Even if it's only fiction, gunning down innocents as a terrorist will always be controversial and we wanted to tap the pulse of our readers concerning this issue.
Not surprisingly (and I only say that because we gamers are often quick to defend our frequently trod-upon hobby), the majority of you believe the terrorist scene in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was little more than Infinity Ward's decision as a game designer, and people shouldn't get bent out of shape. After all, as soon as you begin to entertain thoughts of significant censorship in any entertainment medium, both the artists and consumers begin to get very indignant. And perhaps rightfully so. I will maintain that such a scene was completely unnecessary, in that it didn't do anything for the story and I am of the belief that we can indeed go too far. It's always easy to hide behind the guise of "art" while producing some truly horrific things, and contrary to the popular belief, I will never say that everything is "okay." In this particular case, I don't see the value in it and that's that.
But putting the controversial aside for a minute, we'd like to turn to a happier subject: next to Uncharted 2 , what do you think is the best PS3 game of 2009? We're eliminating Naughty Dog's title for two reasons: 1. it should be obvious, shouldn't it? 2. we'd love to give other titles the chance to shine a little; so many are falling under the shadow of Uncharted 2 in the PS3 camp. And while that makes perfect sense – the game is the best of the best – we're tryin' to be fair to other developers, here. So, what is it?
Ben, I'm curious to know If you have played MW2? Because I have many times and the level "No Russian" sets the stage for a full scale invasion of the United States and the 2 levels in Rio, which leads to Price being rescued and pretty much keeps the story rolling. If anything that one level is the main turning point in the story. Basically, knowing full well that you are a CIA agent Makarov uses the presence of your body to start a war between the US and Russia. He makes it look like the attack was perpetrated the the Americans. Shells found at the scene are linked to an arms dealer in Rio (they found fingerprints) which sets into motion another part of the story.
Could have achieved the same result with a simple assault against the security forces without a massacre of dozens of unarmed innocent civilians. Wholly unnecessary and it went too far. It troubles me that so many feel it' no big deal. When I told someone at work about it prior to launch, his immediate reaction was "cool". Just shows to me how bloodthirsty people really are.
Or, that it's just a game and they aren't real people with hopes and dreams, just pixels. Though I'm not going to try to convince you any further. Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion.
There are much worse things in movies and even books and people pay no mind to it. I dont get all pumped up about the scene, but i also dont get all bent out of shape over it. The scene exists, skip it or dont, no big deal.
bloodthirsty?
its a video game for peeks sake!
i dont see the problem, i dont see people running around shooting up schools after this 😉
i dont get the mentality of people these days.
its ok for a movie to show what ever it wants nothing is taking it to far.
take 1 quarter of that and put it in a game and the ultra conservatives will be b*tching about it for the next 6 months.
I saw and played that scene and the one after it. I know it's not necessary; if you wanted to use that scene, it could've been non-interactive.
Doing it wasn't called for, IMO.
You didn't have to kill anyone. And it had a huge role in the story because that is the twist that first hints at Shepherd's involvement. The twist itself as Mackid said was the reason that Russia invades America…
I got a little queazy when I played through it. To see it and the reactions in people's faces were emotionally challenging. You felt all sorts of guilty just for seeing it. So it is understandable for objecting to it but in reality to take it out or just say that it happened would take away from the enormity of the repercussions.
Last edited by Wage SLAVES on 11/30/2009 1:17:35 AM
It's a game man! Though the weak minded and disturbed could be influenced somewhat…
Q!
"i am home"
Ben, I hate to be rude as I really respect your work and you as a journalist but you haven't played the game completely and you haven't seen first hand how it has influenced the story. As someone with the Platinum trophy, I have played it many times (and it's predecessor even more) and can say that that one scene sets 2 shorelines in motion.
I'm getting tired of "FPS/multi-plat/Activision /whatever's popular" haters whining about MW2. It's an epic game. Get over it. You sound ridiculously out of touch now.
as many have said its just a game so i really couldnt care less about doing it…..it not like im doing it for real and there are many worse things in movies etc that u see… i felt it was added to set the scene on how brutal things like this can be and i think iw did something different like this to drive the story and bold movie but also as said above i believe it helped drive the story
I feel that part of the game was made to evoke emotion from the player. Much like David Cage has said he's trying to do with Heavy Rain. You as the player get to feel what the protagonist is feeling as he does what he has to do to fit in with Makarov. It evokes emotion on the players part and I think it was a good artistic decision in that respect. It's rare that a game makes me feel what exactly a character may be going through and MW2 did that for me on more than one stage. I have a good feeling David Cage and the rest of Quantic will do it better, mind you, but IW did a good job as far as I'm concerned.
Read A Clockwork Orange, now that is violent.
