Treyarch's director of communications John Rafacz sat down with GamesTM today to talk their new and controversial vision for the future of America in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. "We did a lot of work with [modern warfare expert] Peter W. Singer," Rafacz says of the pre-production, noting that they had been trying to nail a "plausible and authentic" vision of the future from day one. The team decidedly tried to avoid anything with "laser beams and aliens," grounding Call of Duty in the embellished-but-gritty warfare that has come to make the series world-famous. 

But is this vision of a tech-driven future in command of the highest bidder a little too controversial, even for the massive Call of Duty franchise? "When we first sat down with [Singer,] we ran him through the weapons, the approach and the storyline we had in mind and asked him, 'are we going too far?' But Singer's answer was 'I don't think you're going far enough.'" Treyarch let this principle guide them through the careful creation of a plausible future in which all of our military tech is guided from afar, and all of it can be commandeered by terrorists should they happen to get their hands on the keys. It's a frightening and compelling vision to be sure, but more importantly it's topical, and should Treyarch handle it with the deft hands it requires, this story could prove to be more than just a piece of entertainment. It could be a warning.