Infinity Ward knows how to make a shooter; it proved it with Call of Duty 2. The company totally outdid themselves with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I suspected the team at IW would once again out-do themselves with Modern Warfare 2. However, when I played the game, I found that wasn’t the case. While there is a great deal of content to enjoy in Modern Warfare 2, they don’t quite measure up to what was found in the original. The game is still a huge amount of fun, but the single player campaign doesn’t have as much of that flair as what we found in the original Modern Warfare.

 

In Modern Warfare 2, players take on the role of a member of Task Force 141, a special ops counter-terrorism team. Throughout the game, you’ll see familiar faces and bear witness to some truly horrific acts, and they’re impressive as you watch the individual stages and key moments of the game, but that doesn’t quite do it for me. It all seems very familiar. Your primary adversary in the game will be Russian ultra-nationalists, just like the first game. Nukes are launched, just like the first game. You’re trying to save the world, just like the first game. That’s fine and all – I really did enjoy my time with the game, but I was just left lingering for something a bit more groundbreaking.

 

Don’t misunderstand, the gameplay is every bit as solid as the first, but the objectives and setups don’t provide anything close to the drive you had to save the day in the Infinity Ward’s last offering. There are certainly moments that stick out in my mind as incredibly cool, along with some great scenarios and slick set pieces, but there’s nothing as jaw dropping, grand, or cohesive as what we saw in COD 4. Though some portions of the narrative are contrived, the upside is that you’ll still find the gameplay is extremely polished, refined and outright fun. Just because it doesn’t measure up to the initial adventures of Soap, Captain Price and Gaz, that doesn’t mean it’s not a worthwhile experience. Despite my misgivings, it is, in fact, the first time in a decade I pulled an all-nighter to finish a game. And with good reason.

 

 

The campaign unfolds in a way where you constantly are fighting some sort of impressive skirmish, whether it’s infiltrating a Russian base in the mountains of Asia, or you’re rushing through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, it has a great flow as you’re constantly moving to your next objective. Along with that, there are some rather impressive settings when it comes to where you’ll be fighting. It seems that nothing was taboo when Infinity Ward was coming up with some of the scenarios you’ll be taking a part of, and though they don’t have that same freshness that came with the first Modern Warfare, they still serve their purpose in ensuring the player is engaged from start to finish. 

 

Though the single player component is certainly fun, it uses a narrative that simply doesn't stack up to the original Modern Warfare. Yeah, there are cool moments in both games, but the original really drove home the significance of these events, while in Modern Warfare 2, it just glazes over what's happening in the game world. Despite the shallow story telling, there's still plenty here to like. It's simple run and gun fun with some great spectacle incorporated through the entire campaign, making sure you're always on your toes. Now, as Gaz would say: ready up. You’re in for one heck of a fight.

 

 

Where the game absolutely shines is with its multiplayer offering. Simply put, for a console game, it’s second to none. The customization and the frequent onslaught of perks and new equipment you’ll unlock is truly staggering. A vast amount of gameplay modes are ready and waiting for you as soon as you boot up the game. Everything from the standard deathmatch, to domination and capture the flag modes are included. There’s even a fantastic cooperative mode dubbed Spec Ops, which allows you to play scenarios that are far more detailed and linear than the standard multiplayer offering. In Spec Ops, you’ll run various mini-missions along with a comrade-in-arms where each player is fighting from a different area altogether. One will provide cover from the air, acting as a helicopter gunner, while the other will dash and fight baddies as you make your way to the bird’s landing zone. Another will have you stave off wave after wave enemy forces as you hold a point until reinforcements arrive. This robust offering really adds to the overall product and allows for a great deal of fun.

 

 

The trick with the rest of the multiplayer modes is that there’s a great leveling system incorporated, allowing you to further customize your avatar. You’ll steadily progress as you spend time in the multiplayer modes, tallying up experience as you fell opponents online, and as that happens, you’ll be able to equip your character with bigger and better weapons. Along with that, new perks and kill streaks have been included in this new version, allowing you to further customize your equipment layout to something that’s more and more unique and tailored specifically to you. If you like to get up close and take out an enemy, equip the marathon and commando perks, allowing you to sprint indefinitely and extend the distance for a knife kill. If you want to get the last laugh, you can equip the last stand perk, which allows you to fire your sidearm from the ground before you’re KIA. Hell, if you’re elite, you can equip the tactical nuke killstreak reward, which is essentially the win button of the game, killing everyone on the map and gaining a victory for your team.

 

Despite the shortcomings of the single player campaign, the online portion of the game is nothing short of excellent. The vast array of modes and options available to you from the get go are truly impressive, and it only gets better from there. Add the fact that you can create something that's truly unique is an added bonus to an already fantastic game. If you really want some bang for your buck, Modern Warfare 2 is something that should be strongly considered -- it's something that's sure to keep you busy for a good long while.