A scene from the game is stirring up international controversy.  In the scene, the player can take control of a rogue Russian villain and gun down civilians at an airport.  Activision has defended the scene's graphic content, stating, "Yes [the scene] is [in the game]. The scene establishes the depth of evil and the cold bloodedness of a rogue Russian villain and his unit. By establishing that evil, it adds to the urgency of the player’s mission to stop them."

Activision continues, "Players have the option of skipping over the scene. At the beginning of the game, there are two ‘checkpoints’ where the player is advised that some people may find an upcoming segment disturbing. These checkpoints can’t be disabled.  Modern Warfare 2 is a fantasy action game designed for intense, realistic game play that mirrors real life conflicts, much like epic, action movies. It is appropriately rated 18 for violent scenes, which means it is intended for those who are 18 and older."

While most retailers in the U.S. and Europe have tolerated the violent content, it has led some gaming sites, including Gamespot, to question whether the content pushed the envelope too far by allowing players to assume the role of murderous terrorists.

Now the Russian government has laid the smack down on Infinity Ward/Activision over the scene.  Angry about the depiction of their country, the government has temporarily banned the game, ordering its recall from all store shelves.

In trying to appease the Russians, Infinity Ward has released a patch which removes the airport level from the Russian version of the game.  It hopes to rerelease the patched game in Russian stores as soon as next month.  The new version has to first get past Russian censors, though.  Despite the game's reportedly unfavorable depiction of (some) Russians, the game has proven surprisingly popular in Russia, as it has in the rest of the world.