Controversial footage of Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 game, releasing next month, has leaked.

In it, dozens of innocent civilians are killed in a terrorist attack on an airport.

Now, in and of itself, this is nothing new.  Rainbow Six and other franchises have long featured the terrorist element as an enemy.

But this time, you are along for the ride.  You witness the carnage through the gunsight of the terrorist.

And, some people have just a bit of a problem with that.

“Warfare” creator Activision has just today admitted that the footage is indeed part of the game but is “not representative of the overall gameplay experience in Modern Warfare 2.”

They go on to say that a mandatory checkpoint has been placed in the game, warning of disturbingly graphic images and can even opt out of those scenes being in the game.

Finally, Activision states that players won’t be playing the part of the terrorists.  They merely get to see key moments of the game unfold from the terrorist’s perspective via cut scenes.

Here’s a newly released trailer in which part of the footage is shown.

Now, what say ye?  Anyone have a problem with terrorist images being shown from the first person perspective in a video game?

Undoubtedly, some parents will.  They will contend that such violent and suggestive images should not be part of any game that is exposed to kids.

And I would most definitely agree.

However, I would also say that parents should be parents and prohibit kids from buying, playing, or even watching the game.  The ESRB rating is Mature.

If the more apathetic and permissive parents out there don’t want to step up, chances are these won’t be the first disturbing images their kids have seen.

For me, I play these games when my niece and nephew aren’t around.  If they show up (as they are often wont to do), I stop playing or ask them to leave while I’m playing a “grown up” game.

My friend Keith, who has a young daughter, owns these games but won’t play them until his daughter is in bed or out of the house.  Hey look, everyone!  Good parenting…

Not all video games are meant for kids.  Keith and I will be picking up Modern Warfare.  But the kids in our lives will not be.

And if you’ve got a concern about the game in general, and believe terrorism shouldn’t be part of games period, then I guess you have a problem with any other form of media that makes its living by portraying violence.

Guess that means no CSI, NCIS, Without a Trace, The Unit, or 24 for you.  To say nothing about the evening news.