Modern Warfare 2 Review, “Get ready for the grind.”
I have played the campaign and am playing through it again. I have also had a go at the special ops and the multi-player and this game has got me confused. Basically because each mode has its own characteristics and style, each one demanding its own separate review. What I will do in the following review is go through each aspect from what I consider to be the worst one through to the best. Mind you in saying that the worst of this game is still a heck of a lot better than pretty much most games out there.
Right so lets get into what I consider the worst part of this game, hooah, the campaign. Now I have a personal bugbear named Fred and he accompanies me as I rant and rave about stories, because the storyline is what can drive a game into greatness or not. When you have a game that is a linear shooter that relies on the story to link events and progress it should be good. Modern Warfare 2’s is not, it is pretentious rubbish. The story is bad but the scripted events are worse, and they have emulated the mistakes of other shooter sequels like Halo 2 & 3, and Gears 2, and those are taken what made the first one catch you by surprise and put more of them in as if that will make you more surprised and excited. Wrong, it makes you numb to it and bored by their lack of imagination. The characters also show that same lack of imagination and what made the characters in the first Modern Warfare unique is seriously lacking in the second.The setting though is a triumph with a glorious color palate and some fantastic spark effects as well as some haunting locations, one of which being suburbia America which can relate to most western suburban cultures. This translates into a feeling of fighting in your own backyard. There is action aplenty although sometimes the levels feel very grindy with the point only to get through them to the next scripted event, which has a very orchestrated feel and takes away from the realism. I also am not a fan of snap-on auto-aim especially as its not in multi-player (and shouldn’t be), so why is it in the main game. If it is a necessary tool to get through the levels then level design must again come into question.
The sound is great with a good score as well that draws you into the game. The guns are very well realized and have an authentic kick, fire rate and sound. I really like that in some parts there are civilians in the game as I felt this was lacking in the first, this helps you to think about who you are fighting for and against. There are a lot of things this game does well to draw you in and then the story jars you out again. This could have been the best shooter ever, but they stuffed up the story. It has everything else going for it but those scripted events and the storyline and its special little surprises (that are way too predictable) ruin the experience. Much like Assassins Creed’s story ruined that game but not as bad as that. I would have to say that if this was the only thing on the disk, even at half the price, it would be a rip off. This part of the game I would give a 7 out 10 and only because of all the good elements that redeem it, but the main part of it, the story, really lets it down. Luckily it’s not the only bit of software on the disk so let’s move on.
CAMPAIGN 7/10
The next best thing I consider of the game is the Multi-player. Multi-player is fantastic. Not a huge improvement over the first one, but even the little improvement that it is makes it the best multi-player shooter out there. Multi-player should be judged on the mechanics, and these mechanics that drive the action are great. Now don’t get me wrong, I know you’ve read the other reviews. This is harder than the first. The kill streaks make running and gunning difficult, the death streaks sort of even it out, but if you don’t know how to be patient, be prepared to die, a lot. Not only that but to start with you will die a lot as you grind your way through the levels until you are high enough to have unlocked what you want, to have the class you desire that suits your style so that you can hold your own. Because if you thought starting in Multi-player in the first one was hard because of the lack of cool equipment, then you need to know that this is worse. You will need to put in a lot of hours to get through it to a position where you enjoy it more than get frustrated by it. The maps seem good as well, with ways to make the map work for you if you work well as a team. And this is the key difference and improvement I think, that it rewards you more than the first for playing well as a team and employing good teamwork and strategy. I have heard talk of the maps not being that great but I think they are interesting and varied. The gameplay mechanics work best here and they really should have been adopted for the campaign. So in conclusion Multi-player is an improvement over the first, not revolutionary but really you don’t want it to be.
MULIT-PLAYER 9/10
And finally we come to what I consider to be the gem of the piece, the Special-ops co-op missions. Here there is something a bit revolutionary for not only do you have the good old side-by-side missions but in some missions you have one player acting as protector in an AC130 gunship or as a helicopter gunner. This a new spin on co-op and brings communication to the fore. Here you have variety and gameplay as you seek to better your scores and achieve 3 stars in each mission. Also you get to play with someone you want to play with rather than “the crowd” which can sometimes make the multi-player experience rather average.
Unfortunately, it uses the same gameplay mechanic as the single player campaign, and this is the only fault I can give it. Why can’t we just rely on our skills, sure you can turn it off, but that’s not the point. Why have it there at all? It seems it is only there as an excuse for new-comers and so they can ramp up the enemy level to intensify the experience by filling it up with more. More does not mean quality!!! This is the only blemish on a fantastic new, and exciting, mode.
