Back in the Summer of 2008, I bought an Xbox 360 because I wanted to play Halo 3. During my first year with the console, I never got around to playing the game that many people say “out-Halo’ed” Halo , Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. So while people were busy getting excited for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, I was getting excited for Bungie’s follow-up, Halo 3: ODST. However, after playing through ODST and feeling like my excitement was misplaced, I was curious to see what Activision had to offer with its next installment to the Call of Duty Series. Not only did Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 “out-Halo” ODST, it may have also “out-FPS’ed” any other FPS released in 2009.
The first thing I noticed while playing Modern Warfare 2 is its seemingly high production value. This experience is similar to playing through a high-cost, wartime action flick. If you’re looking for explosions, cool high-tech weaponry, violence, and gore, they’re right here with all the bells and whistles. Unfortunately, like many big-budget Hollywood films, the single player campaign in MW2 was not without its plot holes. While playing through the campaign you may notice some events that may be a little unreasonable or unrealistic. A few possibly unnecessary twists and turns made me feel like I was getting jerked around a bit. But much like the previously mentioned Hollywood films, I don’t walk into a movie theater expecting to find the meaning of life in an action movie , I took MW2 for what it is and didn’t let this eat away at me. Though a little far-fetched at times, the storyline did serve its purpose: to provide the player with a little motivation so that they are intrigued enough to continue playing.
Since I never played a Call of Duty game before this one, I was a little confused as to what I was doing and who I was playing as until about a quarter into the game. The player spends most of the game playing as Sergeant “Roach” Sanderson, and the game takes place in different areas of Russia, South America, and the United States. In retrospect, MW2 was a unique experience for me because I’ve never played an FPS that would put the player in American suburbia. I really enjoyed the environments that the game took place in, so in in a way, I’m thankful for the outlandish plot since it allowed me to shoot around different regions of the world.
With respect to the campaign, one needs to watch out for the difficulty. Regular difficulty is perfect for first-timers, while hardened difficulty is fine for seasoned CoD vets. However, after finishing the game on veteran I’ve come to the realization that this mode is not fun. I got pummeled while playing through veteran. However, after going back to play the original Modern Warfare, MW2’s veteran mode is more manageable. That said, Veteran mode is still sadistic and may only be for the truly achievement-/trophy-hungry.
Infinity Ward also did an excellent job tying special effects and gameplay mechanics together. The player will get a chance to do some new things like use thermal scopes and breach doors. A gameplay mechanic that I especially enjoyed in MW2 occurred when breaching doors as it employs effects that you’d see in an action movie. The door is set with explosives, you bust through, and bullet time begins. In the ensuing calamity you’ll find rubble and bodies flying off in different tangents as you try to fix your crosshairs on enemy soldiers’ heads to pump a few rounds into their skulls. This all happens in slow motion and it is , for the lack of a better term , awesome.
The environments are beautiful as the developers at Infinity Ward seemed to have done an excellent job paying attention to detail , things like paper and leaves floating about in the wind and dust particles dancing in the sunlight near windows are accounted for. MW2 is easily one of the better looking games that I have played through this year.
The gunplay and combat might be better discussed in the context of the multiplayer. Plot and story aside, MW2 prides itself in being one of the most realistic shooters available. Therefore, there’s no romancing your enemy to death by making your way through their overshield in this game. Much like in real life, you often meet your fate with one or two well-placed bullets. In the PvP multiplayer, this is especially difficult when you’re just getting into the game. When you start, you will be slaughtered , and there’s no way of getting around it. This is due, in part, to the experience-based nature of the multiplayer mode. It’s very capitalistic , you play more; you do better; you get more experience points; you unlock more guns and perks. Therefore, the more time you put into the multiplayer, the more you get out of it. This turned me off at first, but the more time I invested the more that I wanted to play.
Like the original MW, one of the most addictive parts of the multiplayer is making your own customizable classes (these are unlocked relatively early on). For each class you can assign a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, three perks, and a death streak. It takes some time to grind up to the point where you may be content with the weapons that you have, but those who are patient and can find themselves getting into the multiplayer might have a good time with this. I was turned off by the initial slog but after unlocking a few weapon attachments and guns, I got hooked.
Furthermore, the multiplayer seems to reward you with accolades and various “mini-achievements” based on variety of kills and as you rack up experience points. These “in-game rewards” and weapon attachments occur often and are relatively easy to lock, doing a good job of stringing the player along. One positive aspect of the multiplayer is that you will always see progress in the form of experience points , win, lose, or draw.
The more time you spend with this game, the more you’ll realize that the multiplayer could be considered to be the centerpiece of the game. Therefore, something to take into account is that this is Modern Warfare , the game with one of the most negative online gaming communities. Those who keep up with gaming blogs and podcasts know that when you play the multiplayer, you’ll find yourself knee deep in the negative quagmire that exists within the XBL and PSN worlds. So, if you’re on the battlefield by yourself, don’t bother hooking up your headset if you’re looking for words of encouragement or “sportsmanship” from strangers.
It should be noted that the multiplayer in MW2 does one of the most important (and often most difficult) things that the multiplayer mode in an FPS title should do — it gets those competitive juices flowing. Once you get into it, it is highly addictive and has that “one more round” factor that gamers lose so many hours of their lives to.
Newly introduced to Modern Warfare is the Spec Ops mode. This will send you (alone or with a friend) out on the battlefield with a certain task to accomplish. These missions may include sniper missions, getting from point A to point B, or eliminating a certain number of enemy troops. I found that most of these missions are on the difficult side, so this mode is better when you team up with a friend. Spec Ops is a really nice addition to the game and serves as a good answer to ODST’s Firefight mode since objective-based missions are included.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is one of the better FPS experiences I’ve had in 2009. MW2 filled in any lingering voids that were not satisfied by Battlefield 1943 and Halo 3: ODST. The campaign was really enjoyable and served as a good tutorial for the highly competitive multiplayer. As I wrap this review up, I would just like to ask my fellow Halo fanboys a favor: branch out and give this game a try. You may find out that the grass may be just as green , if not, greener , on the other side.
This review is based on a press copy of the game provided by Activision.
1 Comment