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Angry Assault
2019/08

Game Journalists Are Butt Hurt Over Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Willie Pete Killstreak

Ethan

In no way is this piece defending Activision or Infinity Ward, but to highlight the recent round of activists, I mean… “games journalists” showing off their collusion in action. One target that has been in the crosshair of these agenda-driven writers is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. And this time, it’s the game’s killstreak known as “Willie Pete” causing faux outrage.

If you are unaware, Willie Pete is a term — or more specifically a World War 2 military nickname — for white phosphorus. The tool is used in numerous video game franchises like Rainbow Six, Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, and other titles. Well, in the forthcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare it can be summoned via a killstreak as seen in the latest multiplayer trailer:

In case you missed it in the video, Willie Pete covers the playing field with white smoke flare canisters disorienting you or your counterparts (depending on who calls on it) and burns anyone that dares to get close.

Furthermore, Willie Pete is in both the single-player and multiplayer modes, but game journos for some reason have a hard time separating the two or for that matter distinguishing that Modern Warfare 2019 is an “M” rated VIDEO GAME that is NOT REAL.

But behold, The Next Web writer Rachel Kaser wrote up a “piece” (archive.is) with a headline that reads “Some gamers think white phosphorus is too heinous for Call of Duty.” She would go on to say:

“White phosphorus is a horrible substance that should not be used, and trivializing it as basically a smokescreen and chokepoint trap on a video game map feels more than a little icky. If you need a sobering reminder of what the substance can do to the human body, check out the CDC’s description of its effects.”

Phil Hornshaw of GameSpot (archive.is) followed the same line of speech stating the “real-life horrors” of the fictional version of the tool in Modern Warfare 2019 and how it is at odds with the story mode:

“Infinity Ward saw criticism for choosing to allow players to use white phosphorus against each other in the game. The inclusion of the weapon also seems at odds with Infinity Ward’s stated goals for its single-player campaign. The studio has said it means for Modern Warfare’s narrative to be gritty and realistic, exploring morality and gray areas soldiers have to navigate when balancing completing their missions and doing the right thing.”

Kotaku’s Nathan Grayson wrote up a piece (archive.is) titled “The New Call Of Duty’s Breezy Multiplayer Feels At Odds With Its Gritty Campaign.” Much like the other writeups, this one too follows the same butt hurt talking points:

“[…] Among these super weapons is white phosphorus, a chemical substance that can be used as a self-igniting weapon, causing everything from nightmarish skin burns to organ failure. It’s forbidden to use in civilian areas by international law.

 

In the new Modern Warfare, it’s effectively a cool toy. This didn’t sit well with some members of the series’ community, who were expecting that the new game, described by developers as a darker, more intentionally uncomfortable take on the inherent ugliness of war, wouldn’t be so cavalier in its depiction of a weapon that’s been used to commit heinous atrocities in real life.”

Grayson continues:

“Due to the campaigns’ broader focus on over-the-top action and setpieces, it’s been relatively easy for campaigns and less contextualized multiplayer modes to coexist. This time around, however, Infinity Ward is positioning the campaign as a series of more realistic and harrowing storylines focusing on the difficult situations faced by soldiers as well as the civilians whose homelands have been torn apart by the ravages of war. Thus, the dissonance between the campaign’s tone and the multiplayer is more visible, with sparks flying from the friction.”

ComicBook’s Tyler Fischer also chimed in on the butt hurt train by writing (archive.is) the following:

“There’s ways to use white phosphorus in the game responsibly, mostly via the campaign, but to make it an award for killing a certain amount of people was probably not the right decision.”

But that’s not all, the writer with some pronouns in his bio, Steve Rousseau, wanted some fun. This also applies to Eurogamer’s Emma Kent, and former Eurogamer, Nintendo Life, and PCGamesN writer that happens to now work at MSPoweruser, Lewis White:

Despite the added diversity inclusion, it looks like Activision and Infinity Ward is officially on game Journos’ big bad blacklist, the very one VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi conducted not too long ago.

Anyway, the pseudo-reboot of the decade-old game billed as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is due out for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 25th, 2019.

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Activision Call of Duty: Modern Warfare First-Person Shooter Infinity Ward PC PS4 SJWs Xbox One

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