I am completely on the fence with this Modern Warfare 3 ad. On one hand its a pretty entertaining inside joke for gamers and reminds me a lot of what its like to be a Noob (eg. newbie, someone who lacks experience). Having recently gotten my ass kicked by 12 year olds to the point of hating Battlefield 3, the experience is fresh on my mind. On the other side the ad ends by declaring “There’s a soldier inside us all” and makes war look like a grand ol’ time. Oooof, my inner contradictions are laid bare. A friend once told me I’m the most “violent pacifist” he knows and I constantly struggle with this.

Here’s two takes on the ad, one from the generally trustworthy The Atlantic and one from the more gamer-centric Ars Technica.