# Call of Duty: World at War: too brutal/visceral?



## treelover (May 4, 2010)

I love PC gaming and i have enjoyed many many hours visiting different worlds and yes blowing up the fora and fauna, but now I do feel very uncomfortable playing WAW. I know that Treyarch were trying to achieve maximun realism and that war is brutal, cruel and sick, but chapters like 'Burn Em Out' with its emphasis on using the flameflower to pour white hot fire on the enemy is actually making me quite queasy. I played Medal Of Honour Pacific and didn't feel this way, maybe the graphics and the general ambience is playing some part, the burning trees in the Seelow chapter also comes to mind as creating an all enveloping feeling. Tbh, i hate war (but not history) and often wonder why I began playing games,I used to hate them.


they are utimately only pixels but....

anyone else ever feel this.

oh, and the enemy AI is appalling MOH Pacific was much better


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## Kanda (May 4, 2010)

No. It's just a game and comes with warnings on the box.


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## Boycey (May 4, 2010)

it's actually one of the reasons i like the call of duty games.


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## 100% masahiko (May 4, 2010)

War is fun.


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## TopCat (May 4, 2010)

I prefer games with a  bit of humour ie the GTA series. This is too dark.


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## Kid_Eternity (May 4, 2010)

Kanda said:
			
		

> No. It's just a game and comes with warnings on the box.



Yup. Plus you know it's for adults. If an adult doesn't like it they shouldn't play it. Simple.


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## Boycey (May 4, 2010)

TopCat said:


> I prefer games with a  bit of humour ie the GTA series. This is too dark.



i know what you mean but the cod games (especially mw1/2) are the most involving and convincing games i've ever played, i'd feel short changed if they shoe horned slapstick schtick into the storylines the way gta does. on the subject of gta is it just me or have rockstar nicked the ringing ears effect for the ballad of gay tony?


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## Pingu (May 4, 2010)

you are going to love the airport chapter of MW2 then


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## 100% masahiko (May 4, 2010)

Multiplayer on MW1/PC is fuckin' hilarious and involving. So much trash talking. Stupid deaths. Makes me laugh.


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## TopCat (May 4, 2010)

Boycey said:


> i know what you mean but the cod games (especially mw1/2) are the most involving and convincing games i've ever played, i'd feel short changed if they shoe horned slapstick schtick into the storylines the way gta does. on the subject of gta is it just me or have rockstar nicked the ringing ears effect for the ballad of gay tony?



Ringing ears effect?


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## Ax^ (May 4, 2010)

the OP should really write a letter to the daily mail expressing your disgust + include a picture of himself shaking your fist at the sky


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## treelover (May 4, 2010)

> the OP should really write a letter to the daily mail expressing your disgust + include a picture of himself shaking your fist at the sky



Why,    it was a reasoned post, not a rant,  my late father saw the real thing and it affected him all his life

oh, and i have seen eight year olds playing the COD series, its the latest ones though which seem to push the boundaries, i don't play modern war games so no MW for me anyway.


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## Boycey (May 4, 2010)

TopCat said:


> Ringing ears effect?



Explosions go off near you and the sound imitates ringing ears.


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## Kid_Eternity (May 4, 2010)

treelover said:
			
		

> Why,    it was a reasoned post, not a rant,  my late father saw the real thing and it affected him all his life
> 
> oh, and i have seen eight year olds playing the COD series, its the latest ones though which seem to push the boundaries, i don't play modern war games so no MW for me anyway.



Seriously if you don't like it just don't play it...I and millions of others love it and there's nothing wrong with that.


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## FridgeMagnet (May 4, 2010)

I think we can intelligently debate whether games are going over the top for no good reason without it being treated as some sort of call to ban them. The technology and production is sophisticated that deliberate choices are made by the designers to do things in certain ways.

(On the other hand I've not played CoD so I can't really say much in this instance.)


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## Orang Utan (May 4, 2010)

the more brutal and gory the better


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## Pingu (May 4, 2010)

treelover said:


> Why, it was a reasoned post, not a rant, my late father saw the real thing and it affected him all his life
> 
> oh, and i have seen eight year olds playing the COD series, its the latest ones though which seem to push the boundaries, i don't play modern war games so no MW for me anyway.


 

dude you should so play MW2.. 

if you think waw is in bad taste then you would seriously love the airport scene in MW2.

me i prefer to stab the civillians as they try to run away but I also believe that liberal use of grenades works just as well


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## Kid_Eternity (May 4, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I think we can intelligently debate whether games are going over the top for no good reason without it being treated as some sort of call to ban them. The technology and production is sophisticated that deliberate choices are made by the designers to do things in certain ways.
> 
> (On the other hand I've not played CoD so I can't really say much in this instance.)



It's a non debate though. If you're an adult and you don't like porn because it's too explicit what's the point of asking if porn is too explicit??


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## FridgeMagnet (May 4, 2010)

Kid_Eternity said:


> It's a non debate though. If you're an adult and you don't like porn because it's too explicit what's the point of asking if porn is too explicit??



There are different ways in which violence, gore etc are used. I think it's perfectly valid to look at a scene in a game that says "your mission is to kill people in a bunker with a flamethrower in high-def video" and say "but what does that mean? What's behind it? What is it making me feel and why?" That's an adult reaction even if you conclude "yeah actually on balance I'm fine with this".

Games aren't neutral any more than films are. Bioshock for instance spends a lot of time satirising the "must complete the mission, don't think about what it means" mentality.


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## Kid_Eternity (May 4, 2010)

Orang Utan said:


> the more brutal and gory the better



The weird thing is WaW is pretty tame really, bored the hell out of me and talking about the violence aspect of it misses the central point, which is was it a good game? The violence 'debate' is a red herring really...


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## Orang Utan (May 4, 2010)

i hate war games anyway. too difficult.
would love a game that's just called 'massacre'
would be great for letting steam off after work


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## treelover (May 10, 2010)

The Berlin chapters are pretty impressive though, very atmospheric


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## bmd (May 10, 2010)

I was watching the HBO mini series The Pacific and it's just brutal. It's what war actually was all about and there are far worse scenes involving a flamethrower in that but I didn't feel that there was anything for me to reflect on other than what absolute hell war can be.

Fwiw I agree with FM. Anything can be debated if it has an impact. One person may find it's a non-debate but even that is debateable.


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