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Modern Warfare 2 - a game review (tl;dr)
16 years ago
Well, well, well...
It's almost been a full week since Modern Warfare 2 was released worldwide and considdering I was a huge fan of the first MW (which was still released as Call of Duty 4) I figured I might as well review it.
I'll start off with a great, big sigh of "eeeegh~" ...there's multiple reasons for that, but I guess the main one is that I'm disappointed in what the game turned out to be, as opposed to what it was made up to be.
S'not good to begin with the negative remarks on a game though, so let's start with some good things with their pro's and con's:
First of all the game scores high for very, very believable scenery and setting, I mean, I have rarely played a game with scenery as impressively well characterized as MW2's, but this was already true of the first part, so that's a recurring element I'll congratulate IW for. Brazil especiallyfelt very immersive and I was also very happy to find that IW apparently understood that endless respawning of enemies does not make a game more difficult, it just makes it obnoxious. The same aspect get's a slight stain however when it begins revolving around Washington DC coupled with Hans Zimmer's perversely dramatic composition.
Second good point (SPOILER WARNING) is the return of our beloved characters, specifically those of 'Soap' MacTavish, John Price (yes, Captain John fucking Price lives and breathes!) and Codename Nikolai. Unfortunately Gaz couldn't make it back, but then that would have been a rather disturbing loss of credibility for copying Alec Travilian's return in Golden Eye.
The new characters in the game are also very well characterized and don't feel like they are forced or dropped in like many other games (see Lord Hood in the Halo Series).
The con of the characters however is Shepherd. I realize he drives and (in the end) is the story, but god was he an unnecessary addition. Not just because of his disturbingly cliché name, but just because he makes TF 141 feel more like an americentral venture, rather than an international one. The part that probably disappointed me most about the characters though is the loss of Roach and Ghost and that we re-take control of Soap. It's not that I don't like controlling our old hero and protagonist but I feel, now that he's been given a face, he should not be playable anymore. Playing Price in the previous game was a short priviledge and a very good way to make us feel into the story behind Imran Zakhaev (now a hero of the new russia).
Another plus is the addition of the Special Operations Mode, which allows you to play with another player in co-op. Unfortunately that doesn’t go for the story, since sometimes I was really wishing I had someone actually backing me up for once, instead of the obnoxiously thick AI shooting blindly into the distance, but I wont dwell on that. It’s a solid concept, they’re fun missions that sorta work with the story and I’ve enjoyed the concept so far.
Unfortunately we’re already getting to the negative aspects here. First big stain is the way the missions are set up. The original Modern Warfare featured a lot of opportunities for stealth and in many aspects of the game it was your only way to advance, asuming you wanted to stay alive and the game preview that was released at E3 this year looked like they were going to continue that. Instead however they show us the one and only stealth mission in the entire game (and no, the short spurts of it that follow later with Price don’t count). So instead of the big, fat stealth steak we get a little nugget of stealth and a huge pile side order of action potatos and fast slaw, especially when many of the missions had beginnings and objectives that could have run very well for stealthiness, like the oil platforms or the mountain estate.
Which brings me right around to the story. While I did enjoy the story for what it was and it actually flows very well, it stumbled, fell and began coughing up blood near the end when Shepherd all of a sudden turns evil and as much as I congratulate IW for finally taking the big step and making the big american hero go batshit, I could almost hear the storyline straining, cracking and finally snapping with the twist. I realize that the story was trying to make a point with that, which is made very clear by Price’s monologue before the ending mission, but please, a little more subtlety next time, hm? Price firing the nuke was also rather bombastic, but I was very impressed by the fact that the story didn’t run him into blasting Washington to shit, he just EMP’d it, so another good score for that one.
One last thing about the story mode. While I did like the fact that IW included the multiplayer system of weapon attachments for enemies, certain aspects of that just shattered immersion for me when I found russian soldiers using israeli TAR-21’s. I realize we’re talking about the future here, but even so you can’t tell me that the entire russian army is made up of kontraktniki by this point. Even if it is the new ultra-nationalist russia, Rangers using the SCAR is still more believable than a squad of russians with the FAL. I wont mention the Juggernauts much, just let me say that I thought it was a shame they weren’t featured anywhere int he game, but I guess that just makes me a hypocrite >.>
Last and final point and the part that drags MW2 to the spot it stands at with me; Multiplayer. I may not have been playing it enough yet, maybe I’ll find it improves with time, but personally I feel they have trimmed a lot of things from the CoD4:MW experience of multiplayer and added a lot of needless things to make it more arcady. The upgrade and challenges menu is confusing, you can’t find out what certain upgrades and attachments do until you’ve actually unlocked them and many of them seem to be combined now, but I think the thing that annoys me most is the inclusion of more airdrop and aerial reconnaisance options in combination with the heartbeat monitor. You’re already easier to spot in the levels than you were in CoD4:MW so you can’t hide propperly from visibility, but now we also have to use two upgrade slots to propperly hide ourselves from both aerial recon and HB-monitor.
