Review: Modern Warfare 2

Reviewing the biggest game of the year is something akin to being a highly touted college basketball player- sure, you’re having fun playing basketball, but there’s a tremendous level of expectation involved in the process.  One one hand, fairness is a necessity, and on the other, how do you not see what other reviews have said?  Anyway, without further ado, ResumePlay’s review of Infinity Ward and Activision’s highly anticipated entry into the Call of Duty franchise, Modern Warfare 2.

Single-player/Campaign:

Intensity, as has been the norm in the franchise, is again the driving characteristic of Modern Warfare 2.  The campaign starts slowly as usual, introducing the player to the control scheme with a series of firing range directions.  Quickly however, the player is thrust into a battle whose origin is confusing.  The studio deliberately keeps the player in the dark in a lot of situations in this campaign, allowing for guesses and even hopes, only to spin those expectations on their heads.

Early in the game is a mission which, upon putting the disc into the tray initially, the player has the option to skip due to “disturbing or offensive” content.  It isn’t hard to figure out which mission this notice is referring to (remember the teaser trailer in the elevator?) when it starts.  The truth is, the mission isn’t overly disturbing, but it really boils down to perspective.  The mission itself, although you aren’t penalized in terms of achievements for skipping it, is essential to the story arc of the campaign, and if you can handle what some deem “disturbingly violent” content, then you should absolutely not skip it.

While this entry into the franchise varies little in terms of gameplay from other Call of Duty games, especially Call of Duty 4, the story seems more like a good movie plot than ever before.  Nikolai, the pilot who Captain Price and Soap MacTavish rescue in Modern Warfare makes multiple appearances in this game, and there’s also a number of references to the late Imran Zakhaev, the Russian Ultranationalist who acts as the first game’s main antagonist.

Modern Warfare 2 maintains the franchise’s signature gunplay, intense firefights, and impressive set-pieces.  It uses a fractured storyline, like its predecessor, by having the player take on different roles, whether an Army Ranger or special ops team member.  The story is seen through multiple eyes, which makes it at first confusing, but like a good movie the pieces fall into place neatly.  Most impressive about this entry was the number of “Holy s@#&!” moments where a part of the story or setting was so striking that I actually said “Wow!” out loud.

This game’s biggest strength is its subtle graphical improvements.  Many have said that the Xbox 360 (which this review focuses on) has reached its peak as far as performance and graphics.  If that is true, then Modern Warfare 2 is the pinnacle.  Structural damage to buildings, debris of war, vehicle damage, and small setting improvements such as a soda can or a piece of garbage really take the realism of the urban setting to new levels.  Character movement and animation is also improved; an early level in the mountains of Kazakhstan, where the player and Soap climb an icy embankment, is a prime example.

All in all, the campaign is what we’ve come to expect from the acclaimed Infinity Ward studios.  It features an intensely moving story coupled with overwhelming firefights and intelligent A.I.  By the end of the story, the player can really see development in characters that believably evolve through war.  The door at the journey’s end is even left slightly ajar, perhaps not intentionally alluding to a definite sequel, but with the certain possibility.

Multi-player/Online:

The crown jewel of the first game is again the best feature of the sequel.  Two words: weapon modifications and killstreak customization.  We all expected new guns, new perks, and new maps.  Infinity Ward even hacked out a lot of garbage perks  and shortened the list of available perks to about five per choice.  However, there’s a second level “pro” perk to each original, achieved by completing certain requirements, which opens up the perk customization even more.

The weapon modification is where this game really shines.  Besides the expected red dot sight, ACOG scope, and silencer,  there is a holographic sight (a little more zoomed in than a red dot), a thermal scope, full-metal jacket rounds which do  more damage, a heartbeat sensor, and extended magazines.  The best part about all these options is that one perk, “Bling,”  allows the player to put two weapon mods on either their primary or secondary weapon (the “Bling Pro” perk allows two  mods on both).  All of these mods allow the player even more chances to find a class that meshes perfectly with their  personal style.

