Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

WARNING!

Contains Spoilers and/or Bad Language.
 
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, rebranded as just "Modern Warfare 2" is the sequel to the critically accliamed first-person shooter, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  When Call of Duty 4 was released, it redefined first-person shooters with new systems of mofications - such as Perks.  Breaking out of it's "Call of Duty" franchise, developer Infinity Ward promises that this game will be a masterpiece, much like it's predecessor.  Does this game live up to the promise?
 

• The story takes place 5 years after the events of Call of Duty 4.  You continue to take roles of different characters, playing from their point of view at different parts of the world.  Eventually, Russia goes to war against America and it's your job to stop it.  The story, compared to Call of Duty 4, is darker this time, and your teammates will die.
• Throughout this 5-8 hour campaign, depending on your difficulty and skill, you will be placed in an intense, very cinematic action-packed experience.  There are many WOW! scenes and those who have completed the Call of Duty 4 campaign will be surprised.  Removing the traditional cinematic cutscene in first-person shooters, you actually play within the scripted cutscenes, making it more intense!
  
• Infinity Ward has definitely listened to their fans by fixing the respawning enemies in Veteran difficulty problem, as well as your allies actually helping you.  This was a deal breaker in Call of Duty 4 and am glad this was fixed.
  
• One controversial and disturbing mission involves you playing as an undercover CIA agent, who joins Vladimir Makarov in a Russian airport attack.  However, the developer does allow the player to skip this mission if he/she is easily offended or choose to not play this mission.
• In addition to the campaign and multiplayer modes, the Special Ops mode allows 2 players (local or online) to work together to complete each mission.  These missions use locations from the campaign but are not related to the story itself.  Depending on the difficulty, players can earn a maximum of 3 starts per mission, 23 missions in total.  Some missions require a lot of skill and patience (such as: Armor Piercing), while some are just for laughs (such as: Time Trial).  At first, I doubted if this mode worked at all.  With Nazi Zombies mode in Call of Duty: World at War, how can Modern Warfare 2 top that?  After playing a couple of Special Ops missions, this mode is more fun than Nazi Zombies.  You really need a skilled wingman or else be ready to fail a lot!
  
• The controls are the same as Call of Duty 4 so experienced players can jump right in.
  
• Multiplayer gets an upgrade with new Perks (which can be upgraded to "Pro" versions); new weapon attachments; new and customisable Killstreaks, which are unlocked at certain levels.  Bundled together with 14 multiplayer maps and 11 game types.  Infinity Ward has announced that 2 exclusive map packs will be released for Xbox 360 versions of Modern Warfare 2.  It is even more chaotic than ever!
  
• New to the multiplayer mode are Deathstreaks, where if a player dies at least 3 times in a row without killing an enemy, he/she can gain a bonus powerup for a set duration.  This may be double health for a limited time when you respawn or you will drop a grenade when killed.  These are also customisable and are unlocked at certain levels.  This is a great addition to the game, giving players who die a lot, a chance to get at least one kill.
  
• You can also now customise your "calling card".  This is displayed when you kill someone or do something that benefits your team (like capturing a location).  The cards are quite big and might distract some players.  Was hoping if there was an option to change how they are displayed (such as: the default card, or just the player's name).
  
• The music is amazing.  The musical scores suit each situation perfectly.  In certain points of the campaign, it can get quite emotional.
  
• The Achievements are great.  The majority of them can be unlocked through campaign with the more "hardcore achievements" on Special Ops.  There are some very difficult missions in Special Ops but this is no problem for veteran Call of Duty players.  Also, NO ONLINE MULTIPLAYER ACHIEVEMENTS!  +1

 
I was never a fan of ANY Call of Duty games and I guess my statement is still valid for this game.  Even though Modern Warfare 2 has the "Call of Duty" logo on it, the game is drifting away from that franchise.  Infinity Ward has definitely proven that they can create an epic campaign for first person shooters, where others failed horribly.  If you aren't already a Call of Duty 4 fan, or excited for this game - you definitely have to pick this game up!