Modern Warfare 2

Written by MaliA on 15/01/2010  –  Filed under: Reviews

Tags: Call of Duty, COD4, Modern Warfare 2, multiplayer, MW2, Xbox 360

Well, well, well.

This has been described as the second coming. After the “critically acclaimed” Modern Warfare, there was only one way to go. Bigger, better, faster and then some more.

You begin the game in the same fashion as before, running a quick gauntlet through a training mission, shooting at targets that look vaguely threatening and not at the ones that don’t. A bit like Keanu Reeves at the beginning of Point Break. Except you’re in the desert and it isn’t raining. After that, you’re shot through the barrel of several characters with different aims and objectives, most of which are to survive and complete the mission.

But, and by and how, is it good fun. You’re put into seemingly desperate scenario after scenario, and rely on your good luck, good aim and the belief that the good guys always win. From desert to favella, to the icy wastes in a blizzard, oil rigs, a secret prison; it’s a roller-coaster ride of Michael Bay set pieces and the guy with the doves close-on action.

You get to use an arsenal of different guns, against a plethora of different enemies, enjoy the benefits of a bullet proof riot shield, and discover how irritating it is when there are a lot of other people who dislike you very much with their own riot shields. The missions let you gently introduce more guns each time and different tactics to achieve your objective.

One of my favourite bits was sneaking up through the sea from a submarine and rescuing hostages from a captured oil rig in what is a lovely set piece moment. It really does feel that it’s you holding the key to the story.

The frame rate holds up and the graphics are good, you’ll find yourself ducking a fair few times as the rockets whoosh overhead and you hide beneath various objects like a 6th former avoiding a particularly overprotective father. The sound is also worth a mention, the radio chatter is convincing enough and there are more bangs and booms than at a high school prom being filmed for a reality TV show. There are some really nice touches, such as when you bash your way into a room using explosive charges, the game enters a slow motion environment for a brief time,enabling you to use the element of surprise to get the first few shots off on the enemies whilst being very careful not to shoot hostages. This is terribly good fun and you get to do it quite a few times, you lucky devils, you.

The single player campaign is rather good, some have complained that it’s “short” but, frankly, they’re obviously not aware how much fun it is. On occasion, the relentless waves of enemies get a bit rubbish, but many a time using the right tool, or a well placed grenade, can make the breakthrough to the next checkpoint. Collecting enemy intelligence along the way is a task for people that enjoy things like collecting train numbers and stamps, as it’s not obvious what they are and only the true obsessive would wish to do it for reasons that will become clear. On occasion, however, there do seem to be a couple of bugs, such as a level not completing as there is one enemy left running around somewhere that you managed to miss on your way through. This is irritating, but forgivable.

So, you have a couple of drinks and fire up the “Spec Ops Missions”. This is where you and, if you fancy it (or have any), a chum, either on-line or split screen can take on some challenges. Helping each other to fulfill the objectives set against varying levels of difficulty is good fun and makes for enjoyable five minute games against the computer. The major complaint about this is that if you haven’t unlocked the higher levels, you don’t get to play them against the computer when by yourself, but we all know that unlockable content is a very, very cheap way to make a game last longer, so shame on you Infinity Ward. Aside from that, it’s really rather enjoyable, taking you over some almost but not quite facsimiles of the levels you’ve fought through on single player.

Multi-player MW2 is streets ahead of COD4. The maps are more fun, you get more badges after each game, no matter how badly you did.  These badges are awarded for little things such as “The player with the highest average altitude” or “Most time spent couched”. It’s a nice way to get a new little logo to be displayed by your name, and fun to try to get them all. It seems to be a fair bit easier to get through and level up and get more guns and things. Maps are better designed and offer a chance for someone new to a level to get used to what is where and how to use it to their advantage. Seasoned players know the way around all of it and the little side cuts that will irritate a new player but encourage him to look harder for that perfect piece of cover.

However, all of this doesn’t matter, as it’s seriously good fun. Play it even with a bunch of artificially selected people and you’ll have good fun running about, trying to learn the maps, and watching your corners. Enjoying taking a map piece by piece with a bunch of people with little to no communication. The way you can “earn” the other guns seems to be fair, and, as a new player, you can rob the dead of their weapons to enable you to use exotica before you’re ready. A couple of perks also give you a hand up. Die so many times with one perk, and you can come back with the same weapon load out and perks for one time only as the last person to nobble you. It’s these little things that do make you say “Just one more go”. Veteran players of COD4 might complain that they can’t pwn noobs like they used to, but it does make the game a lot more fun, as there isn’t really any one gun that is better than the others, as the person you last killed could come back at you with it.

Playing it with a group of people that you know and you’re all on the same team it’s brilliant. Teamwork is greater than individual skill in this game, but even so, you don’t all have to be most excellent to win, a few good players working together can swing the weight of an average team, but they’ll still need the average team to carry them. The other game modes are equally fun, such as capture the flag, domination, and a good way to build up your score. The “Hardcore” matches also reappear for those that prefer playing with with the training wheels off.

All of this is why MW2 the best game of 2009, and, more likely, 2010.

If you play it on your own it’s brilliant fun and very replayable. With a mate over, you can play Spec Ops, BE James and Alex infiltrating that Russian dam. Online, with or without mates, it’ll keep you coming back for more. Even just for the badges.