Another solid Mike Whiskey from India Whiskey
It's been one week since I bought Modern Warfare 2, and it has me hooked.
If you've played Call of Duty 4, you probably know what this game is going to be like. Between militant Russians, terror cells, and rappelling down walls, it feels like Modern Warfare, but on a grander scale.
When you go to play single player, your greeted with a montage of COD 4 footage, to make sure your up to date with the story so far: in the past installment, you went no quarter with half of Russia and the Middle East. Unfortunately, this sets off a chain reaction you have to deal with in Modern Warfare 2. Whereas COD 4 went with a more realistic story and setting, this game throws that kind of gritty nuance to the wind. The half of this game spent as Task Force 141 feels Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising, and the time spent as a US Army Ranger feels reminiscent of Red Dawn meets Micheal Bay.
If you're looking for something with less context and more of a survival flavor, Spec Ops mode has you covered. It can be played alone or with a friend, except for a few scenarios, which exclusively for two people. Some of the challenges are tedious, but others are a great deal of fun: for example, the snowmobile races and AC-130 escort mission are a blast, but most of the other missions are just about shooting enemies. However, if Spec Ops has a downfall, it is that it requires you to complete levels to unlock higher tier challenges. Some people might also question the limited replay-ability.
And, unless you don't have internet, or friends, the multiplayer is going to keep you from putting this game down. Changes to multiplayer are well executed. Kill streaks can be customized, air support can be shot down, perks can be upgraded, and in game "accolades" can be collected at the end of every match. Unfortunately, people new to the series, genre, or games in general might not want to start with MW2's online mode. The hardcore user base aside, this game is still not newbie-friendly. Players who play really well not only have more possible load outs, but are also more prone to kill streak rewards, which can quickly bury less adept players. The newly added death streaks help, but not much. If you enjoy games like Call of Duty 4, Battlefield: Bad Company, or Killzone 2, you'll definitely enjoy this game. If you like any kind of shooting game, I recommend this game very highly. If, however, if you don't like FPSes at all, don't bother: this won't change your mind.