Call of Duty "No Russian"

[macelena 1,070]

I just tried COD Modern Warfare II in my cousin´s xBox 360, and played the level know as "No Russian". This level raised controversy worldwide because the player participates in a terrorist attack on an airport terminal, in wich terrorists machine gun a crowd of civilians. The scene is disturbing, disgusting, horrific, shocking, annoying. The trails of blood, the people screaming defenceless and crawling wounded, piles of bodies, etc. It reminded me of Beslan School, of 9-11, Dubrovka theatre, Fort Hood, Columbine, Madrid, London, of the bombings in Iraq or the shooting sprees of Mumbay, any place where innocents are slaughtered because somebody at the bottom of mankind dignity decided that they are to die.

 

Personally i think that this mission, wich made such an scandal, was probably one of the best in the game. Don´t get me wrong, i like the targets shooting back at me, but this scene, wich is immersive enough to drive anybody mad at the bad guys, hit the nail on the head about why they call it terrorism. A lot of innocent lives took away by cruel, ruthless murderers. A massive crime, worse than any other. If you don´t want to see it, don´t buy the game, but do neither feel sympathy for "freedom fighters", fight terror, not because of what you think of any political goal, but because it´s a crime.

 

I´ll better cut off, because i´m getting upset while i write.

Edited June 24, 2010 by macelena

[xclusiv8 35]

I so agree with you macelena. And this mission was not mandetory to make the game progress. They actually ask you if you wanna do it. I just cant stand people who want to controll what other people play and see. I hate cencorship.

[Slartibartfast 153]

I also hate censorship... for me provided there is an option to not watch/play/read age limitations etc nothing should be censored. I played this game from end to end and played the No Russian mission does this make me a bad person no does it make me want to go out and kill others no... It´s the liberals who want to ban fun or investigation of thinks that might be dangerous like skydiving etc but we do these things because our body is designed for it in this nanny stated world and blame cultured lawyers etc its the only way we get to experience new things...

 

DOWN WITH CENSORSHIP... sorry for shouting but I am with you on that... If I dont want to play read etc I dont do it... Simples Oh yeah sorry the Liberals dont like that though do they... Time to get me a motorbike so loud it makes my ears bleed...!!!

[Viggen 643]

I think the mission opened up the eyes of the average teenage player and gave them a better sense of what terrorism is and what a terrorist is.

 

The game's intended audience was mature adults and older teenagers. You can kill hundreds of civilians and police officers in Grand Theft Auto IV but that doesn't get censored. What was the point of censoring No Russian?

 

EDIT: For those who haven't read about the controversies of "No Russian", read here

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Russian#.22No_Russian.22_Mission

Edited June 24, 2010 by Viggen

[Gr.Viper 131]

NR was outright locked out in the Russian release. Not even a "Do you wanna play it?". Still I played the mission and found out that it a) feels a bit fresh b) is beatable without a single shot at civilians from the player. Even the first wave of cops is eliminated by bots and that's on Veneran difficulty.

 

04 ambulance was completely idiotic though (04 guys fix a gas main or a street light). So was the WTF mix of weapons used by the Reds. Some other completely retarded episodes include a single-seater F-15 yelling "Fox Three" and firing a belly pylon missile at a radio tower.

[JediMaster 451]

Looking for realism in CoD???

 

*waves hand*

This is not the game you're looking for.

Move along.

[cgold 0]

What I admire is that the game developers *did* install a menu saying that there was sensitive material in a certain campaign mode and they also gave a chance for one to say 'yes' or 'no' to play the un-edited campaign. If you want to see what war is really like (from the protagonist and antagonist sides), don't complain about the things you see if you say 'yes' to play the normal *unedited* campaign. Terrorism and war isn't supposed to be pretty. I do not agree with the behavior that this particular mission exploits, but it shows what its like from all sides.

