Review: Modern Warfare 2

or Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: 2: This Time, It's More Modern

Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 has been receiving some colossal hype. Chances are you’ve already heard about it and watched the trailer more than once, shivering. Even by pre-orders (the metric unit of hype-measurement) it’s going to be a really big deal. Small non Gamestop stores are breaking street date to get it out of the door, and even the edgier Gamestops are following suit to compete. The media firestorm has come to a boil, but is it the game worth it?

This sequel to the fourth installment of a quadrilogy is definitely infinity ward’s magnum opus. The single player campaign starts very strongly, and each mission does not fail to impress. It felt as if they took every ‘best level’ from other shooters and formed a delicious all star team. The graphical upgrade is definitely noticeable, but what really pulls together the presentation is the increased attention to art design of the environments this time around. Even the non accessible backdrops are stunningly rendered and iconic, giving the action a nice depth of field varying from the up-close action to the huge, cinematically scoped moments. My most vocalized complaint would be that the single player campaign is too short, clocking in at around 4-6 hours on normal difficulty. Arguably, playing on veteran would be an epic, long-winded task, but even then I found it satisfying. If your criticism is that the campaign is too short for the cost, well look no further than the other lifetime consuming modes. However, I felt the campaign’s production value was so high, it actually left my satisfied.

Rather than having a few outstanding moments, such as the celebrated “Ghillies in the Mist” or the AC 130 level from it’s predecessor, Modern Warfare 2 delivers a higher-than-average and constantly refreshing experience consistently. In-mission cinematics and special events have really been exploited to prevent the break between playtime and full cinematic. Rather than just quick-time events, they are all unique and context appropriate, striving for immersion rather than coolness. The most obvious example of this would be the new breaching system. A handful of times throughout the game, you will be prompted with breaching a door, and are often given several to choose from. You place a charge on the door and burst through in a slow motion sequence where you have to eliminate all of the baddies without shooting hostages and explosives. While this is an age old mechanic since the arcade days of Point-Blank it is actually executed in a stylish and enjoyable manner which breaks the run-and-gun pace of the rest of the game.

What I wasn’t expecting was the attention to drama in the writing. While it is often hard for most people to care about the particulars of a story during the overwhelming action, it provided an unexpected quality and depth. While the first Modern Warfare (the fourth Call of Duty) had a rather expected and traditional arc, this one definitely takes some twists and turns. The good guys aren’t clear cut heroes, and even your own squad mates can seem a little out of order. It certainly provides for a refreshing break from the quality of game writing. Sometimes you find yourself working for a madman who is the good guy, or maybe the bad guy, or maybe it’s your leader who thinks he is the good guy. The plot thickens.

If you’ve played the previous installments then you'll have a pretty good idea of what the multiplayer is like. Online, the action is just as fast paced as the original, but everything has been turned up just a bit. There are a myriad of new perks and weapon upgrades, as well as a whole new suite of weapons. The graphics have definitely received an upgrade from their previous quality of “excellent” to “a little shocking.” You can tell that they’ve really poured everything into it. You can see the attention to balance even when you're just starting out. Each of the preset classes this time around are actually viable and interesting, and the weapons are of the same quality as those you receive through progression.

In my opinion the greatest improvement was in the customizable kill streaks. Not only does this allow players of any skill level to access cool things by setting their streaks to lower kill value items, but adds a huge variety to the game play. Players are throwing down all different kinds of environment changing effects, including airstrikes, counter-UAV’s, player guided missiles, AC-130’s, oh my. It gets heated. At first I was swamped by the addition of new features and maps, finding it to be quite a bit to take in. Each player has an emblem and another portrait thing as well as your name and rank, and you can unlock a variety of each of these that fills several pages. These trappings do come at a price though, the in game HUD is much more cluttered, and kills that are unique (revenge, longshot, buzzkill) prompt annoying pop ups that at times makes the playfield almost invisible. I guess I had come to terms with it when I accidentally found myself playing the multiplayer for five hours when I had the intention of “a brief overview.” It’s just as addictive as the first, and the game systems have been tweaked and solidified into a truly winning formula. In these tweaks though, the guns have less distinction and flavor to them. While my AK-47 ACOG site was a unique weapon of a gentleman in COD4, now just any old automatic will do.

The last mode of this time devourer is the co-op, or if you’re one of the cool kids “Spec-Ops.” I expected a rehashing and dishwater version of a handful of the campaign missions, tooled so that I could romp through with a friend. Really I wasn’t that excited about it. What I ended up finding was a pretty new experience. Although some levels are recycled, they are given a new life and objectives not found in the single player mode, and Spec Ops even has exclusive levels, which come together in a pretty good way. Without spoiling too much, one example is a level where one person is on the ground where the other is supporting from a gunship. It’s definitely a step in the right direction in terms of quality of FPS co-op games. It manages not to feel tacked on which is typically the feeling you get when playing Halo 3 or (especially) World at War. It provides a sense that there is a distinct purpose for there to be more than one person participating in the goal at hand, which is truly the most refreshing sensation present in the mode.

I intended to take the Yahtzee Croshaw approach to reviewing this game. I thought that I would get it and make a statement by disproving this ridiculous hype. I’ve often ranted about how sequels will be the death of innovation, and yet I find myself begrudgingly falling in love with the SIXTH (COD 4 + 2 = 6) installment (not counting expansion packs) in this very straightforward first person shooter which has its roots in World War II and simulation combat. There's no more imaginative of a setting that that, but really, It’s just a splendidly executed piece. Everything about it has attention and care, and has been tested to mathematically optimize fun per second. Modern Warfare goes to show that when super-human effort and care are channeled into a game, it’s going to be good. Immaculate attention to every detail has brought Modern Warfare 2 forward as possibly the best first person shooter, both single and multiplayer, we have seen yet. Thumbs up.

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