Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review

It’s the biggest release of the year. Will it get the biggest score? FPS Gamer’s Kristan Reed takes on Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2.

By Kristan Reed, November 10, 2009 (3) comments


But once you move on from the game’s shock therapy and get used to/ desensitised to the new Mature approach, not an awful lot has changed. Scratch the surface, and it’s largely the same tightly choreographed shooter experience underneath, only with less immersion-breaking quirks than before.


Soap contemplates the next field of battle.

Soap contemplates the next field of battle.

What makes it interesting, first and foremost, is context. Infinity Ward’s canny knack of crafting compelling and contrasting set pieces drags you through by the scruff of the neck, subtly varying the pace and gameplay style at exactly the right moments. Set at a variety of locations, you’ll take in the sweaty slums of Rio De Janeiro, the icy mountain paths of the Russian-Georgian border, as well as the suburban streets of the USA and the White House, among others. It certainly doesn’t lack locational variety.


As in the original, just as your enthusiasm and energy for high adrenaline run-and-gun starts to wane, the chances are the emphasis will switch completely. Sometimes you might be tasked with holding a defensive position for a set period, while others might require that you creep silently through woodland, either sniping patrols or avoiding them altogether.


"But I thought it was YOUR turn to paddle."

"But I thought it was YOUR turn to paddle."

Elsewhere, the game goes straight for the jugular, reverting to standard on-rails action, manning a chopper emplacement or a machine on the back of a speeding jeep, or chase sequences down an icy mountainside, with improbable carnage left in your wake. Sometimes it’s merely the gadgets at your disposal that vary the mechanics and tempo: occasional forays into hostage rescue employ slow-motion sequences after you breach a doorway, while on other occasions the ability to call in missile strikes give you the ability to manually steer targets via an aerial map to their destination.


Just as significant is the new Special Ops mode. Essentially building on the bonus ‘Mile High Club’ mission tagged onto the end of Modern Warfare, each of these mini challenges tasks players with performing specific gameplay tasks within a time limit. So, for example, you might need to get from A to B in a stealth mission within 1 minute 30 seconds, or takedown 30 enemies within three minutes, and so on. With the option of three different skill levels, you can earn up to three stars by completing the task on the hardest setting, with additional stars eventually unlocking further tiers, each with up to five more scenarios to engage in.


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3 Responses to “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review”

  1. Prashanth AKA Sony Fan Guy says:
    November 10, 2009 at 7:30 am

    I dont understand whats so cinematic about modern warfare 1 and modern Warfare2???They are just mindless shooters which show some ground reality here and there.Uncharted 2 is the only game this generation to feature a level of cinematics which no other game can even think about coming close to it

    Reply
  2. :/ says:
    November 10, 2009 at 8:08 am

    Pathetic, this is what COD online has been reduced to a bunch of 12 year old racist and profanity wise mentalities like that true sony fan. Enjoy you hardcore game!

    Reply

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