If you’re a fan of first person shooters, chances are you were among the many that bought and continued to play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare months after release. Bringing the series into a present day setting proved to be a wise one, offering innovative scenarios and customizable options for you to carry out directives. Now, two years later, Modern Warfare 2 has arrived, bringing a new campaign and plenty of fresh multiplayer content to the table. Just how far does this take the new entry?
Set five years after the killing of Zakhaev in its predecessor, Modern Warfare 2 opens by introducing you to the new antagonist: Makarov, a former lieutenant of Zakhaev. As before, your goal is to discover any information on Makarov, locate him and hope to eliminate another blood thirsty individual from the world. Once again, you’ll assume the role of varying individuals throughout Modern Warfare 2’s campaign, each with their own branching paths contributing to the story. The game has you performing much throughout the world, but due to the short length (can easily be completed in less than six hours), it oftentimes feels incoherent and lacking a sense of focus. On a positive note, the game does a good job in handling the key twists and emotional moments which add incentive to push through.
Upon completion, you can tackle the Spec Ops mode, which allows you to participate in a number of goal oriented missions, either by yourself or cooperatively with a friend. In order to unlock more levels you’ll need to earn stars, which are gained by completing missions on higher difficulties or meeting specific demands. Generally these take place in either the same or similar settings found throughout the single player campaign. Without any connection between the missions by means of a plot, however, Spec Ops might not be what most players will be looking for in a cooperative mode. Fortunately, there are enough levels to at least offer some content for players to return and (hopefully) earn higher accolades.
Anyone who has played Call of Duty in the past will feel right at home here. At the beginning, you’re put through the usual introduction to gameplay mechanics before being tossed into your first real mission. You can either inaccurately fire from the hip, aim down your sights for precision or utilize the game’s auto-aim mechanic to take on multiple foes. The path is tried and true with a couple small twists and turns along the way helping to break the monotony, such as bringing civilians into account and offering the occasional non-linear path. Fundamentally, this is the same Call of Duty that fans know and love. So, if you’re not on the band wagon yet, this one likely won’t do much to change your perspective.
There are a wide variety of ways to customize weapons to cater to your tastes.
Action has usually been in the form of intense firefights for the series and Modern Warfare 2 attempts to step this up a notch. While the controversial and irregular No Russian level might not be the best attempt at this, the rest of the game sharply hits the mark. The campaign has plenty of memorable battles, ranging from a snowmobile chase to a series of large scale confrontations throughout Washington D.C. If it isn’t clear by now, the game definitely hits close to home with conflicts that are top notch simply for their locales.
Of course, if you’re an avid player of the series then it’s probably safe to say that you’re most interested in the full blown online portion. And for fans of the 2007’s Modern Warfare, this sequel delivers plenty of content that is sure to keep you coming back over and over again. Expected additions have been made such as weapons like the SCAR-H assault rifle, extra perks-one letting you reach your next killstreak with one less murder and different equipment options to assign per class. A few new inclusions and changes have made their way into the game as well. Among these are deathstreak awards-assistance from dying multiple times without getting a kill (such as temporary painkillers) and the ability to choose which three killstreak rewards you have available. You can also earn call signs and emblems to let people know what kind of player you think yourself as. The amount of content available to unlock and utilize in Modern Warfare 2 is quite staggering and it’s very possible that you’ll use different weapons just to see how a certain combination can play out on the field.
You’ll take part in some impressive battles throughout the short but sweet campaign mode.
Online gameplay demands far quicker reflexes than those in the single player and, if you’re a bit rusty when heading in, it might be tough to play catch up at first. But once you’ve hit a high enough rank to make your own individual class, the experience definitely becomes more rewarding. Maps are mostly well constructed though, as usual, there are a number of areas in each that seem catered towards players who want to hide and essentially obtain “cheap kills.” This also leads to the issue of player behavior online. Even though this isn’t a direct issue with the game itself, the amount of players we encountered either camping or hiding in the most shameless locations was rather striking. These are the times where it can feel sympathetic to just leave a game in order to avoid frustration. Yet, when you’re in a match that has a variety of behaviors being exhibited by others (as the game should be played) then it can be tough to go wrong, even if you wind up at the bottom of the barrel.
Call of Duty has known for having very solid visuals as a multi-platform series and Modern Warfare 2 is no different. Gun models look noticeably smoother but more detailed than those of its predecessor while environments typically look quite solid, especially from a distance. Lighting effects and the varied mix of color tones are also put to great use throughout the single player and on the fresh slab of multiplayer maps. Even during the game’s most intense firefights, the framerate holds up quite well, seldom taking a significant drop (if at all). Character animations, however, remain fairly dismissible but there are points where you’ll appreciate the small touches finally made, such as characters flying a short distance when killed by a shotgun. About the only large complaint with Modern Warfare 2’s visuals are that the lighting and shadows for characters and environments are quite ugly up close.
Some of the locations you’ll fight in hit very close to home.
The game’s audio front, however, might just be its most impressive aspect next to the amount of online content. Dialogue and voice work are notably improved upon with some lines that sound as if they came out of a Christopher Nolan or James Cameron film. Characters also feel a bit more authentic this time around thanks to solid deliveries from an equally competent cast with Barry Pepper and Keith David lending their talents. Even more notable is the emotional and at times powerful score courtesy of the always brilliant Hans Zimmer. And once more, the sound effects from weapons, explosions, bones cracking from drops and much more are put to great use here. Everything about Modern Warfare 2’s audio contributes to make it that much more immersive and convincing.
As always, the end of the year has seen some great releases and Modern Warfare 2 manages to solidify itself as a clear contender for game of the year. Though it has some shortcomings amidst all of its modes and feels more like a strong update, this is only further reason why fans shouldn’t miss out on what it has to offer. If the first Modern Warfare wasn’t your cup of tea, then it’s unlikely the numerous additions and small tweaks will do anything for you here. Yet for anyone else who’s a fan of console first person shooters with plenty of replay value, this is a game that’s definitely worth signing up for.
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