Less than one day until the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare and fans of the classic FPS game are gearing up for “Infinity Ward’s most ambitious game ever,” as Esquire Middle East is calling it.
In celebration of the launch, we’ve rounded up five reasons why Call of Duty Modern Warfare is going to change your expectations when it comes to games that portray plotlines featuring wartime conflict and battlefield action.
The Original Modern Warfare Made A Big Impression on Fans
Back in 2007 Infinity Ward released Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – and prior to the launch of the game over twelve years ago there was nothing else like it on the market.
According to Activision “. . . at the time, the game, as well as its sequels, set itself apart weaving its single player story through the sociopolitical action taking place 24/7 on a global scale.”
Fans who have played the original version of Modern Warfare can get excited for the same intricate plotlines and real-life action, but they’ll also encounter in-depth complexities and the social issues wartime conflict inflicts on civilians throughout the game.
In other words, players will be face with socially-complex issues that will make them question various ethical issues while experiencing all the action of Modern Warfare.
Get Ready For Some Seriously Complex Characters…
The game’s development team reached out and asked COD fans what kinds of war stories they’d like to see within a video game – and strong character development was frequent request
“Without a doubt, [fans] said, over and over again, they want to see morally complex characters that are not a hundred percent good nor hundred percent evil. They wanted a much more realistic depictions than they’ve ever seen before,” Narrative Director Taylor Kurosaki said.
“It was really nice to have the validation of our fans and our players; they are a sophisticated audience. They want something that feels authentic.”
Therefore, fans can expect to encounter multifaceted characters within Modern Warfare, who find themselves in tough-call situations throughout the game.
… and Include Strong Women Within the Plot.
Modern Warfare will be introducing Farah Amhed Karim, the fictional leader of the Urzikstan Liberation Force, to the game.
Farah leads a group of over 7,000 volunteer freedom fighters that want to free their country from foreign subjugation and fight alongside the British Special Air Service.
According to Activision’s Blog “…for her, this war is more than just fighting for Urzikstans freedom, but also a fight ‘to free our people from old-fashioned ways.’”
Modern Warfare reached out to Hollie McKay, a war correspondent, who has covered conflicts over the past half-decade for advice on how to develop Farah’s character.
Game Developers Sought Out Two Veterans For Their Military Expertise…
Steve Sanders and Mitch Hall were two retired Navy SEALS who both had more than four decades combined of military experience.
According to Activision’s Blog, “Sanders said. . . he and his colleague drew from their own experiences during their combined 40-plus years of service to be in that moment.”
Not only were Sanders and Hall consulted for various missions throughout the game, but the developers also sat down with them to discuss the overall narrative of the game.
“I simply asked Mitch and Steve, ‘What would be a narrative that we could touch on that would ring true to you guys?’ And they said, if you want to tell a real story that would really resonate tell a story about imperfect men like us; going and doing an imperfect job and being expected to do it perfectly,” Kurosaki said.
“That is the impossible task that we are faced with as operators in today’s day and age.”
… along with PhD Student and Best-Selling Author Somaiya Daud (@somaiiiya).
Daud admits she had reservations when the game’s developers reached out to her to consult on Modern Warfare on the the portrayal of female characters of color.
“Candidly, at first I was like, ‘This is going to suck,’” Daud said. “I was really familiar with this sort of standard for representing Muslims, or even like Muslim-adjacent.”
She said strong female characters within games are scare and often portrayed as secondary characters to the main male leads.
“You certainly don’t get a lot of women in leadership for games, and especially war games in general,” Daud said. “And women of color who are sort of coded as indigenous to the region where they’re from certainly don’t get starring roles. And if they do get starring roles, they’re sort of weighed down by a lot of stereotype baggage…”
With Daud’s help, Infinity Ward was able to incorporate characters strong female characters of color, like Farah, into the plotline of Modern Warfare.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below. Be sure to follow Call of Duty (@callofduty) and Activision (@activision).