(Video Game) Is Modern Warfare 2 Terriost Stage too Much?

Kinda hard to pull that one off when there's far too many people who would say that and *not* be kidding.

 

It also might be noted that the majority of things for which there are laws against are scientifically proven to be detrimental/harmful, especially to youths.

 

Did it have to be in there? no. Are any of us who have played it going to head out to the airport and shoot people? no. DD you are obviously a decent parent in looking out for the well being of your kids but it is not your or our responsibility to be responsible for bad parents, that is what this boils down to.

The game is not meant for kids, the rating says that, the cover would indicate that. If we should take away everything not meant for kids which could lead them down a poor path do we get rid of alcohol, violent TV and movies, p*rnography etc.? All these things kids could get their hands on with bad parents, just like with this game but why should the rest of society lose something we don't mind just because there are inept parents in the world?

I am not saying games should have stuff like this in them but just saying I am sick of the 'what about the kids' complaining about things that were never meant for them in the first place.

 

Did you think the same when you watched Schindler's List? Or Saving Private Ryan? Games are heading in the right direction...

 

There's this....

....And also the fact that many adults keep the things I mentioned in their homes. Laws or not, my point is that you cannot shield your child from everything you might personally find offensive as a parent. Personally speaking, if a friends parent had a p*rn stash when I was a kid, we found it. Same with booze, smokes, R rated movies on VHS, HBO, and Showtime, and I'm sure a host of other things my mother would have had a stroke over had she known about.

Also, law or not, those "company policies" are enforced by every retailer I know of and require a proven of-age ID in order to purchase, so the effect is the same with video games as it is with p*rn, smokes, and booze. Do some retailers' employees break the policy? I'm sure they do....And I had a Vietnamese liquor store sell to me and all my friends when I was a teenager and I know I'm not the only one.

At some point you have to trust your kids enough to adhere to the morals and values that you've taught them, and should they deviate, you are free as a parent to punish them as you see fit.

But dammit I'm an adult, and if I want to buy perfectly legal and maybe even questionable material, that is my right as an adult and as an American. The rights of parents to not be offended ends with the individual next to them.

 

For the last time...movies are a passive experience this is interactive.

It doesn't matter, clearly you guys don't have an issue with it.

I do...let's see if it sparks any debate in congress.

I have no issue with people over 18 or even 17 playing, but the rating systems in our industry is not enforcable, it is voluntary....

DD

 

Oh no doubt it will.

Anyone willing to stand up to the knee-jerk alarmists will be committing political suicide.

It's just more slop for the pigs at the Capitol to feed on.

 

What I find hilarious is that the previous 5 Call of Duty games are A-OK for the kids to play, despite having you kill thousands of German/Italian/Japanese/etc soldiers. Killing is ok as long as they're bad guys. The 6th title comes around with a small segment showing a less-desirable side of war and suddenly the game is a menace to children.

 

This.

 

Smug? No reason to be if so. I was merely pointing out that the things he listed that he wanted to equate prementioned logic with did actually have laws against them. It wasn't me who said "Yeah, well, cigarettes aren't sold to kids, so this shouldn't be either and there ought to be laws." I was merely stating a fact.

I'm not even saying there should be laws, if you read my earlier post. I just think the scene was unnecessarily included to generate shock value and sales, not make the game better, and agree that inclusions such as this could and probably will affect the industry.

Perhaps it's a fine line, exploring new simulation territory in terms of emotions and graphic violence in the name of either being avant garde or being shocking... I just don't see the scene making the game better, and think it would have been better judgement to leave such a scene out in these times. The game wouldn't have been any worse had they not included it. I guess that's my point. It's a bit much, in my opinion, but I will keep it out of my kids reach... again to address the op.

Should it require legislation? No. Will things like this make legislators take notice? Obviously. They're all about diversion from the real issues when they can be. This is all it takes, really.

 

Considering I just continued your point, then I could only be as smug as you were being.

So if you weren't being smug, then neither was I.

 

YES IT DOES!

DD, It is not about the gameplay. Like a good film, it is about being emotionally involved. "Mature" games WILL head in this direction for nothing more than artistic development, and a growing adult audience.

You say that a kid could buy a "Mature" game at another game store or the internet. Very true, but your kid could get his hands on any X-Rated material just as easily as he could buy this game.

What is the big difference between shooting opposing soldiers, and civilians, from a parenting point of view? Is it acceptable from a parenting standpoint to say, "You can shoot these people, that is perfectly A OK! But the people in the airport are off limits! I forbid you from playing this game!". As another poster already said, you can pass through the level without shooting at all. Are you condemning choice DD?

 

I disagree. Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List are absolutely not passive experiences. Films have changed peoples lives, Books too. Do you consider novels a passive experience? I have been more emotionally changed from Films/Novels than I ever have from an "interactive experience". But this game is a step in the right direction. Dragon Age as well...

 

I dont see how you guys can say that the scene was not important in the game. It was ABSOLUTELY critical because it develops your hatred for Makarov. Without it, the gamer has no real reason to go after the guy...you would just kind of be going after someone that is "bad" and doing what the game tells you. After that scene and how it ends, I could not wait to get my hands on him again. Without that scene, I wouldnt have been nearly as emotionally involved.

 

Exactly. Games that build up this kind of emotion are far and few between.

 

That's not the point I was trying to make. I was pointing to the fact that this is a game intended for mature audiences. Those under 17 have no business playing the game unless their parents approve, much the same way young kids should not be watching R-rated movies unless their parents have screened them and decided they are mature enough to handle them. There doesn't seem to be an outrage over young kids being exposed to violence and nudity when new movies are released that are intended for mature audience, but maybe that is because movies are a more established artform and video games still have a stigma of being seen as kids' games.

Sure, little Timmy can go over to his friend's house and play this game if they have more lenient parents, but that is the same of any type of media, especially with the presence of the internet. You can't censor the entire world in an effort to prevent children from seeing mature material, you just have to do your best not to sanction inappropriate material in your own home while simultaneously teaching your children proper morals and what is right and wrong.

 

Honestly, that portion of the game looked really boring.

You're just walking and shooting without any threats.. I don't even think you HAVE to shoot to win it!... til you get to the police parts at least...

The payoff at the end was brilliant though.

 

if you think the airport level adds nothing to the game, you clearly haven't played the game and have no basis to evaluated whether it adds or subtracts anything.

anyone who has played it understands exactly what it accomplishes, both in terms of plot and emotional impact on the player.

 

Dude, you apologize for a minor spoiler then follow it right up with a MAJOR one. ITS A TRAP.