Review: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare redefined how a shooter can stand the test of time back when it was released in 2007.  While the last entry in the series concluded the Second World War, it obviously did not continue in the footsteps of its predecessor except for in the multiplayer department.  Fans would have to wait another two years before a proper sequel to Infinity Ward’s money-printing title would be released and, when it was formally shown for the first time at E3 2009, people flipped out.  There is no doubt in the minds of every video game analyst that Modern Warfare 2 will be the biggest selling game of the year if not of the past ten years, but do sales numbers reflect quality?

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Roger Vulture 14, Solid Copy All

Modern Warfare 2 begins five years after the events of the first game.  Things haven’t gone well for the world in the days since the death of Imran Zakhaev.  In the months following his death his former associate Vladamir Makarov has seized control of the Russian Ultranationalist Party and has labeled Zakhaev a martyr of the “new Russia.”  The Ultranationalists now have a controlling interest of the country while the United States and Great Britain can only watch and (covertly) attempt to change the course of precipitating events.

In the wake of the Ultranationalist surge a new generation of terrorism has arisen throughout the world.  To combat the threat the United States and Great Britain form Task Force 141, an elite contingent of hand-picked troops from over a dozen countries.  The remaining members of the joint operations group that headed up the attack on Zakhaev’s missile base in the first game take up positions as leaders in TF141 with none other than Captain “Soap” MacTavish, the player’s controlled character from Call of Duty 4, leading your squad into battle.  The player controls several different soldiers throughout the course of the game, though for the majority of the combat you play as Sgt. Gary “Roach” Sanderson assigned to MacTavish’s squad.

The story itself clocks in at roughly seven hours or so for an experienced player which is comparable to the length of the first game.  The levels in the game are significantly shorter than the previous game but the number of missions, 18, fixes any worries about a short gameplay experience.  The story does include a significant cliffhanger which guarantees a Modern Warfare 3 (like you didn’t know they’d make that) but it doesn’t pull a Halo 2 at the end and leaves you (almost) satisfied.

Remember, No Russian

The story of the game takes a significant turn early on when Makarov leads a strike against a Russian airport filled with thousands of civilians.  This is the controversial level that has plagued the internet for months now depicting mass murder on a scale that hasn’t really been seen in a shooter before.  Though the level of violence is incredibly realistic in its brutality the end result is one that can change the perspective of the player and deliver an emotional experience I’m sure most haven’t ever experienced in a video game.  The level can be skipped through at no penalty to the player but for those who wish to see the story all the way through it is a vital event to witness.  It should be noted that, if you choose to play through the level, you will be forced to fight as there is almost no way to get through the entire level without killing anyone.  Should you get too far from Makarov you will be labeled a coward and are shot on site by him and his men.  Damned if you play it but damned if you don’t and miss the story event.

This is a Message

The level design of the game is far more generous in its variety this time around.  While you will still be fighting in forests and mountains a much stronger portion of the game emphasizes urban warfare.  No other set of levels highlights this fact more than the ones set in war-torn Virginia and Washington D.C.  Once you find yourself in the boots of a US Army Ranger charging into battle against invading Russian troops you know you are in for one of the best parts of the game.  The overall feel of these levels evoke a tremendous sense of awe as you buck and dodge your way through a Virginia suburban neighborhood or the decimated streets of what remains of the nation’s capital.

One of the more surprising and welcome additions to the series is the presence of civilians in the game.  Obviously shooting civilians is explicitly discouraged (except for the airport level) but it does give many levels a lived-in feel versus the abandoned buildings of every title in the series up to this point.  Civilians will obviously panic and run away as soon as the combat starts making shooting bad guys a troublesome experience for the first few minutes until they all clear out but it definitely does make you feel like you are fighting for more than the brass back home.

What players will notice throughout the game is a set variety in length of the various levels.  Some, like the Cliffhanger level in which Roach and Soap infiltrate a Russian airbase, are incredibly long to the point of being longer than several other missions combined.  Others are far shorter and can last just a handful of minutes though the majority of these are usually so action-packed that you really don’t realize it until after the mission ends.  Many levels are accentuated with multiple varying paths that ensure different experiences upon multiple playthroughs but it isn’t exactly enough to result in you talking to several of your buddies and learning a new approach every time.