Well like Mackid says, its the pivotal reason for the whole game to unfold. Are you against it just being interactive or think it should have been just sort of stated in a backstory or what?
And for second best game is has to be inFamous, it was as addicting as crack, looked fantastic, and redefined the superhero genre.
Video games are becoming more and more like a serious art form. I highly doubt people would be so appalled if this were in a film.
if this were the plot of a film, nobody would have batted an eyelash.
I played that scene didn't really bother me much. Hell, I can't understand how BAD drivers in GTAIV are given a free pass when they basically mow down thousands of innocents from Broker to Alderney! I can admit that sh*t disturbs me more than this MW2 scene.
@WorldEndsWithMe – It was the plot of a little movie called Die Hard 2 waaay back in 1990. Watch it and count how many planes are blown up by terrorists. I believe at the time, it was the movie with the highest body count too. People were lining up around city blocks to get in and see it.
Now the Administrator of this site who champions gaming wants us to feel sheepish about MW2?!
Last edited by Hezzron on 11/30/2009 11:04:31 AM
I believe innocents get killed by the player character in inFamous as well.
Love Die Hard 🙂
I say Killzone 2. It was graphically superior to every console game out at the time (perhaps only bested by MGS4), & it's metacritic average is a 91. Way to set the tone for a great 2009 for the PS3.
I voted KZ2 just because i played it more than any other game this year. I think i'll be putting a lot of time into R&C, but KZ2 was just perfect everywhere and i would feel bad voting for R&C because im a huge Insomniac fanboy, lol.
Yes, Killzone2 all the way… this is undisputed…. G did a superb job… the engine is superb and the graphics and atmosphere are superlative!
Q!
"i am home"
Killzone 2, like most games/movies released early in the year, will unfortunately be snubbed when GOTY awards are granted.
For that reason alone, I voted for it, though I bet I would personally enjoy inFAMOUS, Batman, and ACII more (not played any of them YET).
Great list of games, though. The only ones I don't/won't own will be COD and SFIV and maybe Demon's Souls. And there are probably a dozen others that could be on the list (DA:O, for one).
Last edited by Fane1024 on 11/30/2009 6:05:32 PM
FPSs are pants, the end.
That's nasty chuck…but each to his own!
Q!
"i am home"
I think he means everyone buys them.
Meh right now im playing ac2 and killzone 2 . I think ac is better cause theres more to do compared to killzone. killzone has better graphics and online play but im an rpg kind of guy. Sure killzone 2 got a nice campaign mode too but it doesn't beat ac2's story mode. Ac2 is epic 😀
Demon's Souls…………
As much as I love Infamous and Killzone 2, Demon's Souls is SNES in next-gen form
It takes gameplay and design to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!
But right after this Infamous is right there with Demon's Souls
Street Fighter IV is in a different category, fighters don't get much love. But there's one game which literally revived the fighting genre again. Hands down the game I've played the most this year, that a lone says a lot.
—————-
It just feels so wrong to pick one…
Ratchet and Clank is a cartoony masterpiece too and Killzone 2 has pushed the bar in terms of what a REAL FPS storyline should be like. And the graphics, forget it!
Last edited by Scarecrow on 11/29/2009 11:17:20 PM
Snes my fav Nintendo console..yeah I can see why you say that. Demons Souls reminds me a little about one game I enyojed called Brain Lord.
@ Scarecrwo, your thoughts are just the same, two thumbs way up ;D
Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 11/30/2009 5:13:51 AM
what with the thumbs down? they must be from little babes that got owned by Tower Knight.
All this praise of Demon Souls has me wanting to pick this game up after I complete Dragon Age..
If Tower Knight owned them, I'd like to see them against Flamelurker..
i wouldent say unnecessary it showed you to what extent the "enemy" was willing to go to achieve the desired results.
and also showed what extent the US army is willing to go to so they can achieve their goal.
as for GOTY 09 thats easy.
multiplatform GOTY goes to assassins creed 2.
360 GOTY goes to assassins creed 2.
PS3 GOTY goes to infamous.
love that game so much, never have i found myself in the position of 6 months after release still praising it and wanting to play it.
normally i finish a game and dont touch it ever again, and think back meh it was ok.
but infamous has turned that on its head, about bloody time.
It's probably unfair, because it's at the forefront of my mind and I've yet to play anything else, but 'Assassin's Creed II' takes the top spot for me. Even with 'Among Thieves' in the mix.
Longevity is yet to be seen, but it's definitely the most exhilirating experience I've had with any campaign this year.
I'm torn between Killzone2 and Assassins Creed 2 for second best game of the year.
Spent 20 hours on Killzone 2 and getting close to that on Assassins Creed 2 but only half way through the main missions.