I guess I’m just rambling along, but considdering how much I was looking forward to this game, I’m really disappointed in what IW did to its potential. I realize a lot of the things I criticized are things many people probably like, but I was hoping for a true sequel of CoD4:MW both story and gameplay wise and it doesn’t really feel like either of them. While I am enjoying the game, it doesn’t feel like I’ve returned to the world I was hoping to get back to and enjoy another story in.
I guess all I can hope for is that Bioware won’t fuck up Mass Effect 2 next year >.>
It's almost been a full week since Modern Warfare 2 was released worldwide and considdering I was a huge fan of the first MW (which was still released as Call of Duty 4) I figured I might as well review it.
I'll start off with a great, big sigh of "eeeegh~" ...there's multiple reasons for that, but I guess the main one is that I'm disappointed in what the game turned out to be, as opposed to what it was made up to be.
S'not good to begin with the negative remarks on a game though, so let's start with some good things with their pro's and con's:
First of all the game scores high for very, very believable scenery and setting, I mean, I have rarely played a game with scenery as impressively well characterized as MW2's, but this was already true of the first part, so that's a recurring element I'll congratulate IW for. Brazil especiallyfelt very immersive and I was also very happy to find that IW apparently understood that endless respawning of enemies does not make a game more difficult, it just makes it obnoxious. The same aspect get's a slight stain however when it begins revolving around Washington DC coupled with Hans Zimmer's perversely dramatic composition.
Second good point (SPOILER WARNING) is the return of our beloved characters, specifically those of 'Soap' MacTavish, John Price (yes, Captain John fucking Price lives and breathes!) and Codename Nikolai. Unfortunately Gaz couldn't make it back, but then that would have been a rather disturbing loss of credibility for copying Alec Travilian's return in Golden Eye.
The new characters in the game are also very well characterized and don't feel like they are forced or dropped in like many other games (see Lord Hood in the Halo Series).
The con of the characters however is Shepherd. I realize he drives and (in the end) is the story, but god was he an unnecessary addition. Not just because of his disturbingly cliché name, but just because he makes TF 141 feel more like an americentral venture, rather than an international one. The part that probably disappointed me most about the characters though is the loss of Roach and Ghost and that we re-take control of Soap. It's not that I don't like controlling our old hero and protagonist but I feel, now that he's been given a face, he should not be playable anymore. Playing Price in the previous game was a short priviledge and a very good way to make us feel into the story behind Imran Zakhaev (now a hero of the new russia).
Another plus is the addition of the Special Operations Mode, which allows you to play with another player in co-op. Unfortunately that doesn’t go for the story, since sometimes I was really wishing I had someone actually backing me up for once, instead of the obnoxiously thick AI shooting blindly into the distance, but I wont dwell on that. It’s a solid concept, they’re fun missions that sorta work with the story and I’ve enjoyed the concept so far.
Unfortunately we’re already getting to the negative aspects here. First big stain is the way the missions are set up. The original Modern Warfare featured a lot of opportunities for stealth and in many aspects of the game it was your only way to advance, asuming you wanted to stay alive and the game preview that was released at E3 this year looked like they were going to continue that. Instead however they show us the one and only stealth mission in the entire game (and no, the short spurts of it that follow later with Price don’t count). So instead of the big, fat stealth steak we get a little nugget of stealth and a huge pile side order of action potatos and fast slaw, especially when many of the missions had beginnings and objectives that could have run very well for stealthiness, like the oil platforms or the mountain estate.
Which brings me right around to the story. While I did enjoy the story for what it was and it actually flows very well, it stumbled, fell and began coughing up blood near the end when Shepherd all of a sudden turns evil and as much as I congratulate IW for finally taking the big step and making the big american hero go batshit, I could almost hear the storyline straining, cracking and finally snapping with the twist. I realize that the story was trying to make a point with that, which is made very clear by Price’s monologue before the ending mission, but please, a little more subtlety next time, hm? Price firing the nuke was also rather bombastic, but I was very impressed by the fact that the story didn’t run him into blasting Washington to shit, he just EMP’d it, so another good score for that one.
