Be Excellent To Each Other

Whilst playing CoD5 last night my good friend Bob in Australia popped on and asked if I'd like a go of the Nazi Zombie thing. I thought it was unlocked on completion of the main game, but no!

What a lovely thing it is too. Like Horde mode in GoW2, the Zombies (and I'd like to point out here they are slow and shambly ) approach in ever increasing waves.

What I like is the points/upgrades/fortification system: Shoot Z's for points, spend points on better weapons or reinforcing the windows that are constantly being smashed by Z's and unlock doors to other parts of the building your holding when your getting over run.

Overall I'm very impressed with this mode, I demand it gets bezzied.

I might get it from Goozex if you're going to be around at a decent time every now and again.

I like the feeling of stressed out dread as you start getting close to being cornered by the proper zombies

Refuse to buy CoD5 due to executions.

It haz realz zombies though Dimrill. REALZ!

EDIT: Are you talking about the distasteful footage used in cutscenes btw?

Yes, that. Dun't care, morals first.

Technically if you get it pre-owned, you're not putting any money in their pockets.

...and if you only play the Zombie game you won't never have to see the footage.

That's how I justified it to myself.

Yes yes, and if I eat a beefburger out of a rubbish bin I'm not killing the cow.

I agree, if you don't want to own it you don't want to own it.

What's the fuss about it anyway, I hadn't heard this?

The intro contains actual footage of people being executed.

In the opening montage of stock footage there's a Japanese fella being executed. It's on for less than a second and adds nothing to the game, so presumably it was added to court controversy & make them appear edgy.

Blimey.

I guess the counter argument is "well it's a war simulator where you personally execute enemies, isn't that just as bad?"

I'd say there's a pretty clear distinction between simulating war and showing actual footage of someone being killed in an effort to make your game seem edgy.

Have we confirmed it is actually real? I'd have thought it would've made the Daily Mail brigade start a hate campaign against it.

The whole sequence is done in a funky 'MTV' style with lots of graphics and zipping around to rock music and just cheapens and degrades the whole thing. It's like World War 2, as told by stoned American college assholes.

"Oh yeah, dude, and then he like totally cuts this dude's head off! Brandon, you saw it man, tell him!"

I haven't heard about this, but surely it's a good thing that a computer game places an historical conflict simulator in some kind of context, rather than encouraging players to think of it as one long hoot, no?

It's a point I tried to rationalise with myself, until I saw my 11 year old nephew's reaction to it and how much he wants to be a soldier because it's just like CoD innit?!

I know his reasoning is poor, but soldiers spend most of their time doing good work, and a very small portion of it fighting stupid illegal wars. If he does become a soldier, you should be proud of him.

[edit]Actually, they spend most of their time doing not much at all

I agree with that.

But this game doesn't do that. The OTT rock n' roll presentation of footage of real people getting shot in the back of the head and falling into a grave they've probably just dug is one thing, but to have this in the same game as Nazi Zombies is just waaaaay too far.

Every other Call of Duty (and Medal of Honour, and indeed the execrable Brothers in Arms) game that I've played goes to great lengths to tell you how horrible what these soldiers went through was, and DOESN'T need to show real people being killed or college rock backing.

Dimrill: A guy at work's son played CoD4 a lot and also wants to join the army because you can just hide behind walls until they stop shooting and besides 'when you die, you just respawn'. *shivers*

Perhaps you should tell the guy to keep his son the fuck away from games for people aged 16 and above.

[edit]Also, you know, the 11 year old cousin.

Have a look and make your own mind up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzimIMdARCI

itsallwater was telling me that his mate (sailorVSshark on Live if you've ever played CoD4 with him) works as an engineer for the Navy, and he works about four hours a week or something crazy.

Oh that I have no doubt, but his levels of reasoning just aren't there. He expects to be able to shoot "gooks" in the head all the time and run and run and run. It's up to him what he wants to do when he's older, but these games are hardly a mirror image of the realities of war. Corpses and raped populace are magically whisked away in front of your eyes! Mortally wounded people calling out for their Mothers before they die, gone!

Be the best.

That's perhaps why there are age limits on games like this.

Really? A mate of mine counts tins of beans for the Navy, and he works 14 hours a day for six months at a time.

Apparently so. He's 'on loan' to the Army at the moment though. He worked really long hours when he first joined, and obviously he does other stuff, but his scheduled hours are something stupid like four a week.

Oh, and he's going to Afghanistan for six months in a little while.

Mate of mine is in the marines. He's seriously fucking tough, but seems to spend a lot of time skiing, and when he's actually at work, trying to keep his lads occupied so they don't get bored. Which is kinda tricky when you're on a boat for a long time, but they got to shoot the fuck out of speedboats, so that's all good. He gets paid loads.

My awesome review on Snappy Gamer criticised this at the time. I'm so far ahead.

Once again, the technology's changed but people haven't. Kids' toy soldier sets from 100 years back did not include the figure gassed in the trench or a torse (deliberatly) missing a head as blood gushes out. 150 years it would have been hard drawn prints in adventure books of lines of men in lush uniforms, until the photographers started recording it.

So. Executions in games, eh?

CoD4 did it well.

Quite, but I bet those toy soldiers didn't come packaged with a real severed head.

Much like CoD5 in this regard, then.

Yes, you are all right and I shall go out and purchase the game immediately.

For maximum protest, they should make a video game showing the army executing Tommy Cooper.

Nah, I'm not saying that. But I am a bit confused by your reasoning.

No. So why don't you go do that while we blather on some more.

Yes, it was heath ledger pulling the trigger.

OK - I mean, ok.

"I'm waiting for you!"

Refuse to buy CoD5 due to not wanting to go near another CoD game after 4.
And the dogs.
And the executions.

I hadn't really heard about the Video Clips (or at least had forgotten about them) when I clicked for it on Goozex.

I generally find games set during real wars (that don't go the Wolfenstein/Indiana Jones route) to be rather offensive due to their pathetic handling of a very serious subject. Especially when the people who fought in those wars are still alive.

And CoD5 is the worst for that out of any game I've played. It'll be back on the goozey pronto.

The Nazi Zombie game is awesome though.

I played CoD4 once before I put it on Goose. I didn't encounter the dogs or the controversial footage, but I could tell it wasn't the sort of thing I wanted to be playing.

I'd argue that these sort of games can, if done correctly, give you a (very limited) understanding of just what they were up against. Play a Call of Duty on Veteran, and think how the first time you get killed, that would have been it had it been real.

And, knowing that's what it came down to, think what it took to still climb out from behind that wall you were hiding behind and attack, knowing that at any moment you could be lying on the turf vainly trying to stop yourself bleeding, thinking through the agony that you were about to die alone in a faraway land.