No. That isn’t a typo…

On November 10th, 2009 one of the most highly anticipated games of 2009 will be released. Activision | Blizzard will be releasing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and before it has even hit the shelves, it is turning into a major disappointment.

Infinity Ward, the creators of the Call of Duty series, have disappointed their most loyal fan base and on top of that they appear to be trying to offend everyone else as well.

Strike 1

Only three weeks prior to the release Infinity Ward has announced that PC gamers will no longer have the option of playing the multiplayer games on dedicated servers.

Wait a minute! I am not a geek, er… “gamer” so can you break it down for us “normal” people?

Basically it means one thing. Infinity Ward no longer respects gamers that still play games on their PC’s. With the growing popularity of console systems, the PC gaming community has been kicked to the curb and has been treated like the red-headed step child.

To put this issue in plain English for those of you that stand outside your child’s room with you ears pressed up against the door trying to figure out why your son/daughter is talking into that mic thingy when he plays that “silly game”, Infinity Ward has decided that they want PC gamers to play games just like the console players do. Why is that such a big deal?

Simply put, it is a slap in the face to the players that made Infinity Ward what it is today.

Let me explain a little further. Currently, PC players have a much more enriched online experience than their console counterparts do. The graphics are better and look more impressive on a PC due to the advanced hardware that is available. The play is fair as players have the option to select a server that is closest to their geographic location, which results in a “lag free” (a smoother, less choppy) playing environment.

Server administrators also have more control of the playing environment enabling them to set up and enforce rules for their server. Violators of the rules are kicked, or even banned from every playing on the server again. If players are not happy playing on the server, a very frustrated admin is going to be paying for a server that sits empty as no one will want to play on it any longer. Fair play is often encouraged and mutual respect is crucial to an enjoyable playing experience.

Game styles change frequently as server administrators modify, or mod their server to different specifications. Often they will only allow one weapon for all players to be used, or they will add in custom maps which are created by the PC gaming community. They may even take out content from the game that the community does not enjoy. PC gamers do not get bored with the game as there is always a new mod or different style of game to play within the game.

Infinity Ward in their infinite wisdom has announced they will no longer allow dedicated servers, but instead they will be using a system call IWNet. Robert Bowling, Creative Strategist for Infinity Ward describes the system this way.

“When you want to player a multiplayer game on PC, in the past. You’d have to scroll through a Server Browser which listed every available server which was hosted by individual server admins. Each had their own private rules, mods, or ways of playing the game. Most players would also use the server browser to find just the best quality game (based on PING).

What a scary, simple, easy system to use. Apparently choice is a bad thing to Mr. Bowling, but I digress. Mr. Bowling continues,

With IWNET matchmaking, it takes all that into account for you. All you have to do is select the playlist (pre-set gametypes with custom rules) that fits the style of play you are in the mood for. When you do, it will automatically find you a game with the best performance, ping, and preferences based on your location and individual connection as well as matching you with players of your same SKILL.”

Translation: You are too stupid to choose what type of game you want to play, so we are going to decide it for you.

But it gets even better. According to a recent interview with the development team during a Best Buy chat, they revealed the PC players get to have whopping matches of 9 vs. 9, This is a huge step backwards as players can currently have dedicated servers with a mere 48 players. While the development team claims the maps were never developed to have that many players, it sure made for a fun gaming experience. Oh, and for those that like a smaller, more intimate gaming experience, guess what? The current system allows for a variety so players could have a choice!

And the fun doesn’t stop there kids. Remember in the old days when you used to be able to lean around corners making the experience more realistic? That’s right, that little aspect is also gone. Playing with an International community? Gone. Playing with your clan mates when you clan is over 18 people. Gone.

I cannot imagine how this game is going to play…oh wait, yes I can. It is going to be exactly like playing a console game on a computer. In a word, lame.

I have a console that I only play movies on. Ok, I am exaggerating. I play single player games on my console, but since I have never had a good multiplayer gaming experience on a console so once the single player is finished, I am finished with it.

Dedicated servers are the backbone of the entire system. You can liken them to the spine of a human being. With no spine, we would collapse into a blob of flesh with no form. The entire structure of how you play the game in a multiplayer setting has been totally destroyed and when the game is released on November 10th, I believe it will collapse into a huge blob of unhappy players.

Strike 2

Setting all of the game play aside let’s now examine the content.

I am not going to get into a big debate about violence in video games as there are many games out there that have violent content, and quite frankly I like them, but there is a scene in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that is disturbing.

It is one thing to have a character from a enemy group that is holding a weapon and firing at you, and you do your damndest to fire back at him to kill him before he can kill you. That is the essence of most First Person Shooters. The footage in MW2, which was leaked, shows something entirely different. It reveals a group of terrorists that walk into a crowded airport and gun down innocent civilians. Civilians that are unarmed and have their backs to the terrorists.

While we all love blood and guts and flying bullets, somehow shooting innocent civilians in the back just seems…wrong. While it is understood the game will have a Mature rating just as its predecessor did, it still doesn’t excuse this type of content.

I also know that any publicity, even bad publicity, is good publicity but I really have to wonder what the hell the developers were thinking when creating this level. Was the barrel really that empty that they needed to develop the most disgusting level possible? Was it a bizarre ploy to stir up controversy? Was there an evil plot to write in the most heinous scene possible?

I think I have figured it out. I think those innocent civilians in that airport are all PC gamers…