[eraser_tr 29]

I really didn't understand what the fuss was about. Nor can I stand how sensitive people get over such things, or the complete irony that the same people will watch a disaster or slasher movie with the whole purpose being gratuitous death and destruction and yet they don't complain.

 

These sorts of unconventional sequences in games are what really moves them forward. Movies have been given so much credit for the messages they deliver, the emotions they convey and are treated as art. Games take what movies do passively and put a person right in the middle of everything, so they can be even more powerful than film, they just need to be taken seriously enough. The more a game gets under your skin and evokes emotions, the better. Otherwise, people will continue to think of games as super mario.

[macelena 1,070]

I really didn't understand what the fuss was about. Nor can I stand how sensitive people get over such things, or the complete irony that the same people will watch a disaster or slasher movie with the whole purpose being gratuitous death and destruction and yet they don't complain.

 

These sorts of unconventional sequences in games are what really moves them forward. Movies have been given so much credit for the messages they deliver, the emotions they convey and are treated as art. Games take what movies do passively and put a person right in the middle of everything, so they can be even more powerful than film, they just need to be taken seriously enough. The more a game gets under your skin and evokes emotions, the better. Otherwise, people will continue to think of games as super mario.

 

I agree 100%

[Gr.Viper 131]

So do I

Edited June 25, 2010 by Gr.Viper

[serverandenforcer 33]

Me and my supervisor play this game religously. We both liked how well the "No Russian" mission exposed the brutality of terrorism. I personally think the No Russian mission was able to blend in the reality of terrorism quite well. It is something that a lot of Americans are not exposed to and have no idea on how horrible it really is. In order for them to get a little glimpse of it, it has to go beyond a movie. A video game is the perfect way of delivering this horror for them to understand it a bit. They should be horrified and disgusted by it. The mission wasn't meant for entertainment but to expose a serious situation that constantly occurs on the other side of the world. It was done in respect for those who have had to go over there and witness it first hand. One of the guys on the animation team for this game is a friend of mine - Zack Volker. He and I talked quite a bit after my return from Iraq - this was during or post development of MW1 (can't remember which). I remember telling him that it is just sad how Americans really don't know how bad it is over there with the terrorism and criminal extortion using VBIEDs to get their way, and if they did know, they might, just might understand why it is so important for us to be there. Almost on a daily basis, I hear something go BOOM! outside of the base, and during our guardmount we get a sit-rep on what it was... usually innocent children were the victims. I sometimes wonder if the No Russian mission was inspired because of those conversations.

 

For those who complain that it's too violent for kids... well, there is an ESRB rating on the game which would indicate that kids should not be playing this game anyways and shame on the parent for allowing it. This game is definitely not for those under the age of 13. Those that are between the ages of 13 and 16 should be supervised while playing this game. That's all it takes to really curb this "video games are causing kids to be violent" crisis... parental involvement with their kids... which has been piss poor in the US. Parents hardly spend as much time as they should with their kids and that's where the real problem lies. If you let a video game to raise your children, well, you're going to reap what you sow; and the whole "I'm should not be held responsible for that" mentality is really getting old. It seems that more parents need to grow up more than their kids do these days. For those "Christian crusaders" that rally against these games... why not rally against irresponsible parents fist. Geez, it's not that hard to see where the problem is. Rant off...

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I've played it... and treat it like all computer games...just that..a game.

 

There's a vast difference between shooting up a whole load of 'pretend' civilians, and doing it for real.

 

I too am against 'most' censorship...the only one I don't want broadcast, is subliminal messaging in adverts etc...that could be dangerous, though isn't really a censorship issue I guess.

