Leveled Up 11.25.09: Remember, No Russian

Posted by Joshua Richey on 11.25.2009

With the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, there has quite the controversy over the inclusion of the game’s “No Russian” level. Was this level a necessity for the story of the game, or was it a risk the game makers should be applauded for? 411’s Joshua Richey explains…

[WARNING: The following article is about Modern Warfare 2 and contains spoilers]

The airport level - known officially as 'No Russian' - is unlike any level in a video game that you've ever played. It's not fun, yet it's not supposed to be. Personally, I'd go as far as to say that I hated it. So in this edition of Leveled Up, I'm going to state my case against it and why I think Modern Warfare 2 would have been better without it.



I'll go ahead and say it now: I'm not as high on Modern Warfare 2 as most of my peers seem to be. Aside from a fantastic multiplayer experience, I felt that the game was a big letdown from Call of Duty 4 in nearly every way. It was like watching a 6-7 hour Michael Bay film. Hell, even a number of the games plot twists and set pieces seemed to have been lifted straight out of Michael Bay's The Rock - which, if you're going to borrow ideas from a Bay film, that's probably the one to borrow from.

Anyway, Modern Warfare 2 includes a level that has got everyone talking. If you've been living in a cave for the last month or so and haven't heard about it, allow me to fill you in. (Or just watch the clip below)



During this level, (which is the 2nd or 3rd level in the game) you play an American that's gone undercover and infiltrated a Russian terrorist's inner circle. His name is Vladimir Makarov. Now as the level begins you'll find yourself standing in an elevator alongside Makarov and a few of his men. Things are quiet as you and the other men load your weapons and adjust your bulletproof vests. Just prior to the elevator doors opening, Vladimir turns to you and says, "Remember, no Russian". As this is going on, you still have no idea what's about to transpire. The doors open and you notice that you're inside of a giant airport that is littered with hundreds of people. You walk off the elevator with your comrades, all of the people turn and look at you, and then it happens, Makarov demands that you open fire.



For the next 5 minutes or so, you're walking through an airport and just mowing down anyone that moves. Now I'll be fair. I don't recall there being any children, you can pass through most of the level without shooting a soul (though you then have to watch your Russian counterparts massacre everyone instead), and the game does tell you just prior to the start of the level, "Hey, you're about to see some fucked up shit. Do you want to skip the level with no penalty?" (Paraphrasing, of course) But honestly, who's going to see a message like that and elect to skip it?

My first time playing it, I had no idea what to think. I didn't enjoy it, I know that. I actually didn't even let off one shot until the game forces you to. I just sat there in disbelief. Usually I'm all for video games pushing the envelope. I've been saying for a long time that video games shouldn't be treated any differently then movies or music. I've defended games like Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt when their critics tried to have them banned. But I don't know. This just felt like too much. I remember thinking at the time that the level was designed to make you hate Makarov even more;. but as the games storyline unfolded, I began to see that wasn't the case at all.

I feel that the level is completely unnecessary. I think that it's only included for its shock value. It's something that we would expect from Rockstar, but Infinity Ward? No. They don't need to create controversy and be the talk of cable news channels to sell their game. This game would have sold a bajillion copies whether this level was featured in the game or not. My issue with the level isn't that you're going around and killing innocent people (NPC's). There are several games that feature that. So believe me, it's not a morality issue. It's just the cheapness of it. It feels cheap and forced. If video games have a hard time being taken seriously, it's because of games like this.

Now I know my opinions disagree with many of yours. I've talked to friends and my co-writers about the level. Their opinions were quite different. Most of them didn't think that the level impacted them at all. With me, it was in the back of my mind for the rest of the game. As I'm running around the White House killing Russians, all I could think about was how ridiculous this all was. With most of them, as soon as the level was over, they forgot about it and moved on to the next stage. I don't think neither of those reactions were Infinity Ward's intentions.

Now I've heard just about every excuse that the fanboys are making on Infinity Ward's behalf. So let's address a few of them...

"…but it's included for the sake of the story"

Oh really? The inclusion of a level that has you going around and murdering hundreds of people is essential to the games storyline? I might buy into that a bit more if the games storyline wasn't so shitty. I mean, honestly, let me point out the many plot holes here.

At the end of the No Russian level, Makarov shoots you in the head (he knew you were undercover) and sets it up to look like this massacre was solely on the hands of an American. This then leads to Russia and the United States going to war. Umm…seriously? An American CIA operative shoots up a Russian airport and it creates World War 3? Doubt it. A more likely situation in that case would have been a full out investigation by the U.S. and Russian governments. And in that case, someone on one of the sides would have been smart enough to look at the surveillance tapes from the airport, which would have shown that not only was the American not alone, but that he was alongside a well known terrorist. Perhaps instead of Makarov being concerned about you not using any Russian language, he should have been more concerned with masking his identity with…I don't know, a mask?

So, no, this level isn't included because it goes along with the storyline. Like I said, the games story is weak as hell, and most of it is told during loading screens anyway. And if the scene is so "crucial", why are you given the option to skip it? Wouldn't that ruin the game?

…they took a risk and should be applauded.

So we should applaud them for taking a risk? Is that right? Hey Activision, you reading this? In your next Spiderman game, why don't you have Venom or one of the other villains set a family of puppies on fire. Yeah, what the hell, go for it. I mean, according to these people, it doesn't matter that the act has nothing to do with the game. All they want is risks and shock value. Push that envelope for the sake of doing so. So, yeah, burn those puppies; and while you're at it, drown some kittens too.

See how ridiculous that sounds? Modern Warfare 2 is no different. Just instead of killing animals, they decided that it would help their cause to include a level that had you taking on the part of a terrorist.

And the worst part of all this is that the next time some fucking psycho goes into his workplace or school and starts shooting it up, you know damn well that jackasses like Jack Thompson are going to get hard on's at the thought of being able to place blame for it on the gaming industry. All Modern Warfare 2 has done is given them that ammo.

Okay, I'm done ranting. I'm going to go smoke a cigarette or something. Everyone have a good Thanksgiving break, and I'll see you back here next week with something a bit more fun. If you find yourself bored over the long weekend and tired of RedTube, you should check out my blog below. It's more fun than shooting up a airport full of innocent people, I promise you that.

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