Insane. Ridiculous. Awesome.
Modern Warfare 2 is perhaps the biggest gaming launch in history. With people still playing its predecessor religiously 2 years after launch . The question for most people is the multiplayer but as a fan of the single player from COD4 will the sequel deliver in all aspects.
Modern Warfare 2 has yet another short campaign as it took me about 5-6 hours to complete but I think if it continued any longer I would have been exhausted. The campaign picks up about 5 years after the events of the first game and again puts you in the shoes of multiple characters across the world. Every single level has a WOW moment that put a huge grin across my face and often made me shout in excitment. The gameplay throughout these levels is solid and often mixes up the intense shooting with vehicle or stealth scenes and diverts your attention away from the issues of the first game such as constantly respawning enemies. I found the normal difficulty challenging enough although quickly dove into the deep end for my second playthrough to struggle through veteran which is as difficult as always. The story is fairly solid and although it gets ridiculous at some points it makes the 6 hours of gameplay enough to keep you satisfied.
Special Ops mode is a new part of Modern Warfare and gets its inspiration from the Mile High Club level from COD4. There are 5 groups;Alpha,Beta,Charlie,Delta and Echo which increase in difficulty. You gain a maximum of 3 stars for each mission and gradually unlock more scenarios. Every mission is fun and they range from wave defence to snow mobile races. The best part of this though is that you can play with a friend sometimes on different fronts. A couple of missions have one player on the ground while the other provides air support. It really is a brilliant mode and has plenty of missions to keep you coming back and trying the harder difficulties. It is a great alternative to online multiplayer and great co-op fun.
Now, multiplayer time. The game comes with a whole host of new maps as usual some better than others. The most important thing I think is for someone who hasnt played COD multiplayer in ages, and often gets beaten by his non-gamer girlfriend when I do, is that I can still play and do pretty well. There are a few amazing players but you always manage to get some kills and the experience system makes you feel great. An example is one shot could get you so many rewards, shoot through cover, headshot, revenge, avenge a teamate, buzzkill and it all makes you feel great about playing the game. The gameplay really hasnt changed much but the new reward system will have me much more addicted to this game than the first modern warfare. All the modes are back with a few new ones but while it may be seen as more of the same this is better in every way.
When it comes to customization its brilliant. There are now about 10 add ons for each weapon all related to challenges and loads more camo options. I have been playing mainly with the famas from launch and I am still a way off unlocking everything for it and moving on. Your secondary weapon is no longer just a choice of pistols you can also have shotguns and rocket launchers. This addition of heavy weapons is extremely neccessary as you can now shoot down every air based killstreak and if there is an AC130 in the air you want to do that asap. You also have emblems and call signs to unlock which while plainly taken from Street Fighter 4 is a nice little feature. Perks are back and a lot of balancing has worked well with some new cool perks and the addition of unlocking pro versions of each perk. My favourite addition though is being able to personalise kill and death streaks picking 3 to take into each game. Its a good risk reward balance. Overall at the end of each game I often left the lobby just to look at new unlocks and adjust my loadout.
Modern Warfare 2 has an action packed single player, addictive multiplayer and thrilling spec ops. While the story goes a bit overboard and I am still craving physical customisation, Modern Warfare 2 is one of the best shooters around and will no doubt let Call of Duty 4 have a well earnt rest on your shelf. Buy this game it is everything you wanted from a sequel.
