After recently leaked footage of an in-game sequence from the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, in which you can actively kill civilians as a Russian terrorist surfaced, Activision and Infinity Ward have come under a firestorm of criticism.

Critics have started to condemn the game and have been calling for pre-order cancellations saying the game has simply gone too far.  Cries of “Hard to Stomach” and “Moral Outrage” have been flowing steadily on message boards and from the mouths of video game activists calling for immediate action.

“The ability to shoot helpless civilians as they run in terror for their lives just hits way too close to home.” says Johnston Jacobs, Video Game Activist.  “It’s just too soon…too soon.”

IndustryGamers.com reflects: “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 much 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.”

Bad as it sounds?

Concerns from all over are growing that the scene could affect our youth directly, by brainwashing them into committing terrorist acts against our country.  Most members of the opposition are worried the line between reality and fiction is just too blurred these days and this playable sequence could have dire consequences on our youth.

In an effort to add some perspective from the developer’s side, a spokesperson for Activision only had this to say: “It is rated M for Mature.”

As of yet, no one has been able to rebuttal the argument.