My Opinion of 'That Level' in MW2.

When I say ‘That Level’, I’m sure everyone who has the vaguest of grasps of the videogame industry will know exactly what I am talking about. The Airport Level, dubbed ‘No Russian’ in the Single Player Campaign, has you partake (or not partake, as is your choice) in the slaughtering of innocent Russian civilians, and have a firefight with the Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti (FSB, the Russian Federal Security Service). It’s a terrorist attack, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind about that, but there appears to be a gap widening in the MW2 players, and indeed the non-players, as to why the level was included at all.

Some say that it was included for shock value. After all, Grand Theft Auto deals with shocking subjects and treads new ground every time it’s sequels are released. And it is partially that which gives it such notoriety, and therefore such a following. Even if the following is people that really shouldn’t be buying the game, it translates to sales nonetheless. There are no achievements for it, and you could summarise the mission in a wall of text. So why include it if only to get the attention of the media, and give it the ‘Controversy Factor’ that aids games sales almost as much as a good review from IGN or GameSpot?

Personally, I’m of the opinion that the level is there for several reasons.

Firstly, the storyline. The game centres around what I would call World War III; America vs Russia. But in order to make such a large War feasible in terms of the story, something has to happen that would be a diplomatic disaster. In hindisght, I would say that Makarov and General Shepard were working together to set this up. You play Private Allen of the US Rangers, although in the mission he is going undercover as Alexei Borodin. You kill civilians (or don’t), and you get shot at the end of it. Why? To leave an American corpse that can be linked to the incident as a terrorist. It puts the US in the picture, and incites the War that becomes the majority of the game’s Campaign.

But listening to this week’s episode of the Destructoid Podcast made me realise just how powerful that level is. You’re not shooting people that would kill you without a second thought. You’re killing men, women and children who want to go on holiday. You’re shooting people for trying to drag other people out of the line of fire. You’re doing something inherently wrong, and your mind is telling you to stop. But it proves just how powerful the game can be. You go along with it anyway. You feel a sense of responsibility for starting the conflict, and it just adds to the gamer’s conviction to fight and expose the truth. You think you’re doing the right thing, only for it to be turned on it’s head, and your presence in Makarov’s group starts a war between two nuclear-armed superpowers.

You played right into the hands of the bad guys. How does that make you feel? Guilty? Responsible? Indebted to those you shot?

Good. That’s how Infinity Ward wanted you to feel.