Modern Warfare 2 Review
When AAA titles like Splinter Cell: Conviction and Bioshock 2 fled in fear of Modern Warfare 2′s November 10th release date into the safety of spring 2010, they did so for good reason. The game’s launch was the biggest in entertainment history, grossing higher than any game or box office smash to come before it. Now it’s here, we have our verdict: Infinity Ward’s latest is a bombastic romp through the action cliches that all but tramples the franchise’s well-established respect for authenticity in favour of epic thrills delivered at a breakneck pace.
As with previous entries in the Call of Duty series, players must step into the boots of soldiers fighting on several fronts. We’re still not a fan of this fragmented approach to story telling, but in what other way could Infinity Ward justify taking the story from the slums of Rio de Janeiro to the US capital and an assault on an ancient prison in the snow-capped Russian mountains? While playing you’ll take part in exhilarating vehicle sequences, sniper missions a la ‘Ghillies in the Mist’ and even a spot of free-running. The core shooter gameplay remains the same as previous instalments in the franchise. The lock-on sights are back and the movement and aiming are silky smooth as ever.
For most of the story, you’ll play as ‘Roach,’ a member of Taskforce 141, a special operations unit under the command of the gruff ‘Soap’ MacTavish, whom players will recognise as the protagonist of the first Modern Warfare. As the events play out, it indeed soon becomes clear this is very much a reunion show. Old faces reappear (somewhat unexpectedly) and drive the plot to its dramatic finale. We only wish there was more tying it all together than simple intel briefings and radio chatter. The twists and turns are nowhere near as powerful as the nuclear blast from the first game, largely due to their frequency, which dampens the impact. Undoubtedly the story is the game’s biggest weakness but when you consider that few games deliver such a polished, adrenaline-pumping experience it’s hardly an issue.
As many of you will be aware, there has been some controversy surrounding a particular portion of the game that takes placed in a Russian airport. In the sequence, players take control of an operative undercover in a terrorist cell and execute a large number of innocent civilians with automatic machine guns. Even prepared for this sequence, I did feel a sense of shock and even guilt for participating. The game does offer the option to skip, and the player is not required to participate in the actual killing. For players in whom the sequence is likely to provoke serious emotional responses, it is probably advisable to skip the scene altogether. Nonetheless, the scene’s presence is not, in my opinion, overly gratuitous, has value in effectively conveying the true horror of such atrocities and is certainly integral to the plot.
The campaign mode from start to finish clocks in at a mere five to six hours in length, but every hour is furiously unforgiving. The intensity as you move between the heavily scripted set-pieces is relentless. Downtime? Not a chance. We actually recommend playing the game through in a single sitting for the fullest impact, then raising the difficulty a notch to really feel your heart thump against your chest.
Aside from the game’s campaign, there are two modes to choose from. ‘Special ops,’ the first, is a new addition to the series and tasks players, either solo or with a friend, to complete objectives within set parameters. These include clearing a map of enemies, racing snowmobiles down a mountain and, in a particularly standout mission, having one player on the ground scouting targets for the second player, who rains down fire from that AC-130 gunship we so loved from the first game. Each spec ops mission awards players with a star rating upon completion, with only the hardest difficulty setting unlocking the maximum of three stars per mission. Such short diversions, perfect for pick up and play, are a real treat and with the promise of online leader-boards coming in the future we don’t doubt the spec ops scene will remain supremely competitive as players endeavour to set new records.
Making its triumphant return in Modern Warfare 2 is the best multiplayer component in the industry. Still as frenetic and brutal as ever, new players should be warned that this mode has a particularly steep learning curve. You will die. A lot. The amount of damage characters can receive before biting the dust actually appears to have lessened since the first game, making camping a more effective tactic than ever. A number of new weapon attachments also enter the mix and with the Bling perk comes the ability to use, say, silencer together with scope, or any combination you desire. The heartbeat sensor, a new attachment in this game, is a particularly useful little device: it detects enemies nearby (provided they’re not running the Ninja perk) giving you a distinct tactical advantage (and making camping yet more effective). Come to rely on it too heavily however, and you’ll become complacent, leading to a hasty demise – they don’t shout ‘watch those corners’ for nothing.
Assault rifles seem to be the most effective tool of destruction in Modern Warfare 2′s online play. Disappointingly so, in fact. The SCAR, a weapon unlocked very early into the level progression system, is scarily accurate from long range meaning it can tackle nearly every situation without fail, and what’s worse is that none of the weapons really feel any different, making the gunplay somewhat monotonous. What spices things up though are the customisable killstreak rewards. There are far more to obtain than in Call of Duty 4 and players can choose three, each with a fixed kill counter. Get five kills and launch a predator missile; hit seven and a harrier jet will perform an airstrike then hover over the battlefield, gunning down anyone foolish enough to not stay in cover. By far our favourite though is the chopper gunner reward, a player-controlled mini-gun mounted on an attack chopper that simply tears the map apart.
All these rewards raise obvious questions of balance and to be sure, once the more skilful players acquire powerful killstreaks, they can rack up some serious points and run away with the game. This is offset in two ways: firstly, care packages, as a reward for low killstreaks, provide one player with a randomly selected killstreak, anything from UAV radar to AC-130. In theory then, any player on the map can obtain such a reward with little difficulty; secondly, players can now carry rocket launchers for secondary weapons, allowing them to shoot down helicopters that would otherwise decimate entire teams. Teamwork and use of rockets to destroy killstreak rewards is fundamental to success online, and while it would seem like this takes you away from the fragging action, Infinity Ward has ingeniously put experience rewards in place to benefit players who help in this fashion with additional experience and perk upgrades, such is the beauty of their nuanced levelling system.
Modern Warfare 2 will do enough and more to please most fans, though its movement away from the authenticity of modern combat into Michael Bay territory will likely disappoint some players. The heavy scripting and rapid pacing of the campaign can sometimes leave you exhausted, as you never really feel entirely in control before the scripting kicks in again, but the spec ops and online play provide the reprieve with plenty of room for creativity in warfare. Indeed, with the ridiculous level of customisation on offer in this high octane sequel, more than ever, its about how you play the game.
