Yes, we played it. Here's what you want to know about.
This map is called Favela.Let's get the obvious stuff about Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer out of the way. Yes, it still runs at 60 frames per second. Yes, you rank up from match to match, constantly unlocking new weapons and special abilities as you go. You pull the left trigger to zoom in. Anyone who spent more than a few minutes online with the first Modern Warfare knows exactly how the action will feel in the sequel. On top of that core action, Infinity Ward has been busy layering a dizzying amount of new trinkets, goodies, doodads and whirligigs onto the already elaborate create-a-class framework from before. Actually, there's so many small new additions to the gameplay that I need to itemize them.
Customizable Kill Streaks. Possibly the most anticipated new feature is a pretty darn cool one. You now unlock kill streaks as you rank up, and though you can still only take three into a match with you at one time, you can at least have some control over how many kills you need to rack up to use them. Some of the kill streak rewards require three, four, five, six, seven, nine kills… In addition to old favorites like the UAV, there are things like a care package that's parachuted in and grants you a random upgrade; stationary sentry guns you can put down to beef up defenses, especially in objective-based games; and of course the AC130 gunship, which requires 11 kills to use (and which, consequently, I did not see). Best of all, it seems like kill streaks stack, since I was able to use my five-kill Predator missile, then immediately activate the four-kill care package right afterwards.
Death Streaks. Death streaks? Yes, you will now be rewarded for dying too many times in a row, in an effort to prevent frustration for those just getting into Modern Warfare 2. The only two in the demo I played were Painkiller, which starts you with a triple health boost after you're killed three times without making any kills of your own, and Copycat, which lets you use the loadout and perks of the last guy who killed you for one life.
Secondary Weapons Replace Pistols. No more piddly sidearms. Well, not quite true; pistols are still in there if you want them, but you can pass up the lo' Desert Eagle in favor of tactical shotguns, automatic machine pistols, and other nice gear to augment your primary rifle. All these secondary weapons can take attachments just like the primaries can, so if you want to throw a suppressor or digital camo on your shotgun, more power to ya.
Fancy New Equipment Instead of Grenades. Toss out your frag grenades, if you want, and replace them with some nifty gear that serves a variety of other purposes. Perhaps you would prefer Semtex timed sticky explosives? How about some throwing knives? The most abstract but perhaps coolest piece of equipment I saw was the tactical insertion, which looks like a typical flare when you throw it down. In practice, it acts as a mobile, single-use spawn point, so anytime you're moving into a heated area, throw one down and that's where you'll restart if you die.
This one is Highrise.Experience Boosts Galore. It seems like you get experience point bonuses for doing damn near anything in the new game. I'm not just talking headshots; any stylish or meaningful kill is going to give you some kind of experience boost. Kill a guy just before he's about to get a kill streak? Bonus. Take out the guy who just killed you? Bonus. Get the last kill in a match? Bonus. IW says the leveling (which now caps at level 70) has been tweaked to take the faster accumulation of points into account, and you'll get something gameplay-related for prestiging this time around. They aren't saying what, though.
Callsigns. Infinity Ward has been playing a lot of Street Fighter IV. The title and emblem system from that game is reproduced almost exactly here, with dozens upon dozens of descriptive phrases you can unlock and slap on your profile to give other players a sense of exactly how you've been putting it down online. The titles and emblems you can get will correspond to your behaviors, so if you spend a lot of time camping or you rack up a ton of melee kills, everyone will know it. The titles I saw in this demo version
NO BETA. THERE IS NO OPEN OR PUBLIC BETA PLANNED FOR MODERN WARFARE 2. NEITHER OF US (YOU OR ME) WILL PLAY IT UNTIL IT'S OUT. THAT'S KIND OF A BUMMER. INFINITY WARD PLEASE RECONSIDER.
I think it's safe to say nobody expected a stark reinvention of the wheel with Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer, just a long and thoughtful list of subtle improvements, tweaks, and additions to an already winning formula. And that's exactly what this looks like. I overheard a pretty funny, apt comment at this event that the only bad thing about Modern Warfare 2 is, it's not coming out for another two months. Yeah, that guy pretty much had it right.
" Death streaks? 3X Health?No. Not getting this game. "
Thats an extremely legitimate reason to not get a game.
You do realize that once you get passed level 20 there most likely won't be any players at all that will be getting this...and even if they do they obviously suck. So whats the difference?
I am not impressed still. Frankly, it doesn't seem like much of an improvement from the last game anyway. Customizing Kill Streaks is like taunting a player your going against, it just adds to the ton of beligerance that is on there already.
I like the death streaks, thats clever, but also kinda silly.
I wish I was young and carefree with no responsibilities. I would sit on my butt and do nothing besides play this game for a week straight when this came out.
With that being said, I'll be lucky with getting in more than 3 hours of MP a week. Damn you graduate school. The wife and kid are worth it...but damn you school.
so how are sentry bots possible?! how can they tell who the enemy is?! seems very unrealistic. its okay in Killzone 2 cause its like wayyy in the future and all, but here it just seems silly.
