Even if the campaign is too short, this is a must own game. Infinity Ward gives us another 'Call Of Duty' masterpiece.
The reason for that is the amount of detail that they put in their 'COD' games. The games look amazing, usually have a good story (more on that later), have huge action set-pieces that are very exciting, have excellent online multi-player, and tend to push the first-person shooter genre forward to new levels. One of those new levels is the new, 'Special Ops' mode. But more on that in a bit.
Let's start with the campaign. 'COD:MW2' takes place 5 years after the original 'Modern Warfare'. To go into all the twists and turns that this game takes would take me an hour and ruin the plot surprises for you. Instead of doing that, I will just say that I have yet to play a game with so many, "Wow, wtf?!!" moments (in a good way, of course). The storyline can be dis-jointed at times and is the typical Tom Clancy-esque tale mixed with some FOX's '24' tv show. The game really sets the pace early on in the game with a very unexpected level where you play as an undercover russian terrorist going into an airport. If you are lucky to avoid the hype of this level and haven't heard about what happens (I did avoid the spoilers on the internet), it will be a shocking and disturbing level for some. So much so that the game even asks you if you want to skip the level during the campaign.
The level of production here is absolutely top-notch and that helps with the storytelling aspect of the game. The music and visuals really bring the first-person view storytelling technique to powerful levels. And nobody does it better than Infinity Ward. Like I said, the story can get convoluted and it jumps from character to character which I can't stand. But in the end, the game has so many crazy moments that it draws you in regardless of the confusing 'Tom Clancy-esque' plot that we have seen in countless other games & movies. Unfortunately, the game is very short. The campaign won't take you more than 8 hrs. to finish. The game is fun to play for those hours, but I just wish their was more of it.
Thankfully, even after you finish the campaign, you have barely scratched the surface of what this game has to offer. To anybody who played the original 'Modern Warfare', you will be happy to hear that the excellent online-multiplayer is back and better than ever. It's still as addicting as it was with it's experience points and perks system. There are TONS of different things you can unlock and outfit your character with. There are also tons of different game-modes to jump into, so there will be something for everyone. So if you are into online-FPS' and haven't given this series a shot yet......well, you are in for a treat. Go get this game now.
The third aspect of this game is the brand new, 'Special Ops' mode. This is an excellent mode where you are thrown into different situations and earn stars depending on what difficulty you complete them on. The first one has you running through the training mission again. The 2nd has you defending an area from waves of enemies, trucks, etc. The 4th has you as a sniper trying to sneak past patrol units with dogs in a snowy forest. Those are just a few of the examples, but the mission variety makes the mode fun. You can also play it with another person in co-op fashion. In fact, some missions require you to play with a partner.
The addictive nature of the 'Special Ops' mode involves collecting stars that unlocks more levels as you move forward. You can go back to previous levels and play on harder difficulties to gain additional stars. While the mode is not anything revolutionary, it is fun and a welcome addition to the series.
Whenever Infinity Ward makes a new 'COD' game, it's always going to be in the running for 'Game Of The Year' and 'Modern Warfare 2' is no different. My only complaints on the game would be that the campaign is too short and is a bit convoluted at times. Other than that, this game is almost perfect. It looks and sounds fantastic, has great online multi-player, a really fun campaign, and a great new mode ('Special Ops'). If you are a fan of first-person shooters at all, this is about as safe a purchase as you can get. The decision on whether to add this to your collection should be a no-brainer.