10 Hilariously Awkward Times Video Games Tried To Be Mature

7. No Russian - Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Routinely popping up as one of the most controversial game levels of all time, COD 4 made headlines around the world, thanks to putting you in the shoes of an undercover agent with the option to fire on innocent Americans, the goal being to maintain your cover. Designer Mohammed Alavi mentioned in an interview with PCGamer that the studio wanted to "do three things": "sell why Russia would attack the US, make the player have an emotional connection to the bad guy Makarov, and do that in a memorable and engaging way." The problem was again with subtlety, as although it should be more immediately affecting, replicating being on the ground during a terrorist attack, everybody who played the level was just put off by sheer subject matter alone. Infinity Ward had you walk through the carnage with the option to fire as some sort of "How desensitised are you?" moment, but it came out of nowhere, only serving to forcing you into watching what was happening, rather than dying trying to stop it, and ultimately it was only in service of a cackling villain who got blown away regardless. Including the option to skip the sequence didn't exactly show IW truly believed in what they were doing, and the sequence stands the test of time as showing video games trying to elicit some sort of reaction, without really knowing what that is, or how to go about it.