Infinity Ward Not Worried About People Comparing Modern Warfare 3 to 9/11

[Sovvolf]

In fact, if it didn't have the preface of "3NGLAND" I'd think it was showing gameplay footage of New York rather than London.

Ultimately it just stinks of poor research and indifference to authenticity.

This was a series that started off pretty down to earth if extreme, now things are happening that are just ludicrous, like driving a car through the London underground.

I think the poor research and indifference to authenticity will probably be more to do with time saving that anything else. What I mean by that is, they'd probably try to save on making new models and new textures with simply copy and pasting across. You know, put a sign that says "Underground" put maybe Big Ben in there somewhere (along with a few other famous or notable landmarks) and have a few Union Jacks laying around... There you go, we have London as far as the creators are concerned. Now just fill the rest of it with models from the New York level and hey presto we have a map.

Though no real excuse for the London Underground unless there's a station level in New York too and they just decided to copy that one. Could be wrong that... Hope I am because I'm probably one of the few people on this website that's actually sort of looking forward to playing it.

 

[brunothepig]

Were people with AIDS offended by the movie Philadelphia?

People weren't offended by United 93 because it was done respectfully.

Modern Warfare franchise is trash. Popular and occasionally quite fun, but still trash.

Well that's your opinion. I personally loved COD4, quite enjoyed the story, and I know people who enjoyed MW2 as well. Besides the whole "trash" and "done respectfully" being subjective thing, why does even that matter? As long as it's not actively poking fun at tragic situations I don't see why people should complain. If it is poking fun, well I could see why people would complain. I'd hope that was the only backlash.

 

[Woodsey]

Th3 insist3nc3 of r3placing 3v3ry 3 with a 3 is far more off3nsiv3.

9/11 was 10 years ago. Unless you knew people who died in the event or you were there, you're only hurting over the damage to the country's ego.

 

[Valkyrie101]

That's because there aren't any similarities, bar the fact that both instances take place in New York and feature violence and possibly explosions. It'd only make sense if the Twin Towers were somehow involved, which they won't be.

On the subject of London, has anyone else noticed the chilling similarities between the events of COD5 and the Second World War?

 

[Torrasque]

I wouldn't worry about it. Crysis 2 beat them to it.

Come to think of it, so did The Day After Tomorrow and Cloverfield and probably other movies or games I'm forgetting. It really didn't take very long at all for New York to go back to being everyone's favourite destructible environment.

Exactly.
I mean, <url=http://www.cracked.com/article_19259_6-mind-blowing-ways-starship-troopers-predicted-future.html>Starship Troopers already predicted 9/11, and V For Vendetta blew up Big Ben, so what does it matter what happens in games and movies? OMG GODZILLA WAS RAMPAGING IN NEW YORK. ITS ABOUT 9/11 OH NOES

 

[Cyrus Hanley]

Last time I checked, 9/11 didn't involve Russian Ultranationalists invading New York Harbor with submarines.

Anybody who tries to associates the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 with 9/11 is either an idiot, a troll or both.

 

[rossatdi]

But in the MW3 trailer in London, it showed trains in the Underground crashing/exploding, which is close to exactly what happened in the London Bombing.

As a Londoner who was working there then, I can safely say I do not care. You'd have to work really hard to get offended - although I am sure the press will try.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

But anyone who has ever been on London's underground should see how detached this is. I mean they are driving A CAR alongside the train... What the fuck? Also there is one very wide tunnel, as wide as a carriage is long. That is quite common on New York's metro but not the London Underground which displaces a minimal amount of earth, the tunnels are mostly singular and tight.


In fact, if it didn't have the preface of "3NGLAND" I'd think it was showing gameplay footage of New York rather than London.

Ultimately it just stinks of poor research and indifference to authenticity.

This was a series that started off pretty down to earth if extreme, now things are happening that are just ludicrous, like driving a car through the London underground.

Okay, that's a fair point, except for one thing: who gives a shit?

I hate to be the one doing this, but I absolutely have to. Is that seriously what we're going to complain about now? Lack of authenticity in a Call of Duty game?

It's not Metro 2033. It's one episode in the whole game. Who cares?

 

[wilsontheterrible]

I'm still trying to get over the fact that someone thinks Russia has the logistical and numeric capacity to invade the U.S. The U.S population is like...twice that of Russia, the U.S has half again more active duty troops and three times as many reservists.

It's only a video game though. So for all those haters out there I'd like to point out something. Infinity ward is giving us our God given right to beat the Stalin loving red vodka out of the red menace. If you've got a problem with that it means you must be a communist!

 

[ReservoirAngel]

Since when did 9/11 involve a bunch of pissed off Russians launching a full armed assault on the city?

The London issue... I can see it. I'm British and having trains exploding in the underground does raise certain horrible memories of the 7/7 bombings. Good to know that IW care more about making big statements about events that only mirror 9/11 because of the city it takes place in, than addressing the same concerns that have valid comparisons, just because those comparisons don't impact American audiences. Thanks for the consideration guys.

But as someone higher up the thread pointed out... their depiction of the London Underground is so wrong. It has massive space next to the train to drive a car down. Come on guys, the London Underground isn't an obscure thing. A few seconds of Googling would have prevented that stupidity.