One last thing about the story mode. While I did like the fact that IW included the multiplayer system of weapon attachments for enemies, certain aspects of that just shattered immersion for me when I found russian soldiers using israeli TAR-21’s. I realize we’re talking about the future here, but even so you can’t tell me that the entire russian army is made up of kontraktniki by this point. Even if it is the new ultra-nationalist russia, Rangers using the SCAR is still more believable than a squad of russians with the FAL. I wont mention the Juggernauts much, just let me say that I thought it was a shame they weren’t featured anywhere int he game, but I guess that just makes me a hypocrite >.>
Last and final point and the part that drags MW2 to the spot it stands at with me; Multiplayer. I may not have been playing it enough yet, maybe I’ll find it improves with time, but personally I feel they have trimmed a lot of things from the CoD4:MW experience of multiplayer and added a lot of needless things to make it more arcady. The upgrade and challenges menu is confusing, you can’t find out what certain upgrades and attachments do until you’ve actually unlocked them and many of them seem to be combined now, but I think the thing that annoys me most is the inclusion of more airdrop and aerial reconnaisance options in combination with the heartbeat monitor. You’re already easier to spot in the levels than you were in CoD4:MW so you can’t hide propperly from visibility, but now we also have to use two upgrade slots to propperly hide ourselves from both aerial recon and HB-monitor.
I guess I’m just rambling along, but considdering how much I was looking forward to this game, I’m really disappointed in what IW did to its potential. I realize a lot of the things I criticized are things many people probably like, but I was hoping for a true sequel of CoD4:MW both story and gameplay wise and it doesn’t really feel like either of them. While I am enjoying the game, it doesn’t feel like I’ve returned to the world I was hoping to get back to and enjoy another story in.
I guess all I can hope for is that Bioware won’t fuck up Mass Effect 2 next year >.>
Thus the ones left get to write the history books. *nodnods*
HOWEVER. There's one thing you don't mention in your review...
THAT scene.
You know which scene I'm talking about.
I LOVED the game, but I found that scene to be very uncomfortable, especially with me playing on veteran, you know?
i think i just played into your 'heartless' comment...but remember, they're just pixels and recordings of people screaming, not *actual* people.
...What's that, mister security guard of Russian airport, are you trying to crawl away, wounded? Oh, what's this? Your own M9? Let's see if it still works! c:
I read without.
Cause I'm retarded :3
Yep, that's right, Germany censors everything thay may even slightly be brutal.
However, I think you live in Austria, right Ipoke? I think they sell the uncut version there.
The fact that IF will give you the option to skip that scene is okay, but I don't like that they didn't include some kind of alternate "recap" for those that do skip it so that the rest of the plot of the game makes sense.
I'm surprised that nearly one week in that scene isn't all over the news making conservatives lose their motherfucking minds.
(Maybe it has and I've been too engrossed in my own life to notice?!?)
Overall, I enjoyed the game, liked the plot twists, loved the graphics upgrades (especially to the human chracters), although I lament the loss of the "cluster grenades" from the Campaign, from CoD4:MW.
I was shocked it was THERE!
But I completely understood it once we reached the next level of the game, and then in-context of the entire game itself. Something non-gamers, Bible-thumpers, wolf-criers (people who look for and announce controversy even when non exists - not actual people who cry for wolves), or news media "reporters" probably wouldn't bother finding out about.
I'm just surprised that this 24/7 Media didn't jump all over it for the "at-first-glance shock value" of it as time-filler...although, to be fair to the news media, they found out about Carrie Prejean's 8 self-love video tapes and Sarah Palin released a book...so they had all the bubblegum reporting covered.
Seriously though, I'm surprised Infinity Ward/Activision had the balls, though I'm glad they turned out to have a huge, dangly pair and weren't afraid to show everyone!
Way to go IF!
Overall I enjoyed the game. Like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare it was a pretty good action romp with some interesting plot twists...now I have to give the Multiplayer a go (though Call of Duty: World at War is still my fall-back Multiplayer choice. Plus, we'll see how well MW2 stands up to solo Campaign replays at the other difficulties.
How ever the multiplayer is good fun and to be honest that's where the long term playability is.
On more than one occasion the AI just pushed me from behind cover to become a jelly sandwich.
WTF?!?!
How is a first-time player (of the game, not OF games) supposed to know the "marks" the AI is going to take during a level?
If you are ahead of your AI teammates and run to cover, and the AI following you wants to be in the same space you occupy, instead of altering the script and finding another spot to occupy (as in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare), here they just up and push you out of your space, even if that means into the line-of-fire, and a death. This I didn't like at all and happned at least halfd a dozen times to me. Though that was really the only game-play complaint I had (oh, and the disappearance of the cheat "cluster grenades" from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare! I was really looking forward to unlocking that. I had so much fun using that cheat - that one and the "Goodyear" cheat!)
Christ did the singleplayer story suck ass. It also had no standout missions like the first one did. No ac130 level or sniping, everything bar the snowy levels were just all out gunfights and grenade spam. Oh, and being bashed to death by the guy who just respawned behind you repeatedly in sp is no fun.
Multiplayer, your not far enough into it yet, care package and recon stuff is very enjoyable once you figure it out. They almost definitely got me my well unearned 24 kill streak(so close to the nuke) - The only think that I'm happy about now is that air support falls out of the sky in almost seconds now that everyone has the stinger.