Call of Duty 4 struck a balance of action experiences coinciding with plotline development.  This has changed a large amount in comparison to the first game as the game is filled to the brim with shootouts throughout all but 90% of the experience.  While this is a welcome change, especially given the expanded level design, you usually don’t get a breather until the level is over.  The only truly disappointing feature of the singleplayer experience is the lack of a stealth level.  All Ghillied Up, a level from the first game in which a pair of snipers infiltrate the rotting remains of Pripyat, was a very generous shake-up in comparison to the overall feel of the previous game.  It seems that this has almost all but been abandoned in favor of an action oriented experience.  Several levels do have stealth sections within them but there is not one that places this as a priority all the way through.

Stack Up!

Infinity Ward had a conundrum on their hands: how do you keep a solid singleplayer experience without diminishing its cinematic nature when adding in co-op?  After all, while World at War’s singleplayer and co-op were interlinked the end result diminished the overall experience when playing with a friend.  At the end of the debate Infinity Ward came down with a decree: keep the singleplayer experience separate from the co-op and for those yearning to kill hundreds of foes with a friend outside of multiplayer came Spec Ops.

Spec Ops was designed to do just that.  Separate from the singleplayer and multiplayer options present with the game players can team up with a buddy and attempt to accomplish a variety of mission objectives across multiple levels taken from both the singleplayer campaign as well original levels not present otherwise.  Players earn a number of stars from completing a mission on a certain difficulty level and these can be spent to unlock more levels.  Players can unlock a total of 69 stars across 23 levels so replay value is indefinitely assured.

Levels are organized into one of five sets: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo.  The difficulty of objectives increase as you go from Alpha to Echo.  The variety of mission objectives are divided into four further groups: Assault, Stealth, Wave Defense, Elimination.  Assault has you attacking waves of infantry while attempting to reach or complete an objective.  Stealth fills in the much-needed singleplayer hole and lets players sneak around enemy patrols.  Wave defense is just what you expect and Elimination has you killing all enemies on the map.

The end result: very fun.  Playing through a session with a good buddy is very exciting and often memorable.  If you don’t have a buddy to play with you can always go solo on these missions but it just isn’t the same.  The only unfortunate truth of Spec Ops is that it completely replaces the Arcade mode from the first game but you still get the same general feel with Spec Ops.

Tangos in the Open!

This brings us to the reason you will be coming back six months from now to play Modern Warfare 2: the multiplayer.  While the overall feel of the new title’s multiplayer hasn’t changed very much since the previous game the overall nature of it has been upgraded significantly.  Gone are many of the problems that plagued the previous game: modified controllers making guns automatic instead of their intended fire rate and the gratuitous use of martyrdom grenades are now a thing of the past.  Many of the griped-about features of the first game have been fixed thanks to simple modifications such as the deletion of some perks and the reassigning of others.  The game also incorporates host-migration, something that will prevent many from shouting and cursing at their TVs because someone decided that losing wasn’t something they wanted to do today.

The multiplayer component of Modern Warfare 2 also takes the idea of ranking up and pushes it to the next level.  The level cap has been raised to 70 as compared to Call of Duty 4’s 55 and World at War’s 65 making it an even longer experience, not to mention the ability to engage prestige mode once you have reached level 70.  Ranking up doesn’t only apply to your overall rank however: while doing normal ranking will still unlock new weapons and perks for you to use, perks and new weapon enhancements can be unlocked seperately.  Perks themselves can be upgraded to “Pro” versions of themselves that have further effects on top of their base powers.  Weapon attachments work the same way: for example, once you have killed a certain amount of players looking down your gun’s red dot sight you will unlock the EOT holographic sight for that weapon.

The levels included in the multiplayer are a mix of mostly original levels as well as ones almost taken straight out of the singleplayer.  There are almost no remakes present save for Wasteland, a remake of Brecourt from the original Call of Duty, which is a bit disappointing as fan favorite levels like Overgrown and Crash may not be making an appearance until the DLC map packs start coming out.  What is present is a nice variety of open and close-quarter maps that almost never leave you with a feeling of being lost or one of claustrophobia.  Modern Warfare 2 launched with 16 multiplayer maps total which is a very healthy amount when compared to many other shooters out there.