There's two things that absolutely need to be fixed or else I'm sworn to not get this game.
1. Reduce the radius and/or damage of frag grenades. This should be self-explanatory for anyone familiar with MW1 MP.
2. Ability to choose between in-lobby and in-progress games. Joining a game of Sabotage just when there are 5 seconds left until your team loses is NOT representative of one's skill, and still the loss is still counted on your record.
" @TimesHero: You should prolly get that condition checked out. And no I'll also be playing CSS, TF2, and maybe some ArmA. @PolyesterPimp: And how am I a fanboy because I'm not gushing with praise for changes that seemed to be designed for the lowest common denominator? And a fanboy of what exactly? Makes sense next time, shhh boy shhh "
So your saying the fact that they made the game an even more customizable experience for the end user is noobing it up? As well as adding loads of extras for those who are going to make this their primary MP game? Erm I wouldnt call that noobing anything up, maybe giving the people what they want but arent aware that they need yet. Maybe once you get your hands on it your opinion will change if not stick to KZ2... my mistake for the fanboy comment maybe i misunderstood your comparison to KZ2 as a PSBoys fallback.
" I like when people make long ass paragraph size comments. Who will read your opinion on an opinion? I just ate some good food. Pasteles con arroz. Hellz yeah. "
Here's my question why is the Xbox 360 version getting more publicity than, no, XBOX 360 VERSION GETTING ALL THE PUBLICITY, WHY? Why not show off the PS3 version..?
I love how much Brad has changed, he used to be so nerdy and shy when he was doing video reviews for gamespot in the early days, but now he is like all cool and laid back, and just generally awesome. I love you Brad! Oh, and the game looks good too.
" Here's my question why is the Xbox 360 version getting more publicity than, no, XBOX 360 VERSION GETTING ALL THE PUBLICITY, WHY? Why not show off the PS3 version..? "
Because they are the same game? Developers make games on 360 and port to ps3 for the most part because 360 dev tools are easier to use and its easier to port from 360 to PS3 then it is from PS3 to 360. Fact of life. But realistically, its the exact same game on both, so don't worry about it
" Here's my question why is the Xbox 360 version getting more publicity than, no, XBOX 360 VERSION GETTING ALL THE PUBLICITY, WHY? Why not show off the PS3 version..? "
Because IW knows where their bread is buttered. The PS3 version of COD4 sold about 4.5 million. The 360 version sold almost 8 million. Whenever one console has almost double the sales of the other, you're going to make sure those people come back.
I gotta say, getting a 4 kill streak enabling you to drop a "care package" is rather lame in my opinion. Although it is accessible to anyone on either side that means someone will have the opportunity to enter an AC130 and start reigning hell on everyone thereby skyrocketing their killstreak unlocking yet another AC130 normally. Sound broken to me.
Anyone knows if they're going to put the prestige mode in the pc version this time around? I wish they had done it the first time around... as a matter of fact... why didn't they?
@thejamster: true, but spawncamping sucked even more. But if someone can't get a kill in four lives, I can't imagine having boosted health will turn him into a pro all of a sudden. I'm pretty sure they'll test it out, see the results and adjust it if needed.
" They should also sell just the MP via XBLA/PSN for like 40 bucks. I can imagine how many people would buy the digital version after the disc version, simply for the convenience of not having to make sure the disc in in the drive when the addict begins to fiend. "
And i can name so many people that vice-versa, they like to physically own things
" Death streaks? 3X Health?No. Not getting this game. "
Thats an extremely legitimate reason to not get a game. You do realize that once you get passed level 20 there most likely won't be any players at all that will be getting this...and even if they do they obviously suck. So whats the difference? "
So what you are saying is that in this game if you play it even marginally competitively nobody will ever die 3 times in a row? Now that's a REAL reason not to get a game.
killstreaks sounds like a smart addition, plus it pisses off the "hardcore" ("pro"? whatever they get called) fuckers that made MW1 the opposite of fun.
" killstreaks sounds like a smart addition, plus it pisses off the "hardcore" ("pro"? whatever they get called) fuckers that made MW1 the opposite of fun. "
Uh what? The hardcore mode in CoD 4 was separate mode, separate from the several "regular" modes. It didn't have any impact on the regular modes. I personally like to have the option to play "hardcore" or arcade when I'm in the mood.
" killstreaks sounds like a smart addition, plus it pisses off the "hardcore" ("pro"? whatever they get called) fuckers that made MW1 the opposite of fun. "
Uh what? The hardcore mode in CoD 4 was separate mode, separate from the several "regular" modes. It didn't have any impact on the regular modes. I personally like to have the option to play "hardcore" or arcade when I'm in the mood. "
alright, misinterpretation. I meant the guys who went for the highest prestige level and had the attitude of: "I'M PWNING NOOBZ WITH MY SNIPER! ALPHA!"
" so how are sentry bots possible?! how can they tell who the enemy is?! seems very unrealistic. its okay in Killzone 2 cause its like wayyy in the future and all, but here it just seems silly. "
Nothing about Call of Duty is realistic in any way.
Let me preface this with that CoD4 is a fun and well made game.
