Modern Warfare 3 reimagines the infamous No Russian, but should it?

The timelines of the fashionable Name of Responsibility continuity are considerably convoluted. 2019’s Trendy Warfare reboot borrowed parts of the 2007 unique’s plot, in addition to a lot of its key characters, with new appears and voice actors. With a extra various solid in tow and a reworked plot that emphasised particular person characterization, the sport managed to side-step among the criticisms of the unique whereas stumbling into new controversies of its personal.

Trendy Warfare 2 (2022) continued to make allusions to the unique trilogy whereas additional diverging from well-trodden territory, introducing a brand new villain of the week, American PMC chief Graves, by means of Mexican drug cartels. By implementing so many transferring components on this new continuity, Activision’s growth studios have considerably skirted criticisms of jingoism which have dogged the collection since its inception.

However in Modern Warfare 3 (2023), Sledgehammer Video games seems to be circling again to the crimson menace that shaped the unique collection’ thrust: a world conflict with Russia and America at its middle. With this refocusing comes the return of Vladimir Makarov, arguably Name of Responsibility’s best-known villain. The ultranationalist chief has featured closely within the newest recreation’s advertising, and beforehand a single phrase from a post-credits scene in Trendy Warfare 2 sparked each pleasure and trepidation: “No Russian.”

Again in 2009, No Russian was the videogame controversy. Sensationalized by mainstream media and praised and criticized by the video games press in nearly equal flip, the harrowing mission noticed the participant character, American soldier Joseph Allen, roped into collaborating in an airport bloodbath whereas working undercover inside Makarov’s extremist cell. On the finish of the mission, Makarov executes Allen, leaving the American’s corpse on the scene to be found by the Russian authorities, thus inciting a Russo-American invasion.

If thought-about even fleetingly, it’s a nonsensical conceit. What did Makarov inform Allen the assault was supposed to attain within the first place? Wouldn’t Allen acknowledge the setup and plant one in Makarov’s cranium then and there? However even regardless of this, the scene was – for higher or worse – unforgettable in its execution. From the elevator doorways opening and Makarov uttering his easy reminder – “keep in mind, no Russian” – to the chilly, methodical murdering of civilians, to the inevitable betrayal because the transient mission concludes. The scene is thick with horror and confusion, forcing gamers to be complicit in a grotesque act of terrorism, whether or not they pull the set off or not.

In a time when the Conflict on Terror and the aftermath of 9/11 remained within the headlines, this depiction of extraordinary violence in opposition to civilians naturally garnered large outcry each inside and with out gaming areas. To some, it made Name of Responsibility really feel harmful, thrilling, a part of a broader dialog. To others, it was a throwaway train in exploitation, applied for empty shock worth.

Now, now we have affirmation that Trendy Warfare 3 will revisit this contentious mission. The post-credits scene in Trendy Warfare 2 (2022) depicts an unidentified character assembling a handgun and receiving a textual content that includes the notorious phrase. Might this be PFC Allen? Or maybe one other character – possibly one which we’ve already been launched to on this new continuity? There’s additionally the likelihood that it’s a fake-out or red-herring, little greater than a understanding nod to the old-school followers.

Whereas I wouldn’t have anticipated Sledgehammer Video games to attempt to recreate the shock of the unique mission right here, an ESRB score means that there could possibly be multiple scene of a No Russian nature. The ESRB describes MW3’s “intense acts of violence: terrorists taking up an airplane; terrorists (dressed as law enforcement officials and paramedics) taking pictures/killing fleeing civilians inside a stadium concourse; airline passengers getting shot on a airplane; prisoners shot inside a cell.”

However the query is: ought to Trendy Warfare revisit this a part of its legacy? It wouldn’t be the primary time Name of Responsibility has tried to duplicate the affect of the scene – the Paris gasoline assault in Trendy Warfare 3 (2011) failed as a result of it felt anticipated, nearly compulsory. Treyarch’s makes an attempt at courting controversy fared even worse. The examples following No Russian had been unambiguously cynical of their try simply get individuals speaking.

I’ve to imagine there’s a means for this to work, that in broaching such a subject over a decade later Name of Responsibility’s creatives will need to have some willingness to do or say one thing. Whether or not or not a scene like this may even be able to shaking fashionable audiences, not to mention providing one thing past that shock worth, is one other problem completely, although.

Within the time since No Russian, numerous video games have explored violence in nearly all its varieties, exhaustively, typically in graphic element. In 2023, the Name of Responsibility collection is arguably higher identified for its Nicki Minaj and Skeletor skins, or maybe for simple battle royale enjoyable, than its boundary-pushing depiction of terrorism from means again in 2009. Regardless, I nonetheless need to uncover the route Trendy Warfare 3’s builders have taken.