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


What’s impossible to ignore is the staggering beauty of the presentation. While the original Modern Warfare certainly had its moments, the gigantic strides the team has made with its IW 4.0 engine back up the claims of it being a ‘generational leap’ ahead of the previous tech. Quite simply, its tough to think of another game which has pushed this generation’s consoles so impressively, and as a result it’s completely impossible not to be swept along with just how astonishingly slick the whole spectacle is.


Prepare for claret-spatter.

Prepare for claret-spatter.

With barely a single dropped frame to report in the entire game, every scene is awash with incidental detail to the extent that describing a single sequence could take up half the review on its own. Merely focusing on one single element of the action, it’s apparent just how slavish Infinity Ward are to the details: the little touches as you reload your firearm, the spent cartridges that spew forth and litter the ground.


The sheer unfettered chaos of every single encounter has always been built into the Call of Duty DNA, but the new engine gives them room to craft far more convincing environments, not only in basic technical terms of graphical detail, lighting and ambience but also in terms of size and scope. On top of that, the character modelling has also stepped up noticeably, with noticeable animation enhancements complemented by other improvements such as lip synching and richer facial detail. In truth, wherever you look, there’s something new to admire.


Your enemies like to wrap up warm. Won't stop a bullet, though.

Your enemies like to wrap up warm. Won't stop a bullet, though.

And even though the basic gameplay still very much adheres to the tightly funnelled, linear experience which every cinematic shooter tends to abide by, the restriction isn’t quite so transparently obvious and irksome as it usually is. Previous Call of Duties always ended up shattering the suspension of disbelief by pouring respawning enemies at you until you eventually moved beyond an invisible line, but this time it’s evident that enemies appear dynamically, and tend to come in a set number of waves.


Another benefit the new IW 4.0 engine brings to MW2 is the presence of noticeably larger and better designed levels. The dreaded invisible wall has been a perennial bugbear for any right-minded FPS gamer down the years, and the Call of Duty series has been as guilty as any in this regard. But with a greater emphasis on branching paths, and multi-tiered environments, the game quite often gives you the opportunity to sneak off down alternative routes. And not only does this open up a more tactical approach, but gives the game a more exploritative quality as you venture down new paths in search of intelligence dossiers.


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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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