Australians Fighting over Modern Warfare 2
When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 hit store shelves down under it received a MA15 rating by the island nation’s Classification Board. One disgruntled lawyer, Michael Atkinson, who just happens to be South Australia’s Attorney General, is unhappy with the rating. Atkinson has frequently been fodder for the anger and angst of video gamers in Australia as he has fervently opposed the country’s classification system, claiming that they continually have tried to slip games under the radar.
In the case of Modern Warfare 2, Atkinson really thinks the game needs to be dealt with more harshly, and has appealed to the Classification Board stating that the game should be banned altogether. His logic can be summed up simply:
I worry about any game that encourages gamers to perpetrate extreme violence and cruelty on screen, but this game [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2] allows players to be virtual terrorists and gain points by massacring civilians. Expecting game designers to be responsible by not glorifying terrorism will always lead to disappointment.
Those sound like fighting words to me, but considering that the game is having similar troubles in Russia, Atkinson’s concerns may not be so unfounded. I guess the question here is simple: Has Modern Warfare 2 crossed the line, and gone from fun, realistic action to an offensive simulation of terrorism?
Source: Kotaku
That mission when played as a terrorist was a little bit disturbing. BUT!! I liked the feeling it gave me. I’m not talking about the kicks from killing civilians but the awkwardness and quilt from doing that. I think its good for games to be bold and try new things. Games that brings up moral thoughts and arouse feelings is like an art.
let me remind that its 18+ so only mature should play it and you can drop disturbing scenes out if you choose.
Will it courage people to terrorism? Well if your not mentally ill then I think no.
Why would Russia be offended from the game? There are movies, books and other things that put russia under bad light.
I agree %100 that doing morally ambiguous actions, to understate it a bit, in games is a good way to try and grow as a person. Sometimes we grow most by experiencing things that we would never do in reality in a controlled environment such as a video game or book. That is definitely one of the great things about art. I think part of the problem in Russia was the terrorist’s attitudes and personalities, and the other part of the problem was simply the mass killing of simulated Russian civilians.