The killstreak customization is the freshest feature in Modern Warfare 2.  Basically, the player is allowed to choose different rewards for killstreaks ranging from three (UAV or Counter-UAV) to 25 (nuclear missile!).  You only get to choose three killstreaks to outfit your character with, so if you aren’t prone to going on long killing sprees, it’s probably best to take early rewards such as a care package (four kills) or Predator missile (five kills).  The killstreak rewards are supplemented by a perk called “Hardline” which opens up the reward one kill sooner than usual.  Pave Low armored chopper at eight instead of nine kills?  Absolutely!

The maps feature a variety of scenes, many of which are taken directly from the campaign.  There’s nothing overly original about the maps, other than the fact that they are new to this specific game.  Personally, the maps feel bigger than many of the Call of Duty 4 maps, which isn’t a drawback but definitely takes some new strategy into consideration.

One noticeable change is the bullet power of this version.  It takes a few less bullets to kill enemies, and this creates the need for a more cautious approach to assault.  No longer can the player run into a room and kill three opponents before one ends the streak.  Firing an unsilenced weapon will almost certainly draw instant attention, and it really takes a careful path through the maps to avoid being surprised by enemies.  There’s also some noticeable bullet lag, where the player may, on their screen, seem to have jumped back behind a wall while being shot at, only to see the killcam show a fully exposed player.  Also, since there is no longer a Juggernaut perk, Stopping Power is completely unbalanced.  There is no perk that can parallel Stopping Power, meaning that cautiousness is the only alternative to full-out assault.

The name of the multi-player game, as in Call of Duty 4, is intensity and fast-paced gunplay.  Infinity Ward didn’t change too much to push away the loyal fans, but they changed just enough to have us coming back for more and not feeling like we got ripped off.  They followed the Game of the Year formula that made Call of Duty 4 a best-seller, and injected the perfect dose of freshness to bring in the curious newcomers and the hardened veterans.  If you buy this game and don’t play the multi-player, you’re missing out on its finest aspect.

Single-player/Co-op/Special Ops:

This game mode is Modern Warfare 2’s newest feature.  It evokes memories of Rainbow Six: Vegas’s “Terrorist Hunt” mode since the player and an optional cooperative partner seek out terrorists in a variety of mini game types.  There are wave missions, elimination modes, and all feature a variety of weapons and a choice of A.I. difficulty.  Each step up in difficulty offers an additional star for the player to earn upon completion of the scenario; the stars open up later missions in the mode.

While Special Ops was definitely fun with a partner online, it is infinitely more difficult to eliminate terrorists alone.  To some degree, the whole mode, as a complement to the campaign and the featured multi-player,  feels like an afterthought.  If the campaign is beaten on Veteran and the multi-player is at the top prestige, it still seems like Special Ops would be a “for fun” game without any real competitiveness.  Now, that’s not to say it isn’t a good addition, or that Infinity Ward forced it to add something completely new- it just seems like there’s no real draw to playing this mode unless you want to relax with a friend and kill terrorists.

There are early reports of potential downloadable content for Special Ops mode, which could potentially open it up as far as replay potential is concerned.

Recap:

This game follows its predecessor by doing the unthinkable: topping it.  With Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward enters into the discussion of legendary studios and franchises.  The “modern” war style has completely rebooted the Call of Duty brand, allowing it to comfortably ease into the massively multi-player online world of today’s console generations.  Infinity Ward clearly realized what was riding on this sequel in terms of expectations, and they succeeded resoundingly in creating a prestigious follow-up to an epic best-seller.

Final Verdict:

Five out of five stars.  Truth is, the game is probably more deserving of a 9.5 out of 10, since perfection is a rarely accomplished feat.  But Infinity Ward did so much to carry over the success of Call of Duty 4 that their efforts don’t go unrecognized.  The game succeeds on graphical, gameplay, and multi-player levels to degrees unheard of in gaming.  By creating such a masterpiece, Infinity Ward has effectively ended any debate on the topic of their success as a studio.  Modern Warfare 2 sits comfortably at a “gold cross” level (assuming it still exists).

Tags: Activision Brian M. fps Infinity Ward modern warfare 2 Xbox 360