So Call of Duty: Vanguard is quite proud of their next-gen visuals and realism they are striving through by means of taking full advantage of the latest advancements in lighting, textures, and processing power; and well they should be. But to show it off, they invited war photojournalists to go in-game and make some movie magic. I guess on the one hand, the fact that I do participate in war games and enjoy them makes me a bit hypocritical for even questioning this crossover, but at the same time - aren't we on shaky ground already by glorifying war through video games? Maybe this is a step too far, inviting those that actually see war and witness its horrors and human toll firsthand, to promote this genre of game?
To be fair, Activision is using the proceeds from the photos to, well I'll let their words explain it:
So, I don't know. We're really starting to toe a line here and guess its for everyone to self-reflect on where they stand on this. I never thought much in the past about war games and their impact on de-sensitizing us all even if the though has nagged occasionally at that back of my mind. But as my young children get older I find things like this are starting to raise higher in my consciousness, about exactly what I want my own kids exposed to and how, things I took for granted in my own development. I know just the other day I denied my toddler some army toys at the store because I don't want him to idolize the military like I did at his age, having a better understanding of the slippery slope that might represent; but like all things parenting, what the hell do I know anyway? I'm just making all this stuff up as I go along.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5th for PS4/PS5, Xbox One/X|S, and PC.
