I think that if these games eschewed closer to reality, I think the developers would be at a loss. Here is an article from Wikipedia on modern warfare: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_warfare. The warfare depicted in these games is more closer to the warfare practiced in World War II which considering the origin of the Call of Duty series is not surprising.
I didn't believe the premise that because an American was involved in a terrorist attack that the Russian government would attack the U.S. First, why would our government sanction one of our citizens to become involve and participate in the actions of a terrorist group? We deliberately kill leaders and their cronies, and accidentally kill citizens as a result of mechanical or human failure. Second, the Russian government would resolve the crisis through diplomacy. In our modern world, nations seek to address their issues through diplomacy. If diplomacy fails, then there are sanctions. Warfare is a last option for many developed nations.
If we follow the logic of the game, than our nation would have invaded Egypt because Mohamed Atta, the leader of the 9-11 terrorists, was born there. Continuing with this logic, the US wouldn't have gone after the Taliban or Al Qaeda.
This series isn't the only one to feature a communist nation invading the United States. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 shows an invasion by Russia via Alaska and Canada. Homefront, though not a series, is a game about North Korea invading the U.S.
This idea of Russia invading the U.S. is not new to this generation of games. I played Freedom Fighters on the first XBOX. In that game, set in an alternate universe, the Russians invaded the U.S.
Other games I have played - Frontlines: Fuel of War and Fallout 3 - I think have a stronger tie to reality than the Modern Warfare or Battlefield series. (I know that FO3 is set in an alternate reality; however, I feel the premise for the events has some plausibility.) Both of these games feature a world where nations are struggling to obtain resources through diplomacy and warfare. If our world does experience a large war between developed nations, the basis for this war will be over the dwindling resources that drive the industrial base of these nations. Oil, for example. Our DoD has prepared contingency plans for such an occurrence.
I didn't believe the premise that because an American was involved in a terrorist attack that the Russian government would attack the U.S. First, why would our government sanction one of our citizens to become involve and participate in the actions of a terrorist group? We deliberately kill leaders and their cronies, and accidentally kill citizens as a result of mechanical or human failure. Second, the Russian government would resolve the crisis through diplomacy. In our modern world, nations seek to address their issues through diplomacy. If diplomacy fails, then there are sanctions. Warfare is a last option for many developed nations.
If we follow the logic of the game, than our nation would have invaded Egypt because Mohamed Atta, the leader of the 9-11 terrorists, was born there. Continuing with this logic, the US wouldn't have gone after the Taliban or Al Qaeda.
This series isn't the only one to feature a communist nation invading the United States. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 shows an invasion by Russia via Alaska and Canada. Homefront, though not a series, is a game about North Korea invading the U.S.

This idea of Russia invading the U.S. is not new to this generation of games. I played Freedom Fighters on the first XBOX. In that game, set in an alternate universe, the Russians invaded the U.S.
Other games I have played - Frontlines: Fuel of War and Fallout 3 - I think have a stronger tie to reality than the Modern Warfare or Battlefield series. (I know that FO3 is set in an alternate reality; however, I feel the premise for the events has some plausibility.) Both of these games feature a world where nations are struggling to obtain resources through diplomacy and warfare. If our world does experience a large war between developed nations, the basis for this war will be over the dwindling resources that drive the industrial base of these nations. Oil, for example. Our DoD has prepared contingency plans for such an occurrence.