’m not hating on the actual game of MW2. No, my complaints lie simply with the campaign mode. More importantly, my general hatred is at how unrealistic this game’s plot actually is, yet Infinity Ward simply couldn’t just tell us, “We added ‘No Russians’ for controversy’s sake.”

What I hope happens from all of this is that developers will see MW2 and think of ways they can better the actual depiction of violence in regards to plot. Video Games have long been the butt of many media scandals and I believe it’s time for that to change.

I really wish that Infinity Ward could have done that with MW2. Instead, we’ll probably just hear more and more about how awful “No Russians” is and how violent video games are infecting our children.