Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

By Ravi Sinha

I won’t attempt to explain the Mumbai terror attacks that took place almost a year ago in our native land of the saffron, white and green. Unless you were in India, you wouldn’t really understand it – unlike a 9/11 that took place over the period of one admittedly beautiful New York morn, 26/11 took place over a period of almost two days. In those several hours, we learned of Splinter Cell voice actor Michael Rudder being injured, the deaths of major industrialists and special operatives, and for those who cared, the delay of GTA IV for PC in India. And in those several hours, every person who wasn’t glued to their TV or walking an all-too quiet street in the afternoon, we had our lives changed. That we haven’t had a terrorist attack on that scale in almost a year is saying a lot.

And now a year later, the news arrives of Modern Warfare 2 featuring a level wherein five Ultranationalist terrorists enter an airport and begin mowing down civilians in a manner meant to resemble the Mumbai massacres. With Activision’s blockbuster worldwide release nearly coinciding with the anniversary of the attacks, I thought it best to summarize one Indian’s take on any controversy this is meant to create.

Fucking deal with it already (initiate Full-Rant Mode. Execute).

The original Modern Warfare had an opening sequence wherein you played the victim, President Al-Fulani, from the first person perspective. I couldn’t move or control my fate, letalone affect those of my aggressors. It was little more than a standard first person cutscene, albeit a personal that set the tone for the grisly combat to follow. Personally, it evoked memories of Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder while politically, it set the stage for what would become a mirror to the real world invasion of Iraq. The whole idea created a connection to the real world, further reinforcing the game’s realism.

As soon as I heard the basic details of this so-called Airport Massacre mission in Modern Warfare 2, along with subsequent news that it was skippable (same as the case for Al-Fulani’s first person execution), I immediately thought of a particular sequence in Die Hard 2. Here a SWAT team and airport officials literally march to their death at the hands of former US Army Spec Ops soldiers before John McClane heroically drops in to their rescue (for which more people die later. “Yippee-ki-yay” indeed, mother fucker). In terms of real world politics, the only thing I could connect it to was the 2002 Nord-Ost Siege in Russia by 40-50 Chechen terrorists, in which more than 129 hostages were killed. I also felt a nostaligic twinge for Reservoir Dogs. Maybe it was the suits.

Activision and Infinity Ward will most likely remove this portion from the game until the heat calms down. But if not, let’s make one thing clear: When I play Modern Warfare 2, I’m going to thoroughly enjoy killing all those civilians and leaving their bodies spread across escalators, elevators, and what-not. I’m going to love watching them crawl away helplessly before I pull the trigger, and move on to mowing down hapless security guards who haven’t a hope in hell of defending the innocent. Just like I loved shooting Ultranationalists at close range in CoD 4.

Just like I love dismembering and disintegrating Nazis in Wolfenstein, just to hear their terrible screams of pain. Just like I loved running people over in Grand Theft Auto 4 once and then driving alternately in reverse and forward to finish the job. Ditto for killing more humans by the second in Prototype in the most fantastically brutal. Did I mention getting a kick out of mass murdering in Smash TV, Serious Sam, Myth II and Robotron? I’m not a political prankster looking to get mileage out of playing off of people’s emotions. I’m not a hypocrite who believes games cannot undergo amazing revelations like cinema has with Asian Extreme cinema and New Wave French Extremity, simply because kids are “more susceptible” to picking violent games then watching violent movies (“because games are meant for kids” they say). I’m not some recluse who sees Lara Croft as more beautiful than any girlfriend could ever be.

And as far as violence goes – even if I get killed at the end or I’m a double agent in the game, even if I murder 200, 300, a billion innocent people (and seriously, if we want to play the realism game, how many strangers do you know who are completely innocent?), I’d still be able to wash my hands afterwards without uttering “Out damned spot!” even once. Besides coming back with an experience that I know I couldn’t, wouldn’t and shouldn’t ever obtain in real life.

Just like they told me a year ago about GTA IV because of the Mumbai terror attacks; just like they told me 10 years ago about Doom because of two extremely stupid kids in Columbine; just like they told me 17 years ago about Mortal Kombat for no good reason other than they were afraid of what they didn’t understand. Ironically, the game targetted will keep changing but the issue remains the same. And time upon time again, we must stand up and speak loud and clear to our easily offended species when we say “It’s just a game”. Seriously. Quit playing common sense catch-up and get with the program already.