Modern Warfare 2. One of the most anticipated games of all time. Infinity Ward set the bar extremely high with their first installation of COD4: Modern Warfare. Do they meet that mark, or is modern warfare 2 an overhyped money machine? Visit my post last time Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Story: Just like in other COD games, you play in the shoes of multiple people throughout the story. You play as part of the marines and task force 141. This time around you play a guy named "Roach." Mctavish from the previous game (AKA Soap) is now your CO, and you are yet again on your way to saving the world. So the story is kind of 'meh.' It's cool that you can go to all these random places all within the span of 5-6 hours, but seriously. The game seems so scattered. The storyline makes sense, as long as you don't miss anything, but I'm not sure I get everything. There are amazing action sequences and the shootouts are great. But the story could have been better.
Graphics: IW did some improvements to the COD4 engine. This game looks a lot better. There is more destructible environment doodads, enemies are more detailed, guns are amazingly detailed, lighting has made a huge improvement. The game is breathtaking in campaign mode. Looking across the ocean in a helicopter is an experience that I would like to have in real life.
Gameplay: The game plays just like COD4, but a little easier in campaign mode. they removed that 'unlimited spawn' crap. You can actually clear out an area before moving on, rather than having to run forward and taking the chance that you will get torn apart by bullets, randomly. It makes the game a lot more enjoyable, realistic and less of a grind. There are a ton more guns in the game, including machine pistols, shotguns, launchers (not just the RPG like last game), different rifles, TONS of attachments (nearly ever gun has 5-7 attachments now) with a bunch of new ones, like heartbeat monitors and thermal scopes.
Multiplayer: This game is a jewel for multiplayer. The depth that IW added to the game is amazing. There are probably 5 or 6 times more challenges to complete than in COD4. This gives you a lot of incentive to keep playing. finishing an challenge or unlocking a new attachment gives you a sense of accomplishment that makes you come back for more. The matchmaking on Xbox360 is not bad, although it can have some issues with parties and what not. Guns in quake mode seem to kill much faster in this game, than in COD4. You no longer need to pump a guy with a full clip to kill him. The game's pace feels a bit faster and there are more factions that you can play as. The maps are varied in location and you will undoubtedly find favorites (mine is the sub base). Prestige adds another dimension to the game, allowing you to reset your challenges and unlocks to get a cool emblem by your name. The newest addition to the game is emblems and titles. These unlock for finishing certain challenges and can be very cool titles. The emblems are like avatars and are unlocked in a similar fashion. Perks also have been changed around. Perks now have a normal and pro level. The pro level of the perk gives an additional benefit to the normal effect and are unlocked by doing the associated challenge. For example, stead aim increases hip fire accuracy, the pro version also gives you longer hold breath time. In this way, the perks so of merge many of the perks that were found in the last game. Finally, MW2 adds in the concept of unlockable kill streaks and the idea of deathstreaks. There are MANY more killstreaks available than in COD4. You can now call in air drops, predator missiles, AC130's and even a nuke (if you're good enough :P). It offers for some great feelings when you call in an AC130 and control the guns to kill people on the ground.
Finally, the spec ops mode. IW added in a new mode called Spec Ops. This pits you and a friend to complete isolated missions of varying difficulty. You get stars for completing them, 1 for regular, 2 for hardened and 3 for veteran difficulty. There are 69 stars total. The missions vary from evade and extract, kill all the enemies, survive along a set path, and even two missions where one player controls a gunner from overhead and the other is on the ground moving on foot. Spec Ops is loads of fun with a buddy and offers for some OH SNAP moments. You can also play by yourself, but whats the fun in that?
Overall I really am enjoying this game. I sold the COD classic code on ebay for more than it is going now (XBLA has it for $15, I sold for $20). The hardened edition has a cool picture book and the case is very sturdy and a nice addition to my game library. If you want a great fps, with action, depth and hours of fun, GET THIS GAME.
