Liliana
Dec 12, 2013

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 review
A heart throbbing experience that will leave you wanting more.

Call of Duty. The FPS monster straight out of Activision's pockets. A lot can be said about this franchise. So much that it could easily command days upon days to review everything that could be said about this titan of a series. When speaking strictly about first person shooters, you can make many claims but no, Call of Duty is an entirely different beast altogether and few understand that. Call of Duty isn't a just a game, it's an experience. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the pinnacle of that. A truly epic story, that will leave you wanting more and wanting to play it again. Let's delve into the reason's why Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a drama in the world of video games.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the sequel to the famed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and boy is it a heck of a sequel. You're greeted with three optional modes; Spec Ops, the Single Player Campaign, and the ever critically acclaimed Multiplayer mode. Each mode has it's up and downs, but they are not short of their forthcomings and bolstering benefits that make each mode a separate experience.

Spec Ops is a new addition to the series, where you put yourself in a line of missions by yourself or with a friend to combat different enemies. Whether it's a get from Point A to Point B mission, a survival mission, or even the snowmobile/raft racing missions, it's all an enjoyment that will leave you wanting to do more and more. Spec Ops is literally the definition of trial and error; Attempting to get a better score each time to make the previous score you got look trivial and a waste. You'll get to visit some old areas from the previous game (Call of Duty 4) and see some more familiar faces as you go along. The highlight of the mode is when you get to take control of the famed AC-130 bomber, mowing down enemies from above and raining death and destruction on them so your friend can get through to the check point. Little compares to that feeling in this mode, and afterwards you're going to be wanting to do it again and again.

The Single Player Campaign is a beast that you come to expect from Infinity Ward by now, especially after the dramatic story of Call of Duty 4. In this mode you take control of a new face, Roach, who is in the same squad as the first protagonist from Call of Duty 4; Soap MacTavish. In this mode you'll be continuing the same story after the events of CoD4, where you're infiltrating a Russian base to discover intel regarding the countries military activities. A series of events has been started by a single man, who has decided to pit the US against Russia to fuel his undying hatred for a country he believes need's to be eliminated from existence. Along with this you have a traitorous General who turns his back on his country for fame and glory and another revisited character who will shake the very ground of this dramatic story; Captain Price. With Soap and Price, you are tasked with saving the very fabric of this world from destruction at the hands of a colossal war. History is written by the victors, so it's up to you to win this fight.

Multiplayer has always been a peculiar place for Call of Duty, and most likely the bolstering selling point of the franchise. This game provides the very same experience you got in the previous game in the series and more. You get to experience new guns, new kill streaks, new perks, a new prestiging system, new maps, and more game modes than you can take a bite out of. Abandoning the 3,5,7 kill streak model from the previous game you're able to pick and choose what you want to run. A UAV, a Predator Missile, and even the AC-130! Maybe you want to run a support line up and use a UAV, Counter UAV, and an EMP that will destroy al enemy electronics or do you want to use the new kill streak that will stop a game's momentum by itself? The Nuke is the highest kill streak in Modern Warfare 2 you can achieve, with a needed 25 kills to get it. The Nuke will end the game immediately, regardless of the mode or the score with a win for your team. You'll surely have a blast with this kill streak!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, albeit being a fun and dramatic experience does have it's bad points and it's complete flops. While these are far and few in between compared to the game overall experience, some of them are notable enough to mention as detractors to the overall appeal of the game.

Something that need's be considered when purchasing a Call of Duty game is; What are you buying it for? Call of Duty is a heavily multiplayer invested series, which does mean that modes that aren't that are lackluster in comparison in the aspect of it's replay value. Given that both Spec Ops and Story Mode aren't touched by the developers after released, the multiplayer is given a lot of attention thereafter. Patches, updates, and new content is created for the game but specifically for the multiplayer only. This leaves you wondering if you should just buy the game for the multiplayer, and it's a common thing to think because of how little investment is put into the other modes besides multiplayer. If you're going to buy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for only the multiplayer, you will be left with an overall mediocre experience when you compare it to testing out the whole package.

The multiplayer is also ridden with unbalanced perks, weapons, and kill streaks. The game's often criticized for it's often usage of explosives with a lack of an effective explosive resistance perk. "One Man Army, Danger Close Noob Tubes" as some would put it are ridden across the game out of players wanting to either achieve high killstreaks with little effort or out of yearning to irritate players who would be playing the game normally, trying to focus on the gun on gun action. The game also has an issue with it's knife lunge, which is worsened by a perk that increases the distance your knife with lunge you. This is considered cheap by the fan base, and after taking a step back from it, it's clear that it is a frustrating thing.

Another massive issue is the shortness of the single player campaign. With little effort, and maybe 3-4 hours of play you can complete the single player campaign in addition to getting all the secret Intel that is asked of you to get. This is not inherently bad to some, however it is a factor of why this game was criticizes while it's predecessor commanded a longer play time for its single player experience. You could call the single player "Short but Sweet" because even though it's a really short game, it's something you won't experience with another franchise.

Overall Call of Duty is an average first person shooter franchise, and Modern Warfare 2 is no exception to this however this game is notable for having a story that not only attaches you to the characters but leaves you on cliffhangers, wanting more and more. With memorable experiences, a story that albeit short, incredibly satisfying and consistent, active multiplayer that till this date still has a following, Modern Warfare 2 is clearly unlike any other first person shooter. The game is fun, enticing, enjoyable, and anyone regardless of their tastes can pick up this game and have a blast even if it's not with the multiplayer experience. Simply playing against your friends can cause hours of entertainment and enjoyment. With three modes, the fun train will take a while before it comes to a complete halt and how you decide to ride that train is completely up to you. Whether it's battling missions and foes with a friend on Spec Ops, or delving into Modern Warfare's single player and fighting with Soap MacTavish and Captain Price to save the world from destruction and chaos, or destroy enemies and ranking up on the games infamous multiplayer, Call of Duty is truly an experience that you'll want to come through as a win. Many quotes are given throughout the game, especially when you die but something's can be specifically said about this game, and that is "History is written by the victor."

This is your victory, so open up that book, you're writing history.