I loved Modern Warfare 2 as well and thought it was like a blockbuster game version of 24. Short, good looking, and intense (not unlike Keifer Sutherland himself?).
Always a place for popcorn in my opinion.
I'm playing Killzone 2 again just as a refresher and it's definately a lot weightier, darker, meatier graphics and more strategic than MW2.
The sci-fi story was good, however I have also enjoyed running around the White House shooting everything up in MW2.
Thats it, mind made up, Assassins Creed for me as the 2nd best game of the year.
Using those duel hidden blades on a couple of guards then finishing the others off with a giant mallet is priceless!
Im glad the majority don't find it ban worthy. To be honest I have no problem with difference of opinion as long as we can maintain an opinion itself. Censorship is a sin in my eyes.
Personally I think killzone 2 is better than uncharted 2. I'm wrapping up U2 and while it may be a "critically better" game I still had more fun with killzone 2. And that's what makes game of the year in MY book.
BRING ON KILLZONE 3!!!
I am with you Charger, just cannot wait for that Killzone 3 beast to roll out…
Q!
"i am home"
Personally I think there are *several* games being better than Uncharted 2. I understand your reasoning for leaving U2 out Ben, and the intent is indeed noble and fair, but your unreserved praise for that game may not be the de facto opinion…
Last edited by Beamboom on 11/30/2009 3:30:01 AM
Yeah it's still opinion but c'mon.. 100+ reviews and lowest score is 90/100?
😉
@Beamboom
It seems like there's hundreds of reviewers that feel the same about U2.I think you should just let it go already.Not everyone is going to like every big game that comes out; for example me detesting all the early Mario games yet I know that they are larger than life it self.
Oh, it's a good game, no doubt about that. Don't get me wrong. And for all I know maybe U2 would have been by far the most voted on. It may very well be. It justr felt kinda wrong for me, as a user, to be told "we know what your number 1 is. Now wote for number two".
But about the average high score, it reminds me of GTA IV. In my opinion it's the by far weakest GTA since GTA III, I feel no empathy for any of the characters including Nico, gone are all the jokes, crazyness and fun. GTAIV in my opinion, is downright *boring*. And as I have understood, I am not alone in this opinion.
Still, what game is rated the best PS3 game EVER in the history of PS3? Yup, that's GTA IV, baby. Shining at the top with a 97.31 *average* score based on SIXTY reviews.
So what I'm trying to say is, the reviewers are not *always* right. They tend to have a very technical approach when reviewing a game. And technically, GTA IV sure is impressive. Just as U2 is impressive visually.
Last edited by Beamboom on 11/30/2009 8:05:41 AM
Yea Banky A, and U2 stand with a 97.
Beamboom has just spoken my mind. However, you will never meet a reviewer who will agree with you.
Hard choices!
Killzone 2 coz' I loves it. But I wished I played the other greats.
Innocent people are killed in real life everyday. If games aren't allowed to have that kind of conduct then why is that sort of conduct condoned in real life? You may say yeah innocent people get killed in wars by accident, but the fact of the matter is that if there were no wars, then less innocent people would die. War is horrible and gruesome, just like killing a whole bunch of innocent hostages. It is just a game, if you dont like what is in the content, then dont play it.
Killzone 2
To me, the logic to pick Game of the Year or Best Game is quite simple.
1. FPS or shooters in general can never be GOTY or conisdered best games simply due to their "shooting nature" regardless the graphical power, that said, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, and Modern Warfare 2 are out of the picture ( MGS series are the only shooting game I accept, and it wins not because it shoots, but because its greatest story ever told and the strong and deep emotional appeal)
2. Kiddish or Cartoonish look games, Fighters and Sports games never win GOTY or the best game — for Kiddish and Cartoonish games simply lack matureness and the overall cool feeling; fighters and sports games lack the uniqueness and are usually repetitive, so that cuts Crack In Time, SF4 and MLB 09.
3, PSN games are easily out of the question simply because its smaller scale, that cuts Flower quickly.
The Real Contenders here are Batman, inFamous, AC2 and Demon's Souls. For Batman, while it is great, it is still a hero based game and the character is not new; for AC2, due to the boring repetitiveness of AC1, the fear is still lingering around, altho I know it improved significantly; so only two left: InFamous and Demon's Souls.
Now this is a tough decision, I will say they are two best games for 2009 in Action and RPG genre respectively. however, my love of RPG and the originality and the unique feeling delivered by DS let me unavoidably pick Demon's Souls as the best game for PS3 in 2009, and on top of that, it should stand very proudly as one of the very best for this generation ever.
p.s. we will get many shooters, many sports games, many fighters, many kiddish games, many sequels, but we will only have one unique, one of a kind Demon's Souls, nothing plays like it.
Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 11/30/2009 5:07:18 AM