With 14 million copies sold worldwide and more
than 50 Game of the Year awards, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was a
huge successes.
Now, with the newest instalment Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare 2, does it live up to the hype?
Let's find out!
Modern Warfare 2 picks up five years after the
events of the previous game, telling the tale of a new conflict between
multinational military squad Task Force 141 and Russian
Ultranationalists under the leadership of terrorist Vladimir Makarov.
From the main menu it is clear that the game is
divided into three parts. The single-player campaign puts you into the
role of various soldiers spanning across the globe, as a much larger
conflict unfolds.
Special Operations mode lets you tackle short mini
missions that range from securing a certain position to killing enough
bad guys within a certain amount of time. Special Operations mode is
great for grabbing a mate and getting them in on the action. At the end
of each mission you are ranked with a star system, one star being ok
and three stars being excellent.
Multiplayer is the last of the three modes.
Slightly different this time around, new features include capabilities,
customisation, gamestates and modes, including: Create-a-Class Evolved.
Secondary Weapons - Machine Pistols, Shotguns, Handguns, Launchers,
Riot Shields. Equipment - Throwing Knives, Blast Shield and Tactical
Insertion.
Anyone that is familiar with the franchise will
feel at ease playing COD: MW 2 for the first time because the controls
are much the same. Aiming and shooting are still very solid, the weight
and feel of each gun differs markedly. Uzi's and light machine guns fire
rapidly causing massive recoil, while your standard assault rifle, like
the much loved AK-47 are more accurate and have a steady rate
of fire.
Shooting people in the face is what this game is
all about, but Infinity Ward has done a great job of setting the action
around constantly changing objectives. Ripping through buildings using
a ute mounted mini-gun as you make your way through hostile street
slums, escort armored vehicles through suburbia and sneaking through
blizzards into enemy bases before hauling your butt out of there on a
stolen snowmobile are what makes this game great.
Some objectives may seem the same, just different
locations, level layouts, enemy types and weapons. But all change the
experience enough every time to keep things exciting.
Fighting through the ghettos of Rio De Janeiro, a
Middle Eastern war zone and the streets of the United States all feel
somewhat different, this helps to keep the action fresh and exciting.
Some minor but more than welcome changes to COD:
MW 2 include the ability to open doors yourself (previous titles relied
on your AI teammates), this helps keep the action flowing at a high
pace. You also no longer require your teammates to breach walls, you
can do it yourself by holding the X button when prompted. After
breaching a door the game goes into a slow motion matrix style for a
few seconds, this helps in take out enemies that are hold hostages and
it is also a pretty cool aspect of the game.
These minor improvements and refined game, gun and
controls work well at elevating the Campaign Mode over the original
Modern Warfare, the cinematics are also a stand out, with each one
drawing you deeper into the story.
Graphics have also been refined. The most notable
improvement would have to be the lighting effects. The interface
remains the same only a little more polished, at the bottom of the
screen there is a display that shows you how many frag/smoke grenades
you have, amount of ammo and a silhouette of the current gun you have
equipped, pretty standard.
COD: MW 2 runs smoothly and without any hiccups,
there weren't any real glitches. Missions were long and the locations
they were set in looked vibrant. The audio is equally impressive,
teammates telling you to 'get ass behind some cover' or whispering to
tell you which enemy to take out, are a great touch and add a sense of
realism to the game.
Most fans of Modern Warfare will no doubt love
this game, while some will complain about the short six hour s to
complete the Campaign mode. But, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 mostly
shines, with its online multiplayer and the offline Special Ops with a
friend, it has more than enough replay value to keep you happy.
Game: Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare 2 System: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
and PC
Players: 1-2 Online: Yes Developer: Infinity
Ward
Distributor: Activision
