Anarchy and Violence in Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War

Mondays...

Behind all the chaos, mayhem and downright anarchic violence of the newest Call of Duty game lies a message that many Christians can resonate with: there are higher standards than those set forth by King and Country.

There are many arguments about whether games are good for our spiritual wellbeing (Philippians 4:13); Cold War is a challenging game in that regard. With so much backstabbing, betrayal and carnage, can there be something redeeming to be found in its primal mayhem?

I, Kyle van Rensburg, have made it my mission (yes I accepted it) to find out for you in this review of Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War.

Let's go!

The award for longest game title goes to...

Release Date: November 13, 2020

Post Author: Kyle van Rensburg (Admin)

Genre: FPS

Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: Mature Gamers Only (17+)

Content Overview

Violence: Let's get real - Cold War has a lot of violence.

Ha ha. Very funny Kyle.

General Gameplay: Hundreds of soldiers are gunned down with a variety of different weapons. Suppressed pistols, assault rifles, snipers and knives are used to splay and mutilate hapless mooks throughout the game. Stealth-based approaches can get plenty violent in the right hands (StealthGamerBR, 2020). 

The player also feels the heat in typical Call of Duty fashion; a blood-stained screen and heartbeat sounds indicate that you are seconds away from meeting your maker.

For added effect, the game slows down the action to display bullets hitting bodies, with gnarly sound effects and blood. The action also involves explosions destroying vehicles and environments; hard-hitting music punctuate these scenes for added intensity.

--Players engage in close-up "takedowns" of foes both aware and unaware.

Knives meet jugulars in bloody fashion; skulls are perforated by bullets up close and personal. A combination of stabs, execution style shots and punches (oh no) take down (hehe) unwitting foes. Blood sprays and graphic sound effects occur. 

Players can add to the sadism* by taking enemies hostage and using them as bullet shields. The mook can then be executed in the usual manner or have a grenade pinned to them and thrown across the room. It should be noted that the latter is not as bloody as it sounds and happens with very little gore. (8)

*This is a joke.

Scripted Scenes: Here we have what Call of Duty is known for - hard-hitting violence in scenes where the player has minimised control.

--Players are given "choices". You can interrogate and then kill mooks 24-style throughout the game or simply let them go. What will you do? The choice is yours.

-A man is punched several times and suspended from a balcony. He can be thrown off on the ground below or captured.

Sex/Nudity:

--Following the maxim of "tread carefully", here goes: players are given a choice of gender near the start of the game. You can be male, female, or non-binary. When choosing the latter, you are referred to with gender-neutral pronouns such as "they". 

*SJWs have left the chat*

--A man reads what appears to be a "men's magazine" but without any detail. Another man jokes that he'll "go blind" from reading it. (3)

Language: Uses of F**k and S**t. Religious profanities occur at regular intervals (Jesus Christ, God's name in vain).

Drug Content: Scenes of smoking and drinking in a bar.

Spiritual Content:

Themes:

-Communism

-Cold war (duh)

Morality:

Conclusion:

Reference List

StealthGamerBR. (27 November 2020.) Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Stealth Kills (Redlight, Greenlight) Realism/No Damage. [Video] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWhLCqbHmsU