Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review

Title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Platforms: PS3/XBox360/PC
Release Date: 11/10/2009
Genre: FPS
ESRB: Mature 17+
MSRP: 59.99$

CoD: MW2 is one of the best games I have ever played. The First-Person-Shooter genre is my favorite and has been since I played Battlezone in the arcades as a pip squeak in the early 80’s. I have both 360 and PS3 versions and they’re close to identical. The one difference being that I was able to play online, Day 1, with the 360/Xbox Live while the PS3 servers were very temperamental later that night. No biggie, as they are both working now. Graphically, it’s top-notch. About as good as it gets! Would I prefer some more in-depth environmental damage modeling, sure, but the game’s developer, Infinity Ward, has stated they are not interested in including level deformation if it detracts from the single player experience or the intrinsically-designed multiplayer levels. If you want that style of graphical-gameplay capability, there’s always Red Faction Guerrilla or Battlefield: Modern Combat.

My major (i.e. only) graphics complaint is the lack of gore. The game *is* rated M for mature, so it’s not that Infinity Ward was looking to keep it clean for the Teen rating. For a game that is all about graphic violence, mowing down thousands of NPCs, and shooting other online players in the head, why Infinity Ward continues to ignore realistic gore is beyond me. In an effort to not offend the easily-offendable, just include an option to turn on/off the gore, like they did with the controversial “No Russian” single-player mission. I would prefer that headshots and grenades gore the player models, as seen in the Treyarch-developed Call of Duty: World at War. There’s just something satisfying about popping off skullcaps or chucking a grenade into a group of enemies and watching the gibs fly. Oooh, that reminds me, time to take my pills.

The audio is excellent, although, I believe that the only thing more annoying than all the 8-year-old kids online, screeching constant, high-pitched N-bombs through my headset is hearing the “Cover me – I’m reloading!” audio clip 100 times per match. No, I take it back. This game fills me with the desire to punch these kids square in the mouth hard enough to cause irreversible brain damage, then pull a Bob Barker on their parents by having them spayed and neutered. Introducing kids to violence at whatever age is up to the parent, and I can accept that, but to allow them to act like a total douche bag at such an early age further confirms that Mike Judge is a genius and his “Idiocracy” movie is not a fictional comedy, but a visionary documentary. Now, where’d those damned pills go….

Gameplay-wise, it’s got a lot for everyone, as long as everyone loves shooters. There’s an engrossing single player campaign, that is full of silly plot holes, but who cares when you’re in the middle of World War 3? The story is out of a cheesy 80’s action flick with the visuals of current day blockbusters. I’m halfway through the campaign, taking a pause to work on my multiplayer leveling, and I am impressed. It’s great. The campaign could be even sweeter if it included Co-Op, but the great “Special Ops” mode should quell that thirst. I am a bit miffed there were no 4-player Spec-Ops levels though; a 2 vs 2 snowmobile race, with a driver and gunner on each, would have been most epic.

This game is really about the online. There are many different game types; like straight deathmatch, capture the flag, search and destroy, headquarters, blah blah blah. They’re all great in their own way. Also included this time around, maybe as a way to interest players from the SOCOM or Gears of War universe, are a few 3rd-person view multiplayer modes. I’m not a fan of them though, as the camera is stiffly-mounted behind the player (giggity!) and not as free-flowing as it is in the Gears series.  There’s also a great Role-Playing element within the multiplayer involving leveling up your player using a points-based system. Depending on how many enemies you kill per match, how you killed them, and other task-specific objectives you complete, you’re awarded points to help you level your character and your weapons earn their own specific awards to specific in-game items or abilites, etc. It’s very engrossing and I’ve already had a few sleepless nights just trying to unlock my character’s next level, earning a new gun or ability/perk, grenade type, or a sweet gun-attachment!

New to Modern Warfare 2 are selectable Kill and Death streaks. Get anywhere from 3 to 25 kills in a row without dying and you can unlock UAVs (to see enemy locations on the maps), predator missile strikes, attack helicopter support, and even a game-ending “nukular” attack. If you die more than 3-4 times in a row (which happens to me frequently), you can unlock the ability to steal your killer’s weapons and perks for a life, gain a short health-boost, or drop a live grenade the next time you’re killed. It helps even out the playing field a bit, but not by much. This game demands some practice. If you only pick it up and play 30 minutes a week, you’re going to get slaughtered online.

Between both the 360 and PS3 version, I’ve logged over 30 hours of online gameplay. I still have a ways to go before I max out my online persona. Even after I hit the highest level, I can still work on completing every gun challenge or choosing to “prestige” and start all over from scratch (with a fancy icon next to my name and an extra custom-weapons slot to use).
It’s tough to complain about the multiplayer portion of this game. There are a few glitches I’ve noticed in the game. Some random teammates in an online match were talking to each other about doing a map glitch to get “outside” of the level. I didn’t see where they were or what they did, but map glitchers are lame. Do that stuff in a private match, not in public and ruin everyone’s fun. Also, there’s a weird glitch that causes you to explode when you are killed if you cook a grenade, then switch to your 2nd weapon rocket launcher. This glitch turns you into a suicide bomber; which is great when bum-rushing an enemy-infested control point in some of the objective-based multiplayer games, but an unintended ability nonetheless. These are the types of issues Infinity Ward will find and fix with frequent updates, so no major worries.

Some folks may not be a fan of paying for DLC, but I am already looking forward to a new map pack. Most of the default maps are great, but there are 2 or 3 I could do without (pretty much because I suck at them). Also, I’d love to see some new weapons added in a DLC. The FAL is great, but I want my G3! Also, the sniper rifle section is lacking some of the basics (where are the Dragunov and R700?)
I could write 15 pages about how great this game is, but if you’ve reached this part of the review, thanks for reading and now go out and buy this game. Now!  You won’t be sorry.
Hit me up on XboxLive or the PSN. My tag is: SinDonor.

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