Guide: Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was released on 25 October 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. It's the sixteenth instalment in the Call of Duty series, as well as a reboot of the Modern Warfare sub-series.
It's a gritty game about an American soldier, a UK operative, and a woman leading the militia in defence of her home in a fictional Arab country that is attacked by terrorists and corrupt Russian military.
The game depicts events through these three protagonists' eyes. Atrocities against innocent civilians, terrorist attacks and scenes of torture and execution. There is a focus on players avoiding killing civilians by holding fire until it's revealed whether individuals are the actual enemy or innocents.
Along with this campaign, there is an online multiplayer mode. This is the main attraction for most players. This year its focus is no more tactical gameplay. Players explore the map, breach doors and read visual clues to detect enemies. There are modes that allow for up to 100 players to battle at once.
Along with the ratings, it’s worth considering that the action is intense and non-stop. Also that playing online will often result in exposure to insults and inflammatory language.
Ratings
The VSC rated this game PEGI 18, only suitable for those 18 and over. This rating has been given due to violence against vulnerable and defenceless characters., the motiveless killing of innocent characters, graphic violence and use of strong language
The VSC expand on the PEGI rating by stating, that "Violence in the game ranges from mild to very graphic and includes torture, dismemberment and decapitation. There are infrequent occurrences of children involved in violence or being subjected to violence. The dialogue in the game contains the frequent use of the sexual expletive ‘fuck’, ‘fucked’, and ‘fucking’."
They also highlight, with the In-App purchase descriptor that, "this game offers players the opportunity to purchase in-game items which some parents or carers may want to be aware of. It should be noted that the game can still be played without the need to purchase such items
Parental Controls
You can set up Parental Controls on your gaming system to limit access to Call of Duty Black Ops 4 based on its PEGI rating so that playing the game requires a password.
You can also turn off graphic content like blood and some bad language in the General menu and specify whether to exclude Text Chat, Filter Profanity and turn off Dismemberment & Gore Effects.
In the Audio menu, you can also disable Voice Chat so you can't hear other players.
These settings do not have passwords and can be turned back on.
But you can control the voice-chat element of the game in the system. On PS4 by selecting Settings > Parental Controls > Sub Account Management. Then under Chat/Message, select Block to prevent all voice chat.
On XBox One, select Settings > Privacy & Online Safety > Custom > Communicate with Voice and Text. Then you can select Friends or Private to disable it.
You can control access to the game based on its PEGI rating in the parental controls of your system. Similarly, you can control In-App purchases by restricting access to any credit card associated with it.
Younger Alternatives
You can consider the following alternatives for younger players. These are no less exciting or exuberant but they dial down the violence with content appropriate to youngsters.
- Plants Vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2 (PEGI 7+)
- Roblox – Phantom Forces (PEGI 7+)
- Overwatch (PEGI 12+)
- Starwars Battlefront II (PEGI 16+)
That’s my guide to Call of Duty Modern Warfare. I hope you found it useful. If you have questions about this game, suggestions for other games you’d like me to cover, or just want to chat about Call of Duty do pop a comment on this post.
