'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II' continues the franchise's long history of courting controversy

The Call of Duty game franchise has been controversial before. The gunfights in the series are not unusual. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II takes real world events and uses them to create controversy. The series has had many shocking moments, from the player unemotionally killing civilians in an airport to the re-framing of an American war crime as Russian. Modern warfare is the same.

There is a globe-trotting adventure from Mexico to Amsterdam to Chicago that involves chasing terrorists and uncovering a secret plot by a rogue American general and his private military group.

The internet is abuzz over the game's interpretation of recent geopolitics, and many have called out the series for its not-so subtle use of real-world headlines for campaign content. In an interview with Jacob Minkoff, the director of the Modern Warfare series, he said that he didn't think the game was a political one.

Is this about politics? Does Call of Duty think in terms of anything?

The new Call of Duty starts with an assassination similar to that of Qassem Soleimani

In the opening seconds of the campaign, the player is asked to confirm that the Iranian Quds Force General is in attendance for a Russian arms deal. A player controls a missile that is used to destroy everyone in the vicinity. The similarity of the mission to the assassination of Iranian Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani was quickly pointed out by the social media site.

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If you haven't played the game, it's possible that Modern Warfare II will discuss the ethics of the American military in foreign countries. The game said there was no time for that as we were pushed onto the next mission.

The leadership void left by "Ghorbrani's" assassination fills by Major Hassan, the game's main antagonist, who teams with a Mexican Cartel to smuggle missiles into the United States. Call of Duty has used fictional stand-ins before. In 2008's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's Khaled Al-Asad was a replica of Saddam Hussein, but unlike the real one, he had nuclear weapons.

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Hold right-click to de-escalate civilians

Minutes after the assassination of the totally-not-Soleimani Iranian general, there is a second major controversy. Major Hassan is being smuggled into the US by the Mexican Cartel with the player assuming the role of Mexican Special Forces quickly on his trail. In the game, the player jumps over the U.S-Mexico border wall in pursuit of Hassan.

There is a problem when the player has to sneak through a trailer park to break into homes. By pointing a gun at them, you can do this. The civilians are encouraged to head in the other direction.

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Near the end of the mission, a cop in a cowboy hat tells the boys that it's hard to tell them apart from the drug traffickers. Is it possible that these events are saying something about police brutality or prejudice? Before I could think about it, the Cartel blew up the cops, and the game continued as usual.

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It's just a game, why does it matter?

Politics is a big source of stress for young people. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, border security and the killing of a military leader of a country with which the US is not at war are heady topics. The pattern of driving headlines to market these games is clear. Since you are reading this, it worked.