The Most Brutal and Controversial Mission in Video Game History

When I hear the word "brutal" "in video game history, what comes to my mind is God of War, where Kratos slaughtered his entire family who were Greek gods, even extending to Norse mythology.

There is also Resident Evil 5, where Chris Redfield as the main character shoots and kills black zombies which are correlated as an act of oppression by white Europeans in Africa in the colonial era.

Those are some cases in video games that have controversial objectives. However, these "gods" and "zombies" are synonymous with unrealistic fantasies. So, I'm going to choose one of the missions from the Call of Duty franchise.

No Russian, the Most Controversial Mission in Video Game History

In the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 series, there is a very brutal and controversial mission called "No Russian".

You act as Alexei Borodin a.k.a Joseph Allen, a CIA agent who goes undercover to gain the trust of Russian terr*rist leader Vladimir Makarov.

The mission begins with a brief talk from Makarov in an elevator, he says, "Remember - No Russian." It means he orders his team including you not to speak Russian. However, the mission will end with a painful betrayal from Makarov.

This mission is called one of the most controversial in video game history until now because you're likened to being a terr*rist and participating in a mass shooting.

You can choose to slaughter the crowds of civilians at Zakhaev International Airport, Moscow. The depiction of acts of terrorism and mass murder committed by the protagonist is very clear here.

While many games such as GTA allow players to shoot and kill civilians without penalty, CoD: Modern Warfare 2 was the first game to have the player act as a shooter during the most intense attacks of civilians.

Because of that, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was banned in Russia. Gamers could still play it but this mission was eliminated, unlike the original version.

In Japan and Germany, the game will restart from the last checkpoint with a message saying "You killed civilians!" if you kill civilians. In the Japanese version, Makarov's words, "Remember, No Russian" were translated to "Kill 'em, the Russians" which was the opposite of the original objective.

In the official statement, Mohammad Alavi as Game Designer wanted the mission to explain why Russia would attack the United States, and create an emotional connection between the player and Makarov.

I'm sure there will be a lot of missions that have brutal and controversial objectives as technology develops to make a game more intense in the future. So parental advisory is required here.

Do you have your own preferences? Let me know in the comments below.