I got Modern Warfare 2 about a month ago, and I gotta say it is one of the most overhyped, overrated and underwhelming games I've played all year. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the original, and I still play it to this day because it felt so fresh and innovative. I thought Modern Warfare 2 would be just as good, if not better, but boy am I disappointed! There are so many little flaws with the game that just add up to one big disaster and makes me dispise playing it. In case you people haven't been enlightened already, let me explain what makes this game such a stinker in my book:
For starters, the story and settings are ridiculous and unbelievable compared to the first game. They may as well have named this game Call of Duty: World Tour, since you're basically in every setting imaginable, from tropical regions to 3rd world slums to American suburbs to Office buildings to Blizzardy mountains to pretty much everywhere else. Now I'm all for variety, but James Bond this is not; I just cannot suspend my disbelief enough to buy into this global scheme that reeks of exaggeration in a game franchise normally known for its realism and authenticity in war. All these locations make the game seem extremely unrealistic when you consider you're doing all this through only a handful of characters. The first game was more methodical in its story and level design, and maintained a believable setting by not going overboard with the story. In this sequel however, realism is thrown out the window in favor of Hollywood style action and scenarios. In the end, I prefer Modern Warfare 1's low-key middle eastern / European setting over this super flashy globe-trotting mess.
Speaking of level design, what the hell happened in this game? Virtually all the levels I've encountered are more cluttered, difficult to memorize and harder to navigate compared to the first game. If that weren't enough, there are TONS of inside jokes from Infinity Ward strewn about the levels in the form of movie posters, magazine covers, Beverages and consumer goods to even automobiles. While this is somewhat amusing, It feels to me as if the developers spent more time photoshopping their faces and logo all over the in-game props instead of building decent levels. Seriously, every level seems to have some sort of goofy homages to real-life products and blatant game-designer mugshots all around you, but if you ask me that only takes me out of the realism one step more. I understand that the developers should have fun making their games, but not at the expense of the setting and level of seriousness of the subject matter. After All, this is a game about world-wide