Is Nuke Boosting the new dogging?

Posted on 9 Mar 2010 at 14:27

The internet is no stranger to seediness, after all once man creates a new method of communication, you can guarantee that pornographic materials are not far behind. Not that we’re prudes here at Shopper, and we've nothing per se against the use of the internet by consenting adults for any legal purpose. However, we've recently noticed a rather unseemly trend in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, where the game's very design has encouraged players on opposite teams to consort in pairs.

MW2 is by far the most successful game of recent years, with the developers announcing today that 25 million people have partaken in the varied charms of its online multiplayer. This kind of popularity makes for a very competitive environment amongst its players, particularly in respect to unlocking certain ranks and medals for bragging purposes.

One of MW2's key gameplay elements is the concept of Killstreaks. Here players earn tactical weapons to deploy in game, like sentry guns or air support, by racking up a set number of kills without dying. The ultimate Killstreak is the Tactical Nuke, which requires 25 unbroken kills, but once earned can be deployed for an instant victory. Earning such a nuke in open play is a considerable achievement, and getting 10 unlocks a special nuke badge that appears by your name in game.

The amazing thing is that this little piece of bling has created its own shady sub-culture known as nuke boosting. This is when two opposing players are so seduced by the idea of launching the fabled nuke that they conspire to achieve it. To explore this murky world I went online to uncover boosters at work.

It only takes three games on the free-for-all mode to find a couple of boosters. One uses the Tactical Insertion equipment to spawn repeatedly in the same place, while his 'partner' kills him repeatedly until he gains the Nuke. The next game they will reverse roles, and the other player will be on the receiving end.

I find this pair crouched in the corner of a run-down hut in a usually abandoned part of the level. They are totally centred on each other, trying to rack through the kills as quickly as possible before they are discovered by other players, whose game they are ruining by their nefarious actions.

Most curious, though, is that the player matching system of MW2 makes it very unlikely that the two boosters have met before. Much like the sexual pastime of Dogging, epitomised by footballer Stan Collymore, they are strangers who meet cautiously at mutually understood locations, they have a shared need that only a stranger can satisfy, and they take turns in achieving it.

I pile in guns blazing and kill them both, one player instantly respawns due to his tactical insertion, and so I shoot him again. Three kills for me and a feeling of satisfaction that I've done my bit to keep MW2 clean of such underhanded activity.

The boosters don't give up though, and start deploying claymore mines and using heartbeat sensors to defend their position. The other players catch on though and a brief truce is formed to hunt them down. Soon they both quit out of the game and head off to different games looking for fresh partners and easier pickings.

Such activity has provoked a vicious response from some MW2 players, who then specialise in hunting down boosters. These hunters capture their exploits and post them online, to the amusement of a baying crowd of righteous fans – just watch the video above and read the comments posted. Whether it's the slightly seedy nature of boosting, or the rabid animosity it generates in others, the whole nuke boosting phenomena certainly doesn't bring out the best in human nature.