 

And, of course, censorship of what small children get to see

 

Lets not forget, that Dungeons and Dragon's was banned in many places...Rock Music was a message from the Devil..etc etc..... Games are the new 'evil that corrupts our children'...yeah right

Edited June 25, 2010 by UK_Widowmaker

[eraser_tr 29]

"Too violent for kids" Bah! I played Wolfenstein and Doom as a small child, and I'm not f***ed up because of it. I may be f***ed up, but the games had nothing to do with it I watch as my relatives try to shelter my cousins from anything with the slightest hint of violence or anything slightly mature than cartoon daisies with happy faces on them. One of them at 10, barely seemed any older than 5 outside of being taller, and that's a whole different branch of the family that isn't nearly as bad as the others. And I'm certainly not getting that old yet.

 

 

What does the VB stand for in VBIED?

[JediMaster 451]

Usually it means "Visual Basic" but somehow I don't think that applies here...

[serverandenforcer 33]

LOL... VB stands for vehicle born or vehicle based so with IED, it means vehicle born/based improvised explosive device. VBIED is pronounced as "v-beds".

[+Dave 2,322]

Umm its a game, get over it, is what I tell people. Sheesh the human race is turning into pansies. If a person can not separate a game from real life, then they needs to stay away from a computer and read a book.

[Gr.Viper 131]

If a person can not separate a game from real life, then they needs to stay away from a computer and read a book.

 

For most it would mean "read a second book".

[eraser_tr 29]

Aren't all car bombs IEDs by nature?...Well besides Ford Pintos.

 

Anyway, exposing people to the real brutality has to be done carefully, "No Russian" did it quite well, but that was offset by some of the almost propaganda like lines out of General Shepherd. Similarly there was a game "Men of Valor" for Vietnam that tried to be in your face, but came across as just cliche.

 

Did anyone notice in the original that it's location suddenly shifted from Saudi Arabia to Iraq on the map/mission briefing for the last level in the middle east where the nuke goes off?

[+Dave 2,322]

For most it would mean "read a second book".

 

How right you are.

[+malibu43 142]

I read about all the controversy about the level before I played it and...

 

...it really didn't move me either way when I got around to playing the game. It was just a game. The groups of pixels that I was pointing my group of pixels that look like a gun at were different from the groups of pixels that I usually point my pixel gun at, but at no point did it really strike any emotion in me.

 

Just a game.

[ignacioc91 101]

I just tried COD Modern Warfare II in my cousin´s xBox 360, and played the level know as "No Russian". This level raised controversy worldwide because the player participates in a terrorist attack on an airport terminal, in wich terrorists machine gun a crowd of civilians. The scene is disturbing, disgusting, horrific, shocking, annoying. The trails of blood, the people screaming defenceless and crawling wounded, piles of bodies, etc. It reminded me of Beslan School, of 9-11, Dubrovka theatre, Fort Hood, Columbine, Madrid, London, of the bombings in Iraq or the shooting sprees of Mumbay, any place where innocents are slaughtered because somebody at the bottom of mankind dignity decided that they are to die.

 

Personally i think that this mission, wich made such an scandal, was probably one of the best in the game. Don´t get me wrong, i like the targets shooting back at me, but this scene, wich is immersive enough to drive anybody mad at the bad guys, hit the nail on the head about why they call it terrorism. A lot of innocent lives took away by cruel, ruthless murderers. A massive crime, worse than any other. If you don´t want to see it, don´t buy the game, but do neither feel sympathy for "freedom fighters", fight terror, not because of what you think of any political goal, but because it´s a crime.

 

I´ll better cut off, because i´m getting upset while i write.

 

Couldn't agree more. That mission, although disturbing, shows what terrorism is, and sweeps the "romantic" view some people has about it, and terrorists as "brave men who defend their land from th invaders". I did not like the mission because of the killing of innocent people, and it's OK that you can avoid it without affecting the record.

[Abhi 3]

i fired at makarov (or watever the bad guy was) whoah mission failed.

[ignacioc91 101]

What about Zakhaev? He's dead, his son too. Any brothers or sisters?

[FalconC45 158]

If I remember correctly, he was praised as a hero despite being a terrorist in COD MW1.

 

Falcon