Call of Duty Modern Warfare II launches on October 28, 2022 and that means that it’s time to start the preparatory marathon of the Call of Duty campaigns. I have decided to be proactive and started last Monday. Perhaps I have sneaked in foresight, but God of War Ragnarök is not that far away either and it is another franchise that is not exactly short.
This week I’ve played the Modern Warfare Remastered and Modern Warfare 2 Remastered campaigns, and I want to make a break on the latter for this week’s experiential. A Modern Warfare 2 experience while we wait Modern Warfare II It’s not by chance.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign is much more than a shooting story
I love the franquicia Call of Duty and it has nothing to do with its multiplayer modes, including zombies and Warzone. I love her with all my soul for her campaigns, the stories she has told us over the years through characters like Captain Price, Soap, Ghost…
Modern Warfare, Black Ops, Ghosts, Advanced Warfare, etc. I’ve never cared what last name Call of Duty had because I knew I was going to like its campaign… Perhaps the latest Black Ops got out of hand and is a bit shitty, even Advanced Warfare with Kevin Spacey everything was fine.
Call of Duty gave a much-needed change of direction that saved the franchise from ruin with Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019), a game that is wonderful and that has one of the best war campaigns of the shooter genre. Captain Price returned, the modern setting, the conflicts inspired by reality, the secret operations, the moral limits and the harshness of war. Oh Piccadilly!
Considering what I’ve played in Modern Warfare (2019) and playing the crazy with Cold War and Vanguard, it’s no wonder I’m excited for everything that the game can bring. modern warfare ii campaign…and more considering the facts of Modern Warfare 2.
“Remember: No Russian”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) featured several memorable scenes: the white phosphorus attack on the Russian base, the terrorist attack on Piccadilly, the nighttime home break-in, and the interrogation of the family are a few examples; but they all fall short compared to no Russian
No Russian or No Russian is a mission that has transcended the Call of Duty franchise and is remembered as one of the missions most controversial and terrible of the video game industry. Other examples are found in Spec Ops: The Line with the white phosphorus attack. They are not hard missions on a whim. They have a role in the game and the narrative.
replay no Russian in Modern Warfare 2 Remastered at the age of 30, it has made me reflect on how unconscious I was and my lack of introspection in 2009. I do not say this in a derogatory tone towards me, the years have simply passed: I have grown as a person and life has made more sensitive.
The mission takes place in a russian airport during a terrorist attack perpetrated by Vladimir Makarov and his followers. You are an American undercover agent on an operation to spy on Makarov. Their plan is to blame other countries for the attack and that is why they tell you “Remember: No Russian“. In the end, Makarov shoots you to leave the incriminating evidence.
The mission doesn’t seem like much on paper, but things change when you see it and/or play it, because it goes through massacre an entire airport full of innocents and finally the forces of order who come to the call for help. It’s not nice and it’s what the game intends.
Nothing about Russian is a moral dilemma: to shoot or not to shoot?
The first time I played No Russian in 2009 I slaughtered the entire airport. My brief reflection was very clear: if I don’t shoot, Makarov realizes that I am a spy and kills me. So my life and the mission weighed more than the lives of the hundreds of innocent people at the airport.
It was a brutal experience and that already then made him pause the game after the mission to process what he had just played. However, it never really got out of my mind because I believed I had done “right.” It was the lesser evil, he supposed.
The point is that not long ago I spoke with a good friend (@madapls) who told me that he didn’t shoot when he played the mission. If I remember correctly, until the special forces start shooting at him in the final stretch of the mission. There are those who have completed it without shooting, but it is a litmus test for any patience due to a very regular AI.
And the argument my friend gave me was very simple: “well why not“. Behind these brief words is the opposite reflection to mine: he put the lives of the innocents at the airport ahead of his cover and the mission. The end is the same, so at least his character could die with a clear conscience.
So I started thinking about whether I should replay Nothing Russian. The attack of Piccadilly en Modern Warfare (2019) It brought tears to my eyes, so obviously I’m not the same person who was in charge in 2009.
Playing No Russian again in 2022 has been a tough experience full of impotence
You know what you’re going for when you replay the mission No Russian from Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. I did the mental exercise to forget the mission (obviously it’s an exercise, I can’t forget it at will) and I imagined that I was the character. I did a bit of roleplaying.
My reflection was the following: I am an infiltrated agent. “If I don’t shoot, they’ll know something’s wrong. If I shoot, I’m going to kill innocent people.” I came to a middle ground: I’m not going to shoot unless I’m shot. My life is worth as much as the one who shoots me. It’s not a very good argument, but it’s a situation where you can’t not act!
The first burst of machine guns and assault rifles against the innocents waiting at the security checkpoint is the most painful moment of the entire mission. It starts at the top, levels off, and then comes the final twist. And it is precisely horrible because it is a wall: Multiple machine guns lined up and firing non-stop.
When no one is left alive, the group advance in a line with several meters of separation between each one that covers the entire path, as when tracking or hunting. In this way a lot of territory is covered. They move forward without stopping too long. There are some survivors on the way. I stood behind them to be a mere observer.
Looking closely at the animations of the terrorists and the bodies of the innocent, you realize that Modern Warfare is not recreated. It is not a spectacle of gore and gratuitous violence. The mission is one moral test for the player and a message inside the story.
The terrorists never stop advancing and they do not focus on any one person because it’s not personal…unlike me, who couldn’t stop looking at every execution and dead or wounded survivor they left behind. The mission causes me so much horror and fear because it is not something fanciful and far from reality. There are real examples.
The mission features a transition where you go from seeing gunned down civilians to fighting special forces. The setting is so well achieved that you can feel the voltage change
It all ends with your character lying on the ground and surrounded by Russian special forces after being shot by Makarov before fleeing. He already knew that you were the spy and he uses you as the cornerstone of the attack. The turn is very cruel and you lose whatever you do. And that’s what I like about Call of Duty campaigns.
Discord even among its creators: controversy before its birth
I want to remind you that No Russian was controversial even before Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released. Joel Emsliehead of video game art, declared in 2019 to Gameinformer that the mission divided the study.
There was one side of the studio that felt like it needed to be played from the perspective of a security guard who got stuck at the airport, then there was the other side that liked the way it was going. I remember doing the civilians and I couldn’t… It got to a point where we were discussing how violent it would be with these people being shot.
The most interesting part of the interview came when Emslie asked his wife about it and she insisted that more gore needed: “My wife looked at it and said, Where’s all the blood and gore? And I said, We didn’t need to include it.“
As you can see in the gameplay that I shared above, Emslie finally added pools of blood, but avoided adding too much gore. Time has proved him right: she doesn’t need him. The mission would not have the same message if there was blood and gore everywhere. I wouldn’t have that awful feeling cold violence and that the victims are merely a means.
Will there be a No Russian in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II?
There has been much debate about whether Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will have its own No Russian. We know that the story will not be the same and that Modern Warfare (2019) did have them with Piccadilly and the assault on the house, which I remind you that it involved shots with babies in between.
After reviving No Russian, I neither want nor don’t want it to be replayed or attempted to be beaten in Modern Warfare II. The only thing I want is arrive without knowing anythingthat it catches me by surprise and breaks my heart like Modern Warfare (2019) did.
In any case, I invite you to relive the mission if you haven’t played it for years. I’m sure you’ll live it in a very different way than then… or not. In any case, I would like to know what do you think about no Russianthat you tell me how you lived it and that you share your thoughts with me in comments.
Table of Contents
