Reader/Listener Anatoly N. writes the following note regarding the banning of this game in Russia:
John, please watch this and tell me this game should be available in Russia. Bear in mind that in Russia we don’t have age differentiated rating for games & movies it’s our fault, i know.Also picture that game’s action is taking place in “US airport named after Osama Bin Laden”. But at 1:27 in the clip it says “Zakhaev International Airport, Moscow, Russia”. There is no such airport. It’s obviously named after Akhmed Zakayev the Chechen ex Prime Minister accused by Russia of terrorism. And even if we don’t care about this crap, this scene should not be in the game anyway. It’s too cruel.
This scene is ridiculously sick, I agree. But if you can actually watch it, it makes you cringe because there are too many airports that are crawling with lots of machine-gun toting security forces. Kind of creepy to think about what would happen if one went berserk.
“Kind of creepy to think about what would happen if one went berserk.”
- I was also thinking that even if the shooters weren’t security – just armed nut-cases — just how useful would the TSA security be?
I’m hoping someone does a special “TSA” version where all you do is walk around shooting* TSA guards while they shout “take off your shoes!”.
*And, seriously, I’m not advocating actually shooting anybody. It’s game. It’s not real. I love the TSA. I love Big Brother.
There are bobbies carry H&H MP5′s in England now. 800 rounds per minute in public?
“just how useful would the TSA security be?”
If the TSA is anything like what we have around here – slow and overweight – then at least you can use them to hide behind.
I’m honestly sick in my stomach… Those screams really do the trick for me… What next, an abattoir game?
This is no GTA. GTA has a kind of humor that’s totally absent here!
Bottom line it’s a GAME. Keep it in the context of it being a game. Also, you have the option to skip that part of the game. It is a fictional future where a war is sparked between the US and Russia. Is it graphic? Sure. Does it have a warning on it? Yes. Are you able to skip the mission? YES.
There are much bigger things to worry about instead of content in a video game.
Lighten up idiots. It’s a game that mimics real life. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. Go crawl into your little church corner and keep pretending you can stop the real world from the pulpit of your beliefs.
The game asks you a couple of times if you want to skip offensive scenes. I said “harumph, I think I can handle it…” with a grin.
And then, this scene.
For those that haven’t or won’t play – you have ZERO idea what is about to happen until that elevator opens.
It gives you pause. I found it disturbing more than offensive. Then, you suddenly are faced with a “uh, what should I do?” situation.
That’s the point.
Interestingly, my friends and I that played this discussed it afterwards (we all played separately) – and ALL of us walked around the airport firing off rounds into signs and stuff, so we wouldn’t be noticed by the bad guys. And, you can’t shoot the aholes, I tried.
None of us shot civilians. Then, when the fight turns back against the troops that come storming in, it was natural to resume normal game-play.
Masterful piece of art, IMHO, moving beyond just a game into making a grown man think about things.
well, i think it teaches a great lesson. you go undercover and you have to do this mission in order to get close to the guy and in the process you do something utterly terrible….and you end up dying. it looked to me like there was a little moral fiber in that when i played it…..don’t kill innocent people lol
Controversy surrounding this game will only help fuel sales. And the scenes are only disturbing because we’re reminded that we’re not truly safe. Suck it up or put your head under your pillow…it’s a game that is portraying terrorism by today’s standards.
I feel like doing somehting similar EVERY DAMN TIME I’m stuck behind some fat bastard at the post office or have to wait in a doctor’s surgery where a bunch of a-hole mothers think its okay for their spawn to run riot about the sick people yelling and throwing the (out of date) magazines everywhere.
Anyone who thinks the stuff in the clip was sick just needs to sit down in front of possibly any hollywood blockbuster made in the last 15 years and you’ll see much worse.
FUCK YOU Jack Thompson!!
This is terrible. Training the kids to kill, kill, kill will bring us a totalitarian America. The older generation will have to kill the younger generation to stay alive.
#32 you win the most effed up response of the day award.
Can someone make a mod so it can be McCarran Airport and we can shoot all the stupid tourists coming into Vegas? I’d never leave my PC. Or maybe just a GTA mod so I can run them over when they’re jay-walking on the Strip. Fucking tourists! Obey the traffic signals! You don’t want to end up in our shitty hospitals here.
It’s just a game people. And yes, I will be buying it once it comes out for the PC. Still have to finish the last one though.
Yes, it’s a game alright. Just as police & army battle simulators are a game.
RBG
Only a complete moron would think that exposing shit like this to a kid for years, won’t have any long term psychological influence on them, whatsover. How many of the kids are on (legal) mind altering drugs as it is…?
Most will be fine…
Re: # 16 shield2081… True it’s just a video game, but there’s a big difference in play-killing unarmed and innocent civilians, and play-killing armed opponents who have a fighting chance.
Too sicko for my taste.
I wrote to John because of his comment on tech5. I’m also sick and tired about “communist/soviet Russia ban” news.
My points about why it should be banned:
1) This level takes action in airport named after terrorist (allegedly, but still). It’s another dump of shit into minds of youth. And we should fight against it. If you think we shouldn’t – look up latest survey of UK students, which shows complete lack of history knowledge.
2) It is too cruel and cynic for an interactive action. And even for non-interactive. Didn’t see anything like that any movie/series.
3) In Russia, there is no ratings. So there is no way to prevent ANY kid to play the game (except completely locking pc up). Activision already acknowledged it and recalled the game. It will be republished without this mission.
If you think that “censoring” is dumb step fo Russia - look at german version:
PS: John, thanks for spellchecking. I know, my english sucks.
Jeez get a grip people. Ever seen Die Hard 2? Y’know, the one where the terrorists massacre civilians in an airport?
Y’know, where they cause a full jetliner to plow into the ground killing every man, woman and child on board?
Just good clean fun.
This level is an essential part of the (fairly OK) storyline of this game. It’s meant to be thought provoking, not gratuitious.
Boy is this an old argument, it’s as old as video games themselves. Abject violence in a politically incorrect context. Big deal! I got news for those of you that don’t play, and never explore the darker side of themselves through fantasy, IT’S A GAME. It’s not an educational experience, it’s a recreational one.
Of course, there’s always somebody there to try to censure your fantasies, all hypocrites. Everybody got at least a little darkness in their soul. Like it or not it’ll raise it’s ugly head, the question is – What are you going to do about it?