Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Leaked Video Depicts Terrorist Action

[Note: Some spoilers below!]

Earlier today, we figured that the lack of dedicated servers for the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 would be the most controversial aspect of the game. A video that leaked onto the Internet today, however, suggests that there are sections of the game that put you in cahoots with the terrorist Makarov. If the video is indeed genuine, we're a little worried about the reaction to follow in the coming months in this crazy post-9/11 world. [The YouTube video was taken down, but CNN's iReport still has the footage. Update: Now that's been taken down as well]

The video starts with the players situated with a group of heavily armed men in an elevator, who upon exiting, fire automatic weapons into a tightly packed group of unarmed civilians. The men then proceed through the airport and mow down anyone who comes across their path. The player exits onto the tarmac past piles of dead bodies, shooting their way through police vans before being apparently shot in the head by Makarov before he makes an escape.

While some have a knee-jerk reaction to these sorts of elements, let's examine why such a level would even be put into Modern Warfare 2. It'd be easy for Infinity Ward to simply have a non-interactive cut scene depicting parts of this terrorist action, but by putting players into the middle of it, it makes the actions even more real and the consequences more tangible; it's hard not to get a lump in your throat as innocents are being shot down in your gunsights. The game also isn't condoning the terrorist actions nor is it depicting them as right – merely giving weight to what otherwise could be a clinical side-note in the game.

We've pinged both Infinity Ward and Activision for comment, but have yet to hear back. Update: The video is real, and Activision has issued a statement.