Review: Modern Warfare 2

This console generation has been littered with first person shooters. This is not a lamentation, but a fact. The genre has proven to be profitable time and time again, and developers and publishers alike have no plans on slowing down to create shooter after shooter, after all, it is hard to create the sense of thrill and the visceral experience these games provide without a first person perspective and a gun on the screen at all times.

After a slew of imitators have hit the market in the past 2 years, including Treyarch’s relatively successful take on the series, “World at War”, it is again Infinity Ward’s turn to prove that the formula they have established with “Modern Warfare” has enough freshness in it to keep fans happy and to rekindle the love with the doubters and the wary.

Soap is awesome. Sounds like a scotsman, kicks ass like a scotsman.

The answer to that could not be more simple: A resounding ‘Yes’: Infinity Ward have succeeded in nigh every aspect.

The campaign, titled “For The Record”, is an exemplary ride that is filled to the brink with amazing set piece moments, a story that actually matters, captivates and challenges players, a blistering pace, a relentless onslaught on the senses that eclipses everything else in the genre. A truly cinematic experience, that should be talked about as little as possible; everyone deserves to go in unspoiled, all you need to know is that it’s brilliant, daring and gorgeous.

The multiplayer, which is what most people will probably turn to in “Modern Warfare 2″, has yet to prove itself in the long run, but as it is, the maps are better, the guns feel more satisfying, and the ranking up is as addicting as ever. There are a few new additions: There’s now death streaks that give people who die a few times in a row a chance to catch up by providing some stat boots or enabling them to steal their killer’s loadout; players get to customize their kill streaks, going up all the way to 25 (good luck trying to pull that off!); and a 3rd person mode, only god knows why, has also been added. Infinity Ward has also done some re-balancing, taking out perks like Juggernaut or Martyrdom, which were less popular with the community.
Thankfully, everything you liked about “Modern Warfare” remained intact, including the 4 player split screen mode — a hit at parties. Frat parties, mainly.

The new cooperative Spec-Ops mode is a welcome addition: It offers a bite-sized 2 player experience (split-screen or via the internet) that lets you play through some of the more memorable moments of the campaign in a sort of challenge mode. Sometimes it is enough to get from point A to point B, sometimes a number of enemies has to be eliminated, and sometimes it is a snowmobile race.
While it’s varied and fun, it doesn’t feel as fleshed out as it should: An elaborate scoring system including leaderboards would have been a welcome addition.

Infinity Ward finally realized that every game needs a snow-level.

A sequel, according to Shigeru Miyamoto, is “when users who were basically satisfied with the original software have the chance to purchase additional data that follows on from the original”. Users have been satisifed with “Modern Warfare”, infact, it’s safe to say that most users have been infatuated with the 4th entry into the “Call of Duty” series, many of them still playing it to this day. Both Activision and Infinity Ward know this. They know it all too well.

You can tell Activision knows, because they are leaving no stone unturned in ways to extract more money from the franchise, angering lots of gamers in the process, but always knowing that the franchise, nay, the game, will make gamers forget about the company’s blunders.

You can tell Infinity Ward knows, by the amount of care that went into the game. “Modern Warfare 2″ fires on all cylinders and hits all the right spots, delivering exactly what fans of the original have hoped for with unmatched precision.

For the record, let it be known that Infinity Ward have produced what some will call the perfects sequel. This game will get to write history come November 10th. It has earned it, and it’s worth being a part of it.

“Modern Warfare 2″ was tested on Xbox 360. Played on ‘Normal’ to completition and a futile attempt at Veteran. Multiplayer was extensively tested via System Link, Split-Screen and Online. It is out November 10th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PCs.

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