Sessler's Soapbox: The Modern Warfare 2 Airport Scene

247 Comments Posted November 11, 2009 - By Patrick Roche-Sowa

Since everyone is talking about or playing or buying extra copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 right now, Adam couldn't let this week's Soapbox go by without talking about the controversial "Airport Scene" we've all been hearing so much about.

While this video is fairly light on spoilers, if you haven't finished the single-player campaign in the game, you might want to wait before you hear what the Sess has to say on the subject. That being said, how did playing through that scene make you feel? Or did you skip the level, expecting it to be gratuitous and offensive? Let us know what you think, but again, please keep the discussion intelligent and civil.

Update: Adam did not go on Fox and Friends. It was his decision, and it was due to scheduling.

Sessler's Soapbox: The Modern Warfare 2 Airport Scene »

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JohnnyBuku

I played it but didn't shoot any civilians (just fired in the air). I wanted to avoid killing any police but that didn't work out well.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:25 PM | Reply | Report

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1 Reply
silverneedle18

fox and friends? i'm not biased or anythin when it comes to fox news. but good luck adam sessler, u know they are gonna gang up on you

(like any news channel does)

imma be rooting for ya

and when it came to the scene, yes i was surprised but i'm glad they kept it in

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:26 PM | Reply | Report

+49 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
jaimex8

Honestly....right when the Russians started shooting, I just started blasting the hell out of every civilian I could find, even the wounded ones crawling on the floor, and I had some fun doing it too. Does this make me a bad person and a future murderer? NO! It's just a freaking game and in no way does it emotionally impact me because it's not real. Anyone taking this up the butt is just a big baby! Sorry for this short rant but reading this article and reading this guys reaction just made me want to punch him in the face and tell him to shut up and grow a pair. Seriously he takes it in WAY to much.

http://www-2.crispygamer.com /blogs/post/2009/11/10/So-I-Ju st-Played-the-Scene.aspx

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:27 PM | Reply | Report

+30 thumbs up thumbs down

7 Replies
Taboo5289

First play through i was kinda stunned at the prospect so i didn't shoot anyone at all. second time through I went in guns blazing and I had a guilt feeling. As a part of the story I completley understand it. And is an emotional masterpiece in a game. Good job IW.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:32 PM | Reply | Report

+22 thumbs up thumbs down

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Yatzee1000

Did you accept Fox and Friends challenge Adam?

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:32 PM | Reply | Report

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2 Replies
JTHMROCKS

This was my favorite mission.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:33 PM | Reply | Report

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Demos_Lok

Yes, with art we should be able to know the difference real and "imagined" violence. And shock value is a useful tool, but a WORD, though associated with homosexuality and ignorance, and was not used as an insult against homosexuals, has to be taken at face value. Maybe you do need a nap Sess. I am beginning to regret following you vlog's. And don't let this upset you, i'm just another Troll trying to set fire to your bridge.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:34 PM | Reply | Report

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Bulbachar

These types or moral choices is what made games like Bioshock and Fallout 3 that much better. Video games really aren t mindless killing machines like the mainstream media would like everyone to believe and neither are the people that play them.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:41 PM | Reply | Report

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outlawstar00000

If you go on Fox news i wish you the best of luck because we all know how fox news is they will try to twist your words around and use them against you. I'm glad that they left that scene in the game and I am really glad that they give you the option to skip it if you don't want to play it.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:42 PM | Reply | Report

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gEARhead24

that scene was the most enjoyment that I ever had throughout the game or any shooter that I've played so nicely done infinite ward.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:42 PM | Reply | Report

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PSfortheWin Show Hide(6 Replies)

I love how Adam whimps out about his other video because he knows that we proved him wrong. What a tool adam.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:48 PM | Reply | Report

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blindsideofthesun

I see where people like jaimex8 are coming from. Yes, it's just a game, however, a big point Adam and others (like myself) are looking at is the ability of games to trancend their "toy-like" image in society. For a game to become more than "just a game" and an actual art form that brings about emotional response, much like a really good movie, song, or book might, is really the next level in my eyes. For me personally, this game did that. Yeah, if you wanted to view it as a GTA type environment where you're just going on a killing spree, then that's how you chose to experience it. Just keep this in mind though, that lends credence to the argument that these games desensitize players to violence, cuz I gotta say that if that level did not at least make you pause even a second, then you are desensitized. Am I saying that this will lead to you going on a rampage to kill people because you view life as a video game? No, that requires further mental instability above and beyond desensitization. I, however, actually hope to never be so desensitized that I could gloss over and not be effected by horrific events, real or dramatized.

