The new Call of Duty game trailer looks amazing but Polygon and VentureBeat believe that, as a female, I should be offended.

Last month we were heard reports of a game studio in turmoil. Lack of leadership, no vision, no progress, you know the deal. There were whispers that this years Call of Duty got scrapped and SledgeHammer Games got kicked to the curb. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we weren’t expecting to hear anything on Call of Duty for a while, but we got a trailer. And it looks amazing!

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Fortunately for us, Infinity Ward was working on this years Call of Duty. SledgerHammer Games were reportedly working on next year’s title which has now been completely scrapped forcing TreyArch to release Black Ops 5 in 2010, cutting the development time by one year.

Activision have absolutely been smashing it lately. The last two Call of Duty games – World War II and Black Ops IV – are easily some of the best games that Activision have released in the last four years. Black Ops IV especially, albeit having no single player campaign, is one my most played games in the last year. I’m not really a fan of the Battle Royale games but Blackout has such a beautifully unique cinematic quality to it that keeps dragging me back in.

I’m not offended

I actually had to ask my editor if I could include this little rant in my article. He said yes, so here we go. But first, a little disclaimer.

Sausage Roll is proudly apolitical. We don’t inject political ideologies into our articles or reviews, nor do we boycott games, movies or music that do. We are purely content driven and our articles are about the product at face value… with that being saiiiid.

I am a girl. I am also a gamer. But I am not a girl gamer or a gamer girl. These two things aren’t mutually exclusive. Regardless, I have considered myself a gamer ever since I first played Golden Eye on the Nintendo64. From there on gaming became my most enjoyable hobby.

I am female

Now, for the controversial part. I beg you to read on before you judge me. I am a feminist. Proud feminist. Without getting too deep into it I would just like to say that there are some regions in the world that really need feminism, I advocate for that. But never in my 22 years as a gamer have I felt the need to protest or rally against a video game. I have never been offended by a video game.

Female soldier. This game is inclusive.

As an adult I have the ability choose what games I purchase and play. No one is forcing me to play these games. As an adult I am also aware that the games I play aren’t designed with my ideologies or philosophies in mind. So to take anything in a video game personally, to me, is pure insanity.

I bring this up because of the latest controversy surrounding the new Call of Duty game trailer. Groups are starting complain because it depicts violence against women in a war zone. Polygon and VentureBeat, just to name a few, are at-arms in protest against this new realistic and gritty Call of Duty. They are even asking for stricter censorship laws!

“My reaction is not that the developers should censor themselves or someone else should censor them. My question is about choices. We can make this kind of game, but should we?”

Modern Woman Modern Warfare

This uproar was sparked by the scene where fire at a women who reaches for an explosive. Call of Duty is not the first game to include civilian causalities. Innocent bystanders die all the time in video-games and sometime’s even senselessly (hello GTA!). All the sudden we have a male game journalist standing up saying that this game is advocating violence against women? I’m sorry, buddy, that’s sexist! You think I some weaker sex that needs you to step in to defend me? Bugger off!

“But in another room, a woman runs for a gun. She prepares to shoot. You have to kill her. Your silenced weapon makes muffled noises, and bodies hit the floor. Up close and personal. The same goes for other armed men in the place. In another room, shots are fired through the door before you can respond. One enemy is wounded and gurgles his last breaths. A woman cries in the background. One of your soldiers goes down. You fire into the door or fire into the wall, and the enemy goes down.”

These ‘professional’ game journalists have absolutely lost the plot. They don’t have a point. And just want to be upset about everything. They demand political correctness and exclusivity in video games, and then when they get a game that ticks both boxes and also showcases the real grit of modern warfare they whinge?

Don’t change Call of Duty

Please, Activision and Infinity Ward, don’t change a thing. I was so quick to pre-order once I saw the trailer. Finally, a game that makes war feel real. A game that shows the large grey area of war that most games avoid. A game that shows you that your enemy are just as human as you; mothers, fathers, sons an daughters.

Did you know?

The newly re-imagined Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game is now at the very top of my wish-list. And I am honestly shocked and surprised, because when I heard they were recreating Modern Warfare I was convinced that you were going to ruin a classic. Modern Warfare is a landmark in gaming history. It was one of the first games to actually make me cry. It was an extremely powerful, moving and unforgettable experience. And – holy crap – it looks like the new game may be better!