--Spoiler Warning: This article will go through story elements of game--
Modern Warfare 2 could very well be the most controversial game (to some), not because it has sex or very brutally depicting scenes of violence, but because of the "No Russia" part of the campaign, where you get to play as a terrorist. It depicts a group of people (including yourself) walking through an airport with guns-a-blazing, shooting any innocent civilian that dares step into eye sight. At first you don’t realize what you've really done, it just seems like you just shot a bunch of really stupid enemies, until you realize that you alone were the one who causes the events to follow. It really touches your heart more so because of all the terrorism that’s happened around the world in the last few years. People make a big deal out of it because unlike a movie, it lets you take the role of a terrorist and shoot people, which they think will lead to young people taking on the same roles. With headlines like "MW2 lets 8 year olds take the role of terrorists" already popping up, it only seems like the beginning (just wait until later on, i'm sure there will be many blogs, groups and such putting their two sense into it). In the end though, people are just going to have to put two and two together and come up with the conclusion that video games aren't real and the fact that they don’t need to buy the game in the first place if all they can do is complain about something that’s been in movies for years.
Beyond that though, Modern Warfare 2 is a lot more than just a terrorist simulator. It adds a lot to an already great experience, but there'll still be the complainers that pick out any faults, instead of just enjoying the game for what it is, not for what it could be. There’s people saying the campaigns too short, but what they seem to forget is that MW2's heart lies in the multiplayer. Not a multiplayer fan? Tell me any other FPS that has such variety and action packed moments in such a short campaign. There are not many that do, most shooters just throw you into some different environments and have you shoot some AI, but Modern Warfare doesn't. You not only drive snowmobiles, but you scale the side of a mountain with only a couple ice picks and pull out a knife from your chest only to chuck it into an evils dudes head (what an heart-pumping moment it was). There’s way more memorable moments, but i’m sure you can just play it for yourself to find out.
The story is kind of weak, but it has a twist I wasn't ever anticipating, but like I said in the paragraph above this one, it has so many action packed moments you'll enjoy it every step of the way i’m sure, from getting burned alive to picking up your first dual-wielding pistols. The trophies/achievements not only make it more enjoyable to play through the campaign again to get 100%, but they add to Infinity Wards overall awesomeness. I mean when I first picked the dual-wielding pistols and shot like five people, I got the trophy 'Look Ma Two Hands' and for a moment I went what? Than after my little blonde-like moment I broke out laughing and had to pause the game to recover. It was hilarious. Than the time I shot a grenade launcher into a group of people and got the trophy 'Three some' which shows a man and two women. Those two are among my favorite trophies I’ve ever got.
Now onto the spec-ops mode, which some people feel is tacked on. While most of them can be played alone and beaten very easily, some would be better to play together, because it can get annoying when enemies flank you, because no one is watching your back. There’s really a great variety of them you can enjoy, from racing snowmobiles to killing wave after wave of enemies to getting murdered over and over again by Juggernauts (damn they suck). My personal favorite ones are Sniper Fi, Suspension and Hidden. Hidden defiantly is a blast because it brings back memories of the first game.
While the graphics aren't Uncharted 2 or Killzone 2, there a nice upgrade from the first game. The forests covered in snow are defiantly a sight to see (wish Uncharted 2 had these) and the battle through America is just awesome looking. With everything that’s going on in the game, the graphics are good enough for a multiplatform game and not something to complain about, not all games have to be Uncharted 2 (but could you imagine MW2 with UC2 graphics?).
The multiplayer is top notch and defiantly the selling point of the game. The perks are back and even better than before with pro versions of the perk. You can now also customize your kill streaks, with like helicopters, gunships and even a game-ending nuke. There’s even more customization with your weapons, like silencers for snipers, heart monitors and shotguns. You can also get throwing knives which from what I’ve seen look fun as hell and riot shields add diversity to the game. Also, there are 70 levels to get to and there’s 10 prestiges’, so that’s 700 levels you have to go through to get to the top prestige. Oh and have I mentioned that you can gain levels, prestige, customize your weapons and perks in split screen too? Now that’s just awesome! I haven't been able to play the multiplayer (due to our crappy modem), I hope to get on within the next month and shoot it up. I put 20 something odd days into COD4 and had a hell lot of fun doing so.
While it seems I have only praised MW2, it does have some issues. By-passing that it has already had three updates in less than 4 days, my first issue deals with the campaign, when the United States of America, land of the free and media-frenzy is attacked, it feels as though American is already lost when you only just first begin defending it, there’s no civilians running around. There’s not even a sign of life, besides soldiers. While this may seem like a small issue, to me it felt like, why am I even defending a nation that’s already fallen? Besides the point that it looks cool, the American setting felt last minute thought. It’s funny because South America had civilians, but not North America. Also, i’m contradicting myself kind of, but the campaign was short, it was so action packed and awesome, but it was over before it began pretty much. There’s more, but I’ll leave it at that.
Infinity Ward has crafted a wonderful game that tops its predecessor in every way and paves the way for how multiplayer games should be like or aspects they should use, while still keep original, IW has also made a very controversial game, which will hopefully make other developers take chances with their games, because the gaming industry needs more ‘No Russia’ types of game play/story elements, so that the gaming industry can mature, while still keeping casual as well. I think Heavy Rain is defiantly headed in the more mature direction and I can’t wait to try it out. Infinity Ward has pissed off fans with the no dedicated servers and the F.A.G.S. video (which is about as bad as getting mad at Fat Princess, but whatever I guess), but the controversy is sure helping the sales it seems, over 4 million on the first day I hear.
Modern Warfare 2 is defiantly paving the way for not only better multiplayer games, but more mature games, with controversial settings.It’ll defiantly be awesome to hear where they take the Call of Duty series next and how the industry will evolve.
Readers’ Questions:
Do you think the ‘No Russia’ mission is going too far? Where should IW take the Call of Duty series next? Anything you would like IW to fix in MW2? What’s your favorite mission in MW2? What’s your favorite moment in MW2? What gun would you like to see in MW2, that’s not in there now?
Oh, and ‘For The Record’, my psn id is: Fallen_Guardian
Nintendo Switch version 18.0.1 firmware update has been released and the full patch notes are now available.
. Fixed an issue where some wireless access points cannot be found when setting up a new wireless network
. General system stability improvements to enhance the user’s experience.
Pac-Pix launched in 2005 as a Nintendo DS exclusive, and deserves to make a comeback on modern touchscreen devices.
It's about time we talk about the flamethrower and how it should be made better in Helldivers 2, starting with the ability to destroy bug holes.
You should have just posted this as a review, that's pretty much what it is.
I played the PC version, and I agree with you on almost everything. I still hate them for taking out dedicated servers though.
And nice review.
I rented it for 360 today. It's a good game, but I have two problems with it.
1. Lag: Yes, a ton of games have lag in the multiplayer, but it really affects MW2. The game moves at a very fast pace, so a split-second of lag between you firing a shot and the shot actually registering will often lead to cheap deaths. This game really, REALLY needs dedicated servers.
2. Graphics: The graphics are pretty mediocre imo. There are a lot of low-res textures, and certain objects (like tires) have a very low polygon-count as well, making them look chunky and angular. I'm sure this was done in order to keep the framerate at 60FPS, but come on; It barely looks better than a Wii game!
Also, Activision and IW's recent behavior have ruined any chance of me buying the game new, but I'll just get it used anyway.