And on a side note, I think one important mechanic that IW put into that scene to drive home the dramatic nature and the weight of what you were doing was to disable running through the first portion. Forcing you to walk also forced you to take in every visual inch of what was transpiring. Another aspect that should go toward the argument of it being a legitimate work of art...

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:49 PM | Reply | Report

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1 Reply
dinohunterx

I'll admit, I was shocked when the scene began, and it shown the three other guys start blasting innocent people in a crowded area, but I did understand its importance as a big part of the story.

I'm not suprized that it has and will get overblown in the meda, with alot of family groups or whoever pointing a finger yelling "oooh that's bad!!".
I can see how people can get offended, but the truth is as you mentioned, Adam: they have done this sort of thing in movies and TV shows all the time.

What everyone should realize is games nowadays are just as much about storytelling as movies and television, and that there are things in all these mediums not everyone will agree with. The only option if you are offended is not to look.
Good luck on Fox if you go on, Adam. The station's name is Fox, but they're all a bunch of weasels

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:51 PM | Reply | Report

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luvinmunn

Adam,

Very well said. However, I think it's going to take years before the general population realizes that videogames are truely another art form. The majority of those who get facetime in the media still envision and portray games as Pac-Man and Space Invaders, in other words...videogames are/should be for kids. I was reading a forum chat at a local TV station in Syracuse, NY. The majority of people who posted believe that videogames like COD:MW2 desensitize kids to violence and some posters go so far to suggest that videogames even encourages kids to reenact the game scenes and kill others. This is obviously not the case. But this is their belief and the mass media, like Fox and Friends, are partially to blame.

Remember when that new age "rock n'roll" was corrupting youth during the 1950's, or when Dungeons and Dragons was considered to promote devil worship, murder, witchcraft, and teen suicides? Well, now videogames is taking a turn because the majority of Americans don't fully understand gaming, the mass media uses videogames as the punching bag and creates sensationalize stories to increase ratings, which in turn miseducates the public and creates these false impressions.

As I mentioned, I fully agree that videogame is truely an art form, from the music, to the graphics, to the storyline, to the actual mechanics of the game... it's the ultimate art form to become involved in a storyline. I just think it's going to take years for the general population to truly accept it. And then again, there will always be those like my grandmother who never understood the need for that "rock'n'roll" sound.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:51 PM | Reply | Report

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Jimapalooza

As a gamer, I am happy to know that there are a few among us who are capable of logically and skillfully defending our pastime as not simple simulation, but as a story-telling device and from time to time, art. I'm glad you'll be in our corner on Fox and Friends, Adam. Best of luck.

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:54 PM | Reply | Report

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blindsideofthesun

...and to everyone trying to bring up and keep prattling on about the "F" word video, get a life and let it go. It's called being an adult, and that's what Adam is doing here.
Don't get me wrong, I had my issue with the argument being made, and I was probably the first one that posted about the South Park episode, but coming on here and trying to throw trash around about how his not going into it is proof of his "losing the argument" just makes you seem like some douchey Harley rider who is hungry for attention, so you have to continue to make tons of noise about something not even on the topic to get everyone, especially the Sess, to focus back on you (if you watched the episode, you know what I'm saying about you. Knock it off).

Posted: November 11, 2009 4:56 PM | Reply | Report

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Robt. Juster

This website needs more Oscar Wilde quotes and references. #justsaying

Posted: November 11, 2009 5:00 PM | Reply | Report

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Strych9

Well here's the deal from my P.O.V. If the videogames genre has any hope of growing as an art form then bold steps like these must be taken. Is this level of the game horrifying? Dare I say, terrible even? Well if you haven't been paying attention, THAT's exactly what terrorisim is. You can believe it or not, but there are actually good men and women who do horrible things in the name of freedom and justice so that we all can sleep soundly at night. True art imitates life.

Posted: November 11, 2009 5:01 PM | Reply | Report

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angel12791

For the 1st time in a game it made me think before i pulled the trigger i hope more games look at it, I think IW was just trying to make gamers Think

PS.
use My Comment on Fox

Posted: November 11, 2009 5:02 PM | Reply | Report

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NakedSnake14

That was a good game level created by the folks at IW, the level really does get you emotionally tied to the game . And I believe that is why IW went ahead and put it as one of the first levels in the game. They did it to have this game be something more that just any other game, but to have it seem more as an art form (like Adam said) on par with movies and other forms of entertainment out there. As well as a way to keep the gamer enticed and emotionally into the game.

Posted: November 11, 2009 5:02 PM | Reply | Report

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