Does Modern warfare 2 live up to the un-earthly hype, or does it disappoint?
User Rating: 9 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 PS3
Modern warfare 2 is an AMAZING experience. It has an explosive and very epic single-player, while very short. Multi-player is unmatched in its addictive qualities and customization and a fun, if a bit disappointing co-op mode where you play short little challenges that you can replay for more stars and high scores. The visuals in MW2 are a bit of a mixed bag, there are probably more things going on in this game than any other game ever, this is amazing to behold, but it often leads to deaths that feel cheap because you have no idea what is happening. There are grenades, dozens of enemies, flash bangs, explosions, tons of geometry and lots of visual effects. While it is great to see such a varied and out right cool single-player experience, I found that there were just too many things happeneing, its an odd complaint, but it is warrented. But one thing I did notice is that the majority of the textures in the game are out-right ugly and blurry, Im running the game in 1080p on a high end hugh plasma tv. This, however, dosen't really matter because you are never given a moment of silence in the game so you more or less are not allowed to stop and smell the roses. Also while it is great that they packed sooo much stuff into the single-play at one time, everything is a bit overwhelming and as a result of such a compact and intense single-player, the game is very very short. I beat the game in just under 5 hours and I was NOT rushing at all and I died quite a few times. On a speed run I bet you could beat the game in under 2 hours. However brief the game is it is very fun and it dosen't overstay its welcome. The sound in MW2 is top-notch just for its impact of guns, explosions and cool distortion depending on where sounds are coming from, while the sound effects are great, the music score is over shadowed and thus the only real time it comes into effect is in the "cut scenes" which are short de-briefings of the mission you are about to enter. These story segments are done completely on a big map of the world, zooming into different parts of the world as they are mentioned by the narrator. These short moments between gameplay are not flashy, they are not pretty, they do not tell a very good story and are just a distraction as the next mission loads. The story overall in MW2 is outright stupid and shallow, there is a bad Russian guy who is evil, you see him maybe twice and he is mentioned only maybe a half-dozen times, kinda odd for the main story plot and interest (the bad guy) to be such a little part of what is happening. And what exactly is happening? Well MW2 takes a much less believable path than the previous game, there are pivotal and really cool set pieces, some of which you are only a passive observer only able to move your head. There are some truly epic moments in MW2 but there are also plenty of missions that you could tell had NOTHING to do with the plot of the game, they are simply there to be cool moments, and yes, they are awsome. The single-player, while short, does its job or at least it tries, to tell a story.
The co-op mission mode, while fun, is very very hard, you will most likely never see them all. This isn't because there are alot of them or because they are particularly long, but because they are so damn hard. They are fun and it can be addictive to try and get more stars in a certain mission or get a higher score. There are enough of these missions to suck up a dozen hours or so if you really get into them, but only because they are close to impossible on the harder difficulties, in the later levels. They are fun and a welcome addition to the franchise.
Now for multi-player, I will say right now that if you are a casual gamer, DO NOT buy MW2 because the multi-player is the best part of MW2 and it will blow your mind and it is also the hardcore of hardcore games online. You will be slaughtered if you are not an avid FPS fan. There are so many maps, modes, gameplay mechanics, unlockables, guns, tactics that anyone who just wants to hop online for a try will be very discouraged by just how complex and NOT accessible this game really is. Now if you are into FPS games and do play games alot, you will fall in love with just how amazing the online experience really is, If I was reviewing the online just by itself, I would give MW2 a 10/10 easily. Now not to say it is perfect, it is head and shoulders above most every game online, but there are some spawning issues, where you are often placed right in front of another player, resulting in an UNAVOIDABLE death, or the IFFY jump mechanic where I found it to be pretty robotic. Those are small gripes with an online game that is just so fun that while it isn't perfect it is a game that could easily such a year or two worth of time off your life.
Now to sum up MW2, it has a fun, epic, while very short single-player.
There is a new co-op mission mode that is a fun diversion with enough missions to satisfy most people, but is light on features and gets to hard in the latter half. And there is an amazing and unmatched multi-player mode that will make casual gamers cry in frustration while it will make hardcore FPS fans cry for joy.
