The story of Modern Warfare 2 is fantastic. It takes place 5 years after the first Modern Warfare. Of course, it helps to have played the first one prior to the second to truly appreciate the intro to Modern Warfare 2. The good news, is that you do not have to be familiar with the first installment to have an engaging experience with this fantastic sequel.
You will find yourself growing fond of a variety of characters you interact with during cut scenes and triggered in game events. I will not give out any spoilers, but you will lose a comrade or two during actual in game combat and actually found myself loading from previous save points to prevent some of these characters from dying.
(From the very beginning, you get an idea of how bad-ass your comrades are.)
Without giving any of the story away, I will say this—it’s incredibly well written. It is one of those stories that will suck you in and you may even find yourself thinking “What if this really happened?”.
One thing that I do wish there was more of, was more dialogue regarding the events in the previous installment. There were a few references here and there, but to me it almost felt as if the events from last game weren’t as impactful as they should have been portrayed.
The bottom line is I find the story well written, incredibly engaging and believable. If a good story is what you’re looking for in a fast paced first person shooter, Modern Warfare 2 will fill your plate and leave you hungry for more.
I found the graphics in Modern Warfare 2 exceptionally good. Right down to the smallest of details. The movements your character makes are fluid and life-like. The level of detail towards the maps borders obsessive, there are little things like a small piece of paper sitting in a spot on a map that 99% of players would never even look that really adds to the immersion of each level. It’s this kind of detail that I wish could be in more first person shooters. The care that was put into the design of this game really shines through.
(Often times you will will find yourself in some incredibly awesome screenshot opportunities)
A couple of gripes I have though, as morbid as this may be; is the violence. With a game as detailed as this one, I had expected the violence to also reflect the same level of detail. If you shoot someone in the face with an assault shotgun at pointblank range, you’ll get a neat little blood cloud…and that’s it. Their bodies will do the ragdoll drop and fall to the floor lifeless…but with no wounds found anywhere on their body. Same goes for someone setting off a claymore, or stepping on a grenade.
That little gripe doesn’t take anything away from the game by any means. I have always been fond of realism when it comes to violence in video games and in a game that is focused around warfare…you’d expect a little more than just a pretty bloodcloud.
The sound for this game delivers exactly what you’d expect. It gives you the feeling of warfare. In the distance you can hear gunfire, people hollering in different languages. Faint screams from a mile away, etc. I’ve never been one to accurately “grade” the sound, but I can definitely say it helps you get into the game that much more. When a friendly gets gunned down in single player, you’ll hear a “Man down!” and other times you will actually hear someone call out their name. “Johnson’s down!” It does add to the intensity of a heated gunfight when you can audibly hear your platoon being reduced by the enemy.
The music on the other hand didn’t do much for me. It wasn’t good or bad, but I honestly think it could have been better. It was your typical “suspenseful” orchestral arrangement during the combat or in between getting from point A to point B. Without it, I still feel like I’d have enjoyed the game the same with one of my favorite albums playing in the background. The only thing I would have to say though, is that when playing multiplayer and you are running low on time, the countdown music definitely gets you pumped up to try harder.
When it comes to Multiplayer, you are going to have mixed opinions on what makes it great and what makes it not-so-great. The number one thing I will say is that it will take a little getting used to. If you aren't familiar with the COD franchise or other similar FPSers out there, you are going to need to adapt to the playstyle. There are times when you aren't going to be able to see where your opponents are shooting from and often times, you will die...a lot...and not even know where the bullet came from.
The key component in my opinion; is the ranking/weapon system. There are so many different weapons to choose from, and many of them you need to work for. There are also many different combinations with each weapon with all of their attachments. This allows you to tailor your weapons to your playstyle. If you like to hang back in the rear and snipe from a distance while being invisible to radar--you can do that. If you like to run in and assault with little regard for your safety--you can do that.
My only gripe are the occassional hackers that ruin your experience during some matches.
At the end of the day, I will say this. Modern Warfare 2 is an engaging experience both on or offline. If you're a fan of Multiplayer FPSers, this will definitely deliver.
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May 17, 2010 12:01:36 (
May 17, 2010 12:01
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