So everyone and their mothers are all riled up because of a recent leaked video showcasing the opening of Modern Warfare 2 where....

**Spoilers ahead, stop reading if you don't want to know anything about the game's story before launch**

Still with me? Ok. The game opens with a scene where you actually control a terrorist, or at least a CIA agent who has infiltrated a terrorist cell and is forced to participate in an airport shooting spree, blowing away civilians, in order to protect your cover within the organization. I've seen the footage, while incredibly rough, is still pretty intense. Even at shitty bootleg quality.

But seriously; the game's story, and even the original Modern Warfare's story, involved terrorism. Whether it was explicitly shown or not, it really changes nothing. But just because you see it from the eyes of a terrorist in Modern Warfare 2 (literally..this is a first person shooter) everyone is going bananas, forcing Activision to issue a statement about the leaked video and the game's opening as a whole.

An Activision spokesperson points out:

"The leaked footage was taken from a copy of game that was obtained illegally and is not representative of the overall gameplay experience in Modern Warfare 2."

Further adding:

"Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 features a deep and gripping storyline in which players face off against a terrorist threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse. The game includes a plot involving a mission carried out by a Russian villain who wants to trigger a global war. In order to defeat him, the player infiltrates his inner circle. The scene is designed to evoke the atrocities of terrorism."

But even with the "M" rating right on the front of the game's cover, Infinity Ward also added an option so that easily offended players can skip the entire sequence:

"At the beginning of the game, players encounter a mandatory "checkpoint" in which they are warned that an upcoming segment may contain disturbing elements and they can choose not to engage in the gameplay that involves this scene," Activision says. "Consistent with its content, the game has been given an "M" for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. The rating is prominently displayed on the front and back of the packaging, as well as in all advertising."

It's just so ridiculous that everyone is getting all flustered over this debacle. We see innocent people gunned down by terrorists in entertainment ALL.THE.TIME. Did everyone already forget the recent G.I.Joe film (though I don't blame you for trying)? A film where thousands of innocents we killed. But because Snakes Eyes was in it, or that Duke was a stud, or that it was a "dumb summer blockbuster" no one seemed to be pissed about it then. And why not? The camera was always right in the thick of the action, directly placing you, the viewer, in the middle of terrorist atrocities. So why is it that when a video game does it it's a huge controversy? I'm in no way a completely insensitive asshole but I think it's a good call by Infinity Ward for being ballsy enough to include the segment,. As the Activision rep so eloquently points out in the company's statement; "The scene is designed to evoke the atrocities of terrorism," but what it also does is provide a great setup to the game that gets you emotionally invested and wanting you to push forward to deliver some much desired bloody justice to these evil mustache twirling bad guys.

And if you want to see the video for yourself, follow this link to Break.com where they remain one of the only sites where it hasn't been pulled down yet.