Let me start off by saying something positive, before I go on a rant. The MP in COD is well designed. Having played Goldeneye, TimeSplitters (1 & 2), and CSS, there's a real fun atmosphere in fast paced FPS games with good frame rates.
Now onto the rant.
Holy god! I thought the majority of CSS players were annoying enough, but ever since the release of COD: MW, I've discovered something much worse than that.
COD: MW was a well designed game, from the single-player campaign, to its multiplayer. At this point, I'm still cool with it. I may have even gotten hooked on it, if it wasn't for the way it was marketed. The fact that they marketed this game as a simulation of modern combat is in itself, its downfall. If anything came remotely close to simulating modern warfare, it's probably more along the lines of the SOCOM series. Still not enough to condemn a game though.
What certainly condemns the game is its player-base, and while there are exceptions, the vast majority of COD players seem to be teenage boys that think they know the ins and outs of modern combat thanks to the glorious gift of this game that was bestowed upon them, and that's thanks to its marketing. The newest COD, Black Ops, now leads them to believe they know everything about SPECOPS missions. It's a horrible, misleading form of advertising, that I normally wouldn't have a problem with, except that these kids are not leaving fantasy action where it should stay...fantasy. And where does that take them?
Videos of kids and young adults showing off their awesome knife-throwing/fighting skills. Arguments about modern tactics and weaponry based off the tactics and statistics used in-game. Teenagers and young adults walking down the street with their giant hunting/combat knife on their hip (yes, I have seen it), and finally, the same idiots enlisting for SEALs, Rangers, Aircrew, etc. that get stuck in a horrible military enlistment when they realize their dream job is nothing like the game, and then go out and do something stupid that ends up affecting me, like getting a DUI or underage, and then making me sit through 6 hours of command powerpoints about responsible drinking. Or one stupid kid I knew that enlisted in SEALs looking for action, didn't make it, lost focus, motivation, self-confidence, and ended up stabbing someone with the knife he keeps under his pillow. Did I mention this same kid wanted to be a SEAL because he played SOCOM?
Now these same people, these elitists, go on to think they're the expert at everything. I've had enough arguing on YouTube about helicopter dynamics, because these COD kids think they know everything about flight, or being a door gunner, that they refuse to accept any criticism or corrections to their theories. I couldn't possibly know more than them, being a real helicopter gunner, so the 4 chapters of SECRET pubs I've studied about tactics and aerial gunnery, not to mention my 3 hour board, must have been a waste, because I could have learned everything I need to know playing a mission as a door gunner. Helicopter mishap? I guess they know what that FEELS like too, because they crashed in game and had a nice surreal effect to show they got disoriented. Me, having been in a helicopter crash, obviously know nothing compared to them, and the fact that even though it wasn't my fault in the back, I constantly ride an emotional guilt trip that doesn't end unless I sleep, which is why I nap 2-3 times during the day. I obviously don't know anything about the sheer terror of being in a mishap, and all the emotional highs and lows that come from an experience like that. I'm just a pussified over-dramatic in their eyes.
In conclusion, my beef with COD lies in the elitism found in its player-base. It's giving these kids and young adults a sense of over-confidence that is confusing them into making rash decisions (enlisting, carrying a knife, etc.) that one day is going to result in harm to themselves, or others. If you're one of these people, stop it! Accept criticism when you're wrong, disconnect the link you've created between fantasy and reality, and find a more productive path of life. If you aren't one of these people, then please help me out in correcting those that are, otherwise we're going to end up with an incident that could have been completely avoidable.
