Saturday, November 14, 2009

Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)

"Believe the hype."




We all know about this game. I dont need to say much about it here, because chances are anything I could say here you've already heard. This game is the sequel to the immensely popular and successful Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and the amount of hype and coverage it's received since it was announced is the most I've ever seen for a video game. In the first day of being released, this game sold over 4.7 million copies in North America and the UK alone (breaking GTA IV's previous record in the process). And the best part is that the game actually lives up to the immense amount of hype that was being given to it, a relative rarity for games that receive this much coverage and have such high expectations.

Quick Facts:

Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Genre: First Person Shooter (FPS)
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 10, 2009
Rating: M


Everything about this game is great. It picks up where the first game left off and improves upon it where it needed improvement (which is very few areas). The gameplay, grapichs, and all other techincal aspects are perfect (as to be expected from a Call of Duty game), but what really sets this game apart is (like the first game) the amazing story and characters. Many FPSs, especially "wartime" FPSs sacrifice real story and assume that delievering fun gameplay will be enough to sell the game (*cough cough* World at War). This is actually somewhat true, becuase if a game (especcially an FPS) is awesome enough most players (myself included) are willing to push a lackluster story (*cough cough* Halo 3) aside and enjoy the game just for the gameplay. But this is where few FPSs, like Modern Warfare 2, get set aside as the best of the best, because they give us the fun gameplay and a great story and characters which we are bound to remember. I believe that this combination of two elements is true for all modern games, not just FPSs. In my experience and opinion, the best games are the ones that include both great gameplay mechanics and a memorable story and characters, and not just one or the other. Modern Warfare 2 definetly suceeds in this respect in a way that few games truly do.

So the campaign mode is great, and so are the other two modes (Spec Ops and multiplayer). Spec Ops is a mode that allows 1-2 players to do short missions (some of which are taken from levels in the campaign) together. This mode is Infinity Ward's answer to gamers who cried out for a co-op option in campaign mode, and it works very well. They didn't want to sacrifice the story and intensity of the single player mode by having a friend there with you the whole time, but they also understand that gamers wanted to play some of these missions with their friends. The result is Spec Ops mode, and I think it's a great success.

The online multiplayer for the game is similiar to Call of Duty 4, which means it's awesome. There are a lot of new features and options for ranking up (which I wont get into here), and I like the changes they made to the ranking up/perks system.

If I have any complaints about this game, it's only that a) the story mode was a little too short, and b) a few of the story missions seemed to drag on a little too much or not offer quite enough variety. I finished the story on normal in about 6 hours, which isn't terrible, but it isn't great either. I suppose I could go back and start trying to beat levels on veteran mode, as this would certainly add a lot of playtime, but I dont think I have the heart or patience to die that many times (especially because I'm not a CoD god by any means). As for the individual levels, they were all good, but in a few of them I felt like I was doing the same thing for just a little too long. I can only go down the same suburban street killing enemy soldiers for so long before it starts getting boring; I can only defend the inside of the same cabin for so long (constantly dying in the process) before I'm ready to start ripping my hair out. But these are minor complaints for a game that offers so much replayability (Spec Ops and online multiplayer) even after you're done story mode.

In Summary:

Pros: it's everything you've come to expect from an Infinity Ward Call of Duty game, and somehow even managed to live up to the obsence amount of hype. 'Nuff said.

Cons: campaign mode is a little short, levels can be a bit repetitive at times. But these are both minor complaints when you look at the whole scope of this game.


FINAL SCORE: 5 out of 5.





Note: All reviews on this site are solely the subjective opinion of the author. If you disagree with my review please feel free to post in a polite manner and state your opinion. I welcome respectful discussion on my blog and would love to get feedback on my review and also read yours. Thanks!

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