I've never seen more campers on any game than MW2 so far, its ridiculous c..c
Its a lot better to get a grip/sight or something, HB sensor often works well in smaller tight maps though :3
I found the game very entertaining, tho the story at times resembled a swiss cheese, with more than a few gaps that could have been filled, even if it was in the loading screen alone. I didn't really find the "No Russian" mission too shocking, considering those are things that happen when terrorists act, either bombing or shooting them one by one. And you actually need to play it to understand the whole game better. What i disliked, as you already said it, is the enemy awareness being ridiculously high and a stealth approach is almost impossible unless ALL enemies are facing away from you. And even then, one of your squad mates will get their attention and all hell goes loose.
What i also disliked was how IW seems to love showing your character die or suffer heavily without the game-over screen.
I mean, how many times did you get pwned in MW1? i think twice (not counting the intro sequence of the execution). In MW2 it happens more often, which makes me hate the character who performs it... and i was glad that i could kill atleast ONE of the bastards.
What happened to Mr. M anyway? Backdoor for MW2?
and twice Soap had to save Roach from falling.... this clearly shows that Roach is a white dude (white dudes cant jump lol )
But here, the whole game feels more right when the shit starts hitting the fan and you begin to lose almost everything, like when Shepard betrays Roach and Ghost. Also the parts when you play the Russian airport and the Favela in Rio when you get to shoot civilians (whether you want to or by accident) feels more like the game is trying to say things dont always go planned. And I also found the ending more fulfilling in the end, at least it doesnt end in a serious cliffhanger, I mean for those who've beaten the game by now already know theres going to be a Modern Warfare 3.
I have a beef against Infinity Ward and Activision, so I won't be picking this up till it's 15 bucks used.
"why aren't you healing. WHY ARENT YOU HEALING. YOU DUMB BITCH I SET YOU UP TO HEAL" that I go through at least once a day
I was like "OMG, lulz...look, look, It's PRICE!!" to my brother when i noticed him appearing in Modern Warfare 1.
And when you freed him in MW2 (and the way he says "thank you, muppet /bash")
You would assume it's just someone with the same name, but the fact he's got the same beard each time? Maybe they froze him cryogenically and unfroze him shortly before the events of Modern Warfare.
But I absolutely agree with the campaign's weapon mistakes. I think the developers were just way too lazy with who held what weapon. Couldn't they have included the AK-74M? I mean all you have to do really is change the shape of the AK-47's magazine and the flash hider.
Also the post-EMP washington wasted so much potential. Assaulting the White House was as simple as taking the West Wing and then going up a couple of stairs. You don't even get to storm the big house or senate chambers the same way you did the reichstag in CoD1 (which would have made a fantastic homage to the original game).
Overall, the entire invasion of the united states felt terribly off actually. The first US mission with the name "wolverines", gave me the idea that I was going to meet a bunch of fanatical ultraconservatives and dorky high school kids armed with surplus rifles. But no, there were no civilians to be found amidst the chaos.
Even though I do enjoy MW1 and 2, deep down inside I miss the 'modesty' and 'spirit' the first two games had. COD:WaW was ridiculously over-the-top, I admit I liked Sergeant Reznov, though. He was a true bro all the way through.
They'll loose a huuuuge part of their fanbase if they do. Though with the way sequels are coming along these days, it's pretty hard to follow up such a success in the first game.
Anyway it was a huge disappointment for me. out of 6 call of duty games ive played 7 if you include one expansion. I gotta say it was in the 5th place.
Also, about the multiplayer - what? It's amazing! It's like the first one, plus a 100!
RUN TO THE DOT
RUN TO THE DOT
SHOOT SOME GUYS
RUN TO THE DOT
GET IN THE SNOWMOBILE
DRIVE TO THE DOT
alot of what happened in the game though, really hit close to home. I mean i'm not a personal victim of the ft.hood shooting, but i am still a little disturbed by it since i live here, an seeing that betrayal in the game so soon to all of this stuff happening here... was really unexpected an threw me off a little. the realism to the effects of if an EMP did go off over DC, actually made me furious when i was in the game fighting "the enemy". like i was taking it personally or something.
when you're going through the neighborhoods fighting off people, those houses look fairly similar to the basic look of the homes here on ft.hood... just alot nicer with pretty fresh coats of paint (lol)
but over all, i enjoyed the game alot. it was just too short like i said ^^
The story was entertaining (especially when they decide to blur the lines on American Badass and Villian. Visuals were good but traditional to COD. All the missions had at least one insanely fun theme to it (breaching, sniping, etc.). I could've used more stealth in the story myself, but I though the special ops missions fixed that problem to a degree.
Overall, I thought it was fantastic. I have few complaints, but I won't defend it from ones that are reasonable. I'm not a fanboy, but it held my attention better than a lot of games out there.