Oh wait, this is Modern Warfare, where even basic locational accuracy takes a back seat to pointless explosions and stupidly over-exaggerated set pieces and gunfights that nobody could realistically live through.

 

[Straitjacketeering]

Props to IW for not feeding the morality trolls that seem to suck the fun out of everything and anything that may seem a bit over the line.

 

[Corporal Yakob]

Hold on, Russians took DC?!?
What the fuck was half of modern warfare 2 for! Didn't I stand IN THE WHITE HOUSE and set off a flare to announce to our aircraft that we'd retaken it?
I guess that arsewipe you played as in MW2 tripped and fell on his own bayonet, so there was nobody to lobotomise the entire russian attack force single-handedly.

Clearly the rest of the US Armed Forces aren't as competent as unstoppable God of War James Ramirez and lost the entire city as soon as that mission faded to black!

 

[Corporal Yakob]

Wait people were comparing levels in mw3 to terrorist attacks? As long as there is not a mission where we are flying a plane into a couple of large buildings then I dont see it.

Also come on UK you guys are supposed to be better then that.

Clearly the rest of the US Armed Forces aren't as competent as unstoppable God of War James Ramirez and lost the entire city as soon as that mission faded to black!

Ah yes Ramirez, sadly his skill paled in comparison to the unstoppable killing machine that was Sgt Foley.

How was Sgt Foley superior? He got you (Ramirez) to do everything!

 

[Richardplex]

Wait people were comparing levels in mw3 to terrorist attacks? As long as there is not a mission where we are flying a plane into a couple of large buildings then I dont see it.

Also come on UK you guys are supposed to be better then that.

Clearly the rest of the US Armed Forces aren't as competent as unstoppable God of War James Ramirez and lost the entire city as soon as that mission faded to black!

Ah yes Ramirez, sadly his skill paled in comparison to the unstoppable killing machine that was Sgt Foley.

Why didn't they listen? Why didn't they AIM DOWN THE SIGHTS? If only they listened this never would of happened...

 

[ImprovizoR]

Well in all honesty they have bigger things to worry about this year. Can you guess what that is?

 

[Corporal Yakob]

How was Sgt Foley superior? He got you (Ramirez) to do everything!

On the honey badger level I once saw him abushed by three russian soldiers, he fliped one over his back, knifed another and shoot the third in the face. Oh and during the whole thing he was STILL yelling orders at me.

Impressive individual incidents of personal "bad-assery" aside, without you to push forwards and complete the objectives, the Sergeant is perfectly content to hide behind a dumpster and take pot shots at endless waves of Russian infantry.

 

[Treblaine]

But anyone who has ever been on London's underground should see how detached this is. I mean they are driving A CAR alongside the train... What the fuck? Also there is one very wide tunnel, as wide as a carriage is long. That is quite common on New York's metro but not the London Underground which displaces a minimal amount of earth, the tunnels are mostly singular and tight.


In fact, if it didn't have the preface of "3NGLAND" I'd think it was showing gameplay footage of New York rather than London.

Ultimately it just stinks of poor research and indifference to authenticity.

This was a series that started off pretty down to earth if extreme, now things are happening that are just ludicrous, like driving a car through the London underground.

Okay, that's a fair point, except for one thing: who gives a shit?

I hate to be the one doing this, but I absolutely have to. Is that seriously what we're going to complain about now? Lack of authenticity in a Call of Duty game?

It's not Metro 2033. It's one episode in the whole game. Who cares?

Well Call of Duty first earned it's good reputation by being very authentic in comparison to the competition of its time. COD4 was a breath of fresh air as it had that air of authenticity to it, something that the only other FPS game that had tried that before had been WWII era FPS games.

Activision continues to bank on that reputation by continuing to use the name.

The very name "Call of Duty" it's not like some nebulous sci-fi name like 'Halo', it sounds like a very serious game about solemnly serving your country in the military. Whereas the series is clearly turning more into a Michael Bay production, it should have a name like "The Rock" or "141 Corps" or something like that.

Modern Warfare, that name as well is a term most often used seriously in serious conversations about military conflicts that are happening today.

As right now you can't seriously say you are answering a "call of duty" without sounding like a fantasist thinking it will include shit like chasing a subway train through tunnels in a pick-up truck.

The thing is this slide for Call of Duty has been gradual and alarming, changing into the very thing it was not as a reason for its popularity.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Well Call of Duty first earned it's good reputation by being very authentic in comparison to the competition of its time. COD4 was a breath of fresh air as it had that air of authenticity to it, something that the only other FPS game that had tried that before had been WWII era FPS games.

I'm gonna stop you right there.

No. No, it's not the reason why it earned its good reputation. It was mostly the incredibly responsive controls, a fairly fresh setting and the addictive multiplayer component.

CoD 4 wasn't authentic. It had you rushing against the clocks to stop nukes from destroying America. It had you shooting up an airplane FULL of terrorists and jumping out. That's not authentic, that's Michael Bay.

If you honestly believe that CoD's good reputation is because of, of all things, authenticity, why is there no such recognition for Battlefield 2, a game that gives CoD a run for its money in the "authenticity" department.