Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
PS3 – Xbox 360 – PC
Activision

The Good – Action packed Campaign – Engaging Scenarios – An even deeper and more fulfilling multiplayer experience
The Bad – Campaign is short – Story in the campaign is a little muddled

Many games over the years have had massive hype and then disappointed upon release. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare set the bar high and to a much larger audience, I’ve had many conversations down the pub where grown men in their 40’s are quite happy to tell me how they got a 10 kill streak, or how they took out an annoying camper. This usually leads to everybody stumbling home after last orders, going online and getting hammered by a load of snotty American kids. I’m glad to say that COD:MW2 has not only managed to reach that high bar, but it’s managed to clear it by some way.



COD:MW2 comes in three parts, the main single player campaign, the highly addictive online multiplayer and the new scenario Co-Op mode. The single player campaign is a fantastic experience, each chapter has enough variation to keep it fresh and you will end up fighting all over the world in very different locations. The AI is much better this time as well, not just the enemies AI but also your allies, it’s really involving when you hear your comrade call out,’2 O’clock, behind the mini-van’, you look over at the mini and there’s actually somebody hiding behind it. The story is OK but can feel very disjointed at times, the only real criticism for the single player campaign is that it is very short.

The multiplayer for COD4:MW is what made it such a huge success, COD:MW2 has stuck to it’s tried and tested formula but really improved on it. The levelling up system has a lot more depth and there are a lot more attachments to unlock and challenges to complete. The weapons have had an overhaul as well and there is more variety in weapons and weapon combinations. In Cod4:MW getting a string of kills together would allow you to call in certain perks, 3 kills called in a UAV, (all enemies will be shown as red dots on the map), 5 kills brought in an airstrike and 7 kills called in an attack helicopter. In Modern Warfare 2, there are a host of new rewards that you can unlock and then equip as you see fit. There are many different rewards to choose from but you can only have three, this adds another dimension to the game, the chopper gunner reward is extremely powerful, but if your not convinced that you can get 11 kills in a row it’s pointless having it as a perk. On the flip side of this is the Deathstreak reward, getting killed a few times without making a kill yourself will start your chosen Deathkill perk, they’re not overly powerful perks but do just enough to help out newcomers to the game, for example Painkiller gives you significantly more health when re-spawning. The final improvement is in the maps, they are now much larger and diverse.



The completely new element is the Special Ops mode, this is a set of various scenarios that can be played as a Single player or co-operatively with a friend. The Scenarios vary from surviving waves of enemy attacks, making it from point A to point B stealthily, racing snowmobiles and more. Completing missions on varying difficulty levels will unlock more missions. Although you have the option to play these as single player, they are really geared up to play co-operatively with an online buddy. Although I am a little geeky when it comes to video games, even I feel a little foolish wearing a headset, it doesn’t help when your girlfriend is muttering Pillock as she walks through the room. However to be successful in these scenarios using a headset is a must as communication is key.

Although the below score is extremely high, it does come with a warning, COD:MW2 only warrants the below score if you intend to use all three elements of the game. If for some reason you are not online and are only buying the game for the single player, you will be missing out on the majority of the game. That’s not to say the single campaign is bad, it’s just very short. COD:MW2 has managed to improve on the game of the year for 2007, don’t be surprised if Infinity ward and Activision pick up the award for game of the year 2009.
9.5/10