What you’ll end up with at the end of the day with Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer is a battle you want to player for some time to come, one that never gets old no matter how many times you shoot your friends (and strangers) in the face.  You’re going to be coming back to this one for a long time, as will millions of other players.

Hammerdown

Several games this generation have left us breathless when it comes to their graphics.  Gears of War, Killzone 2, Uncharted; each one has been one of the standouts in showing how next-gen hardware could truly be harnessed to its full potential.  The only caviat in this however is that each one of these titles is a platform exclusive and, as such, is only designed to take advantage of one system’s power with little consideration to any other platform.  It is safe to say without a doubt that Modern Warfare 2 beats these titles in the graphics department simply because, as a multiplatform title, it is forced to make the most out of multiple platforms and thus must take the sacrifices of one system and apply it to the other.  “Sacrifice” isn’t a proper word however as Modern Warfare 2 does not fail even once in the visual department.

While the game does use an upgraded version of the first title’s engine, Modern Warfare 2’s sheer beauty isn’t so much in technological improvements so much as refinements and subtle enhancements.  No longer are environments drab and lacking life; rather, they are brought to life by the little things present that you really take the time to think about.  The environments are now absolutely filled to the brim with things to interact with: chickens in cages, electronics, you name it.  One of the later levels in the game, The Hornet’s Nest, has you fighting hundreds of militia in the middle of a large market and, as you are blazing through it, you start to notice the collateral damage: tons of debris, dead chickens, cover ripped-asunder by gunfire.  In another level you are plunged into darkness with only fires and lighting from a storm lighting your way, both demonstrating an excellent enhancement to the engine’s lighting code as well as making the player subliminally more cautious.  It is really hard to describe in words how wondrous these enhancements are but you’ll definitely be agreeing with me on this one.

The game’s audio design is excellent as well.  Not only is there a ton of well written and acted dialog to experience but the sound effects really draw you into the experience.  Keith David, actor turned voice actor who voiced the Arbiter in Halo 2 and 3, plays a center role in the game and returning voice actors Billy Murray (not the comedian) and Craig Fairbass return, though Fairbass’s role (Ghost) is the same as his predecessor character Gaz which adds an odd sense of familiarity with the previous game.  Hans Zimmer, famed Hollywood composer, took on the task of adding music to the game, something that, despite his relative inexperience with video games, succeeded incredibly well.  The music easily compliments the scenes at hand and never lets down, not even for a moment.

Wait a Minute, It Comes with WHAT?

Of the three SKUs available for the console versions none is more ingenious than the notorious Prestige Edition.  Coming in an oversized box larger than a Nintendo Gamecube (also packs more awesome than the Gamecube), the Prestige Edition is for those who either love the franchise, love collector’s editions of games, or look forward to selling it for a high price on eBay in the near future.  For $150 USD you get a surprising amount of stuff to mess with: an art book, the collector’s edition of the game, and a voucher code for the original Call of Duty on the Xbox Live Arcade.  Oh, and a set of night vision goggles.

Let me repeat that last sentence: a pair of NIGHT VISION GOGGLES.  If that doesn’t turn your head then you my friend are just a sad, sad little man.  The NVGs are provided by Activision but were built Jakks Pacific, a toy company that created the EyeClops NVG set for kids.  While it is still a toy worth around $90 USD the product is surprisingly well put together.  While it doesn’t hold a candle to professional sets that you can buy for an exponentially larger sum of money, Modern Warfare 2’s set works very well and lets you see up to about 100ft or so in near-total darkness.  Of course, this won’t be of any practical use for most people, but for those looking to play a late night game of tag, have an impromptu paintball match at 1:00am, or just feel that a early morning panty raid is in order, these NVGs more than do the job.

Roger That, I’m Oscar Mike

Modern Warfare 2 is an excellent game; it can’t be said any other way.  The game’s singleplayer mode will make for a fine shock-and-awe moment for your non-gamer friends, the Spec Ops co-op will have you playing with your best buds for weekends on end, and the multiplayer will be exactly what you’ll be booting up every night for the next eight months.  What else can be said?  Buy this game.  Now.