I had originally intended to write up my first impressions on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I got it at a midnight release, and once I put the disc in, I was hooked. You couldn’t tear me away from this game with a crowbar.
“God, who builds a base at the top of a Mountain?”
The story, although it may take more than one playthrough to fully appreciate and comprehend, is full and obviously action packed. There is more deception, brutal truth, crushing defeat and glorious victory than I had seen in a previous Call of Duty game, and that’s saying something. Players control a variety of soldiers, from all ranks and factions, and can expect just as much interesting and wild gameplay. There is even a level that could be considered so risqué and controversial, players may choose to skip it before they even start the game. I won’t spoil anything here, you’ll have to play for yourself to find out.
The gameplay is what really amazes me. This is a shooter that loves to kill you. While most modern shooters hold your hand with dummy AI and straight-forward levels in the first few stages of a game, Modern Warfare 2 makes no such handicap. After the first few levels, expect to have muscled through scores of highly-trained mercenaries, and raced down a mountain on a snowmobile. The game is much more focused on you working with your team, or at least partner, and you are rarely alone. Enemies will outnumber you, out-gun you, out-flank you, and try to out-wit you almost immediately. Though I struggled through certain choke points of various levels, I rarely found myself becoming upset. I really was just enjoying the ride. There are so many possible paths to go to reach an objective; one way might work for some, but not for others. There were also many moments where stealth and patience were the name of the game. You could try to blast away all the guards, but sneaking past them is so much more fun. There are also plenty of little moments that have you seemingly controlling a cutscene without the lame quick-time events.
“Hmmm…. I think these guys are trying to shoot us.”
he graphics are breathtaking, and I expected no less from Infinity Ward. They took the near photo-realistic graphics of COD4 and WaW, and polished them to a brilliant sheen. The guns are amazingly detailed, and everything looks so real, it’s more like you’re controlling a movie instead of a game. The HUD displays all the info you need to know, but is uncluttered, and simple.
The sound is perfect, much like the graphics. Everything is mixed well, and sounds unique and appropriately badass. The guns blaze forth, the explosions rock and the background music is fitting, but never overwhelming. The only complaint I have sound-wise would be that ‘Soap’ MacTavish sounds a little bit too much like Captain Price. This is obviously not a big deal, though.
The controls are nothing new, and sport the same layout we all know and love. However, players can enjoy the smoother actions, and more natural movements. Everything seems to play out with great realism and give the players more control over their character. The auto-aim is more forgiving, and should be used more often.
There are so many new guns, I won’t even bother to try to mention them all. Guns also now have cool attachments, like shotguns attached to assault rifles, thermal scopes, and heartbeat sensors. The attachments are mentioned in the name of the gun, so you can know just what to expect when you pick up an enemy’s dropped weapons. This can be super handy, so you can know ahead of time whether that rifle you’re picking up has a grenade launcher or a red dot, whether that LMG has a heartbeat sensor or ACOG scope. Also don’t expect guns to have just one attachment, they can come with many.
Look ma, No hands!
Unfortunately, even great games have their faults. As I said, I rarely got upset about being killed a lot. Notice I said ‘rarely’ instead of ‘never’. In some of the later missions, I was struggling just to make it to each barricade. Now, I’m no amazing 65+ kill streak, totally unstoppable gamer, but I can usually hold my own rather well. There were times I was getting my ass handed to me on ‘Regular’.
Overall, the Campaign was simply awesome. This is most definitely a must-play, without question. I will review the Multiplayer, and Special Ops modes separately. This is just too much game for one review. It’s tough, but a notably monumental game.
9/10 Hi-def Explosions
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