(Source: Geoffrey Calver at TerminalGamer.com)

As the plots in games mature, the mainstream media continues to see games as entertainment forms and not storytelling mediums

Earlier this month, Modern Warfare 2 exploded onto the gaming scene. It broke entertainment records across the board, bringing in $550 million in sales during the first week, selling more units than a Harry Potter book release ever managed, and making more money in the process than any film ever had in one week.

During the overarching storyline of Modern Warfare 2, a U.S. Marine is tasked with going deep undercover in order to infiltrate a terrorist group in Russia. As part of his deep cover, he must aid the group in all aspects of their job, including in executing terror plots. The mission, “No Russian,” opens in an elevator. It is dark. The elevator dings as each floor passes by. Vests are heard being zipped and guns click as they are loaded. Then, light comes into the scene. Makarov, the Russian terrorist group leader looks at you, looks at the two terrorists in the elevator as the doors open. “No Russian,” he says, meaning, don’t speak Russian.

You walk into a crowded airport terminal where passengers wait to pass through security. Police officers stand guard as the terrorists you are with suddenly point their guns. What is about to happen will come as a shock. The officer grabs for his gun and falls to the floor pockmarked with bullets. But the gunfire from the terrorists isn’t solely directed at the police. It is being directed at the crowd. The terrorists hunt down and kill the civilians one by one. At the end of the mission, as you climb into an ambulance to scream away from the scene of your vicious terrorist act, Makarov turns and shoots you, acknowledging that you are an American spy.

The discovery of an American body outfitted with guns at the scene instigates a massive Russian invasion of the U.S. and the dogged pursuit of Makarov by a team of U.S. and British special ops forces.

The scene was leaked to the press in advance of the game’s arrival on store shelves, and it fired up anti-game commentators around the country. Media commentary ranged from “You bring a violent game into a house with an 8 year old, nothing to stop that kid from playing it and becoming a terrorist on a video game” to the headline, “Modern Warfare 2 accused of promoting terrorism.” The media saw the scene as a violent, unnecessary venture into terrorism – one that encouraged kids to gun down civilians and that glorified the acts of terrorism that are reported everyday on the world news. Furthermore, they reported on the scene as though Modern Warfare 2 consisted solely of committing terrorist acts. There was no proper reporting on the game, no discussion of the depth of the title or the reason for the scene’s inclusion in the game. As far as the media was concerned, “No Russian” was the entire game ...

Read the full article at TerminalGamer.com.