I guess I was trapped under a rock yesterday, because some fairly crazy stuff about MW2 crashed, wave-like, across the internet. You can kind of take your pick of websites and articles written about it, but I'm choosing to include this one because of the fairly animated discussion that happened on the message board:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/28/new-modern-warfare-airport-murder-simulator-2-video-game-glorif/

I'm kind of torn as to how to respond to this on any level. On the one hand, COD4 was and is a game I love; I'm still of the opinion that it's one of the best action... anythings released in the last 20 or so years. By the same token, I'm a big fan of Infinity Ward, and anyone who takes big risks in this media age (any media age, really, but particularly when one out of every one and a half movies is a remake/adaptation/sequel/prequel/reimagining of something that was popular 20 years ago). On the other hand, there's a line, and this might be crossing it. Whether that's a positive or a negative depends on you, I imagine (I tend to like line-crossing, but more in the comedy realm).

I know I've never had a friend/family member/acquaintance that I've lost in an act of weaponized terror, and I've not been a victim myself (meaning I've never had a gun/bomb/etc. shoved in my face or go off near me - 9/11 happened for me, too), so I'm not coming to this with baggage that someone else might have. I've also never served, nor am I planning to serve, in the military in any capacity (I do have friends and family in uniform; I'm curious as to how they feel, but I'm not going to ask). This development isn't a dealbreaker for me and the game, but seeing as how I'm still trying to sort out my reaction, I figured I'd bring this up for anyone who'd want to comment on or discuss it. Maybe I can figure out how I feel by reading about how even more people feel.

[POST-SCRIPT:I realize it's weird to complain about sequel-itis when referring to MW2, but I think there's a legitimate difference between MW2 and Mario Party 8/any American adaptation of a British TV show (minus The Office)/every remake of an Asian horror film that's come to theaters.]

This actually works pretty well. You just see a terrorist attack on the news and it doesn't really phase you anymore. Now, you're put in the eyes of the terrorists themselves, forced to kill them, and it disgusts you. And you realize that it took some virtual people to actually bother you, and you wake up and figure out you were being a sick bastard and you remember that terrorists suck.