However everyone is acting like CoD4 is a hardcore shooter. Don't think for one second that with all its aim assist and perks, you are actually good at shooters. Play some Counterstrike or SOF2 (realdmg mod) -- which I played in toruneys-- to show you how slow your reaction and imprecise your aim is when the game isn't doing it for you. I'm only going into this rant in defense of death streaks. Adding alittle bit more accessibility to an already accessible game isn't going to break it.
If they insist on keeping martyrdom, a perk that REWARDS players for playing badly or dying, then they should remove it from the perks list and add it to the new death streak feature. I would feel less crappy about dying from martyrdom if I knew that the guy that just killed me with it only had it because he had died 3 times in a row.
"
The people that cry about Martyrdom still never cease to amaze me. First of all, dying means you're a bad player? Getting stabbed in the back because your team can't do their job means you're a bad player? Walking into a random grenade means you're a bad player? There are so many ways to die in the game, no matter how good you are, to say it means the player that died is bad is ridiculous. And what does it say about you for walking into someone's Martyrdom?
I STILL use Martyrdom to this day simply because I know that I'm playing against someone like you. Someone who is not only going to make excuses for it other than you're own inability to not advance on an enemy you just dropped but is going to complain about it for 2 years. Even better? Walking into an enemy occupied room holding a stun grenade so that when I get killed, I drop the stun, and my martyrdom. Hilarity ensues.
ANYWAY, this game looks amazing. I can't believe so many people are complaining about the IDEA of things like a sentry gun (which is sound tactical behavior), tactical insertion (which is also sound because if you're near an objective it gives you a better chance at getting there) or the triple health boost, which is CLEARLY temporary. It doesn't last a whole life. It last just enough for you to get the hell out of dodge should the unfortunate situation arise in which you're being camped into your spawn. Or even better, playing a map like Wet Works where it turns into a nade fest. But apparently good players don't die from random grenades.
" @TimesHero: You should prolly get that condition checked out. And no I'll also be playing CSS, TF2, and maybe some ArmA. @PolyesterPimp: And how am I a fanboy because I'm not gushing with praise for changes that seemed to be designed for the lowest common denominator? And a fanboy of what exactly? Makes sense next time, shhh boy shhh "
So your saying the fact that they made the game an even more customizable experience for the end user is noobing it up? As well as adding loads of extras for those who are going to make this their primary MP game? Erm I wouldnt call that noobing anything up, maybe giving the people what they want but arent aware that they need yet. Maybe once you get your hands on it your opinion will change if not stick to KZ2... my mistake for the fanboy comment maybe i misunderstood your comparison to KZ2 as a PSBoys fallback. "
Death streaks makes it noob friendly, addition of a permanent 2nd firearm thats not a pistol noobing it up, thats fine that MW2 wants to be that accesible game for a lot of people but I personally want a game where good players are rewarded for being good and not have perks/streak benefits skewing the balance of power and skill.
Thus why I like KZ2, CSS, UT because they reward the good players and skills as oppose to finding out manners in which to help less skillful players. Want to be better? Get better, play more. If not, then learn to enjoy playing despite doing it poorly. I do so with racing games and other genres I'm not good at and I don't expect those games to cater to my lack of skill.
" I FUCKING WANT!!!! By the way, kill streaks have always stacked, thats why it was so easy to get the helicopter. You get to 5, use the airstrike to get the rest of the kills and boom you get the helicopter. So pretty much the kill streak choices will boil down to using the ones that help get to the next one easiest. So if they have a first streak thats not as passive as the UAV, then we might have some crazy shit going on in this game. "
Once you go past your killstreak reward in COD 4 and you didn't use it, you can't use it. Being able to stack them and use them is a much better idea. I can't tell you how many times I've gone right past 3 and 5 to a chopper and didn't get use them.
" So all I have to do is die three times and I automatically have 3 times as much health as everyone else? That's fucking retarded. Also not liking the spawn point flare thing. I can basically throw it at a guy, get myself killed, and immediately spawn right next to him? What the hell "
Naw, he said you have to die 3 times while not getting any kills of your own. This will somewhat ease the pain of the many random ways you can die in this game. Like those fuckers that throw random grenades at the sky. "
That's what I meant. Let's say I'm sniping and some idiot decides to run in front of me three times, and I kill him three times. He doesn't kill anyone. This means that the next time I see him he's probably going to kill me because he'll have a lot more health. That's just stupid, and it's going to make the game horribly unbalanced. Now, let's say by chance I manage to take him out. He threw one of those flares before he died. I'm about to continue on when, uh oh, the guy spawns right behind me and kills me. "
Look, this game looks great and all. But the Single Player was what jumped out for me. I haven't seen a well made SP mode in any fps for the past 3 years besides Bioshock. Now I am hearing 2K took it in the direction of multiplayer simply because of the outcry from people wanting to share two minutes versus six hours of fresh material with each other instead of experiencing it themselves. I haven't seen a sequel to any FPS come off with deep Single Player focus since the dawn of gaming. Just look at what happened with Soldier of Fortune.
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