The Call of Duty series has had some controversial scenes and themes throughout its tenure. Who could ever forget the "No Russian" scene from Modern Warfare 2? It was talked to death on many mainstream news airwaves.
Even when mainstream media often misses the point of our favored artform, video game rating boards seem to generally be more understanding of context. That being said, the Australian Classification Board put their foot down on a particular scene in the upcoming Call of Duty: World War II.
The scene in question featured, what is being called, "a reference to sexual violence that is justified by context." It wasn't shown and the game certainly did not encourage it, but it was featured as an aspect of war. Kotaku reported on the scene initially, and it has come to light that the scene has been modified for Australian audiences. It's unclear whether they're the only region affected by the change, however.
Spoiler/Trigger Warning: The scene is described below
"In one section of the game, the player controls Rosseau, a female spy, as she infiltrates a German building. While inside, she witnesses a woman as she is dragged by a Nazi soldier into a closet, against her will, screaming, "You're all pigs!" Rosseau opens the closet door, as the soldier says, "Leave. This is none of your business." The player is then given the option to kill the soldier or leave.
If the player chooses to leave, the player closes the door, as the soldier is heard unziping his fly and viewed advancing towards the woman. She screams, "Ah! Get away from me!" as Rosseau leaves. It is implied that the soldier is going to sexually assault the woman, but at no time is the assault depicted."
The Classification Board rated the game R18+ with the scene included. Activision modified the scene and re-submitted it for review, although the Board kept their R18+ rating. The changes include the female prisoner wearing pants instead of a skirt, as to depict her as less vulnerable. The audio of the soldier's implied zipper was also removed.
Activision has yet to clarify whether this change was made in additional regions or not. While the edits were made to appease the sensitivities of different countries, it's not the worst we've seen. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes features an audio recording of a heavily implied rape scene, followed by a discussion between members of the offending party, giving clues as to where the culprits are located. There are also some gross anatomic implications of where a bomb is located, but we'll leave that part to the imagination.
A deeply disturbing scene indeed, but the purpose seems to be similar to Activision's Call of Duty: World War II: context. Unfortunately, video games still sit in an in-between state to the general public, and such mature content is still hotly debated while the artistic context is often missed. Do you find that to be the case here? Do we have any Australian readers to weigh in on their Classification Board and general society?
Call of Duty: WWII launches on November 3 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
