Review: Modern Warfare 2 (360)
I seriously debated writing a review for Modern Warfare 2. I mean, by now, 4 or 5 million of you already have it & the launch trailer was so well done that you’ll know if you want to pick it up just from watching it (if you haven’t seen it yet, check it out below). In the end though, I decided to go ahead & do it (obviously, because you reading it now). Anyway, if you’re not familiar with Modern Warfare, it’s actually Call of Duty 6. The development team started out working on the once spectacular Medal of Honor franchise, but then split off from EA & formed Infinity Ward. They began what would become the winner in the WWII FPS competition for dominance, Call of Duty for the PC. Not long afterward, they were gobbled up by Activision. By the time Call of Duty 2 was done, they realized that the WWII setting was played out, so they handed the rein’s to Treyarch to work on Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch also developed Big Red One, the last gen version of Call of Duty 2. At this point Infinity Ward began working on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, shedding the WWII premise &, as the subtitle indicates, jumping to a more modern day setting. The team hit the nail on the head as Modern Warfare was a massive hit, becoming one of the best selling titles on the Xbox 360. Call of Duty 5 was once again handed off to Treyarch (carrying the moniker World at War & staying in the WWII time period, only shifting to the pacific front). This brings us to Modern Warfare 2. Did Infinity Ward make magic happen again? In every way, the answer is a big YES!
Don’t misunderstand that ‘YES’. The game isn’t perfect (even though I’m sure the hate mail from the fanboys will start pouring in now that I have said that), but it is very well done & exceeds the first Modern Warfare in just about every way. The game itself is divided up into three parts. The first of which is the standard campaign. I found this to be the weakest of everything the game had to offer. The story picks up about 5 years after the previous title with Zakhaev (the big bad for your last Modern outing) being recognized as a martyr & one of his top lieutenants, Makarov, taking over the head terrorists duties. I won’t go into too much more detail as there are quite a few twists & shocking moments that I don’t want to spoil. The game follows the same formula as previous titles, weaving several story threads together from a couple of different perspectives. This time, we follow the US Army Rangers & Task Force 101 as they attempt to bring Makarov down. The adventure will take you to many different locations including an oil derrick, the Middle East & a snowy ice cliff (I know, there is a bunch more, but as I said, I want to avoid the spoilers here). I enjoyed the story & could easily see it on the big screen staring any of today’s action heroes. It’s an intense ride that has twists, turns, & a ton of action that will keep you on the edge of your seat. So why is it my least favorite part of the game? It’s really short. Play through on Regular difficulty & you’ll finish it in 6 hours or less. Sure, Veteran will take a bit more time, but still, 6 hours?
What the first game was best know for was the multiplayer & part 2 has enhanced it considerably. It’s a customizer’s paradise with the ability to change everything from your gun attachments to your killing spree bonuses. Everything is unlockable with the retuning experience system. I mean, everything! You don’t even have access to all the multiplayer modes until you’ve achieved to the appropriate experience level. Perks have been enhanced a bit, adding an upgraded version that will be unlocked if you complete the challenges for the basic version (plus, new perks have been added, like my favorite, the Bling perk which allows you to have 2 different attachments on your gun at the same time). One of the biggest changes though are the supply drops. Players who reach a certain point in their killing spree (the amount depends on what you’re trying to get) will be able to call in a supply drop. These range from Counter UAV (which kills the UAV HUD of your enemies for a short time, effectively blinding them) to a Sentry Turret (which can be placed just about anywhere & even moved after it’s already been placed) to a Predator Missile (which the player can control & rain down it’s wrath on a group of enemies). It changes the dynamic of each match completely. Especially since the kill streaks are customizable so each person’s load out will be different. As I mentioned, the Challenges are back & more robust than ever. I’m almost to level 30 & still working on my first gun. Multiplayer now supports Host Migration, something that was introduced in World at War & is a game saver for those times when the host has to leave for one reason or another. I just wish they had a ‘Leave with Party’ option. A lot of times, our party would need to back out of matchmaking so we could pick up another player. Without that option, it became more of a chore to put the party back together again. Just for kicks, Infinity Ward threw in a couple of 3rd person modes. I wasn’t certain this was a wise idea but after giving it a go, it’s a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Great for private matches with a bunch of your buddies. I can just see the Michael Myers & Zombies game types flourishing on it…
The last game type is my personal favorite: Spec-Ops. It’s a co-op mode that has roughly 25 different missions that you can either go through on your own or with a buddy. These missions are little snippets of what you ran across during the campaign. They vary from defending a given area with only certain weapons available to sneaking through an area with only sniper rifles to an all out assault as you try to make your way from Point A to Point B. You can get up to 3 stars for each mission & you’ll have to tackle them on Veteran if you want to get full marks. They are an absolute blast to play through in co-op & I wish Infinity Ward was able to make more of them in the form of DLC (they’ve already said that DLC will be focused on MP since the Spec-Ops missions require a lot more resources).
Overall, the game is a solid package that’s essential for any FPS fan’s collection. Granted, it’s very violent, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing, then you may want to pass on it. The visuals are so detailed that it can be tough to discern your enemies from the environment. The sound will rock you out of your seat with bullets whizzing by your head & explosions around every corner. Even the faults I found, they were minuscule compared to all the things Infinity Ward did exceptionally well with. It’s a heck of a ride & between the Veteran difficulty, the 45 Intel items to find in Single Player, the Spec-Ops mode &the multiplayer mode, you’ll be busy for a long time to come…
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on the Xbox 360, Playation 3, & PC.
Rating: 
6 Responses to “Review: Modern Warfare 2 (360)”
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[...] multiplayer experience so I understand completely why it’s there (you can see my review here). Looks like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (the first Modern Warfare for the uninitiated) saw a nice [...]
Good to see someone giving it a similar rating to my own review! I gave it a 9.7, absolutely stunning game. Nice review david.
Thanks! Yeah, it actually would have been a bit higher if the campaign had a bit more to it. Even still, a 9.5 makes it a must own title…
[...] didn’t much care for the single player portion either (it was the weakest part of the package for me as well). But as always, it’s a riot. Just make sure your ears are tuned in well. Sounds to [...]
[...] My Review [...]
Modern warfare is a great game, no doubt. But i somehow feel nauseous playing it. ust be because of the 3D