Leaked Modern Warfare 2 footage shows gamers can play as a terrorist

Somewhere, Jack Thompson is tittering with peals of glee as the debate about video game violence just jumped to the forefront of the holiday shopping season.

Footage from arguably the biggest game release of 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was leaked earlier this week (October 27, 2009). That would normally only be a big deal to folks concerned about spoilers. Spoilers, as in this is a SPOILER WARNING!

Seriously, there be spoilers here.

The leaked footage shows the player in control of a Russian terrorist who is mowing down innocent civilians at what appears to be Los Angeles’ LAX Airport.

Activision has confirmed that the footage is authentic and released a statement in the way of damage control.

“The scene establishes the depth of evil and the cold bloodedness of a rogue Russian villain and his unit. By establishing that evil, it adds to the urgency of the player’s mission to stop them,” the statement reads. “Players have the option of skipping over the scene. At the beginning of the game, there are two ‘checkpoints’ where the player is advised that some people may find an forthcoming segment disturbing. These checkpoints can’t be disabled.”

The Modern Warfare games are famous for combining gritty storytelling with “what if” scenarios that could happen in the real world. The first game’s depiction of a nuclear explosion was one of the most awe inspiring and yet unsettling moments in recent gaming history. You had to wonder how they would one up a nuclear strike and now it appears we have our answer. The game hits store shelves November 10, 2009, for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC (Windows).

The controversy has hit already and won’t be letting up soon.

Read [The Telegraph] Also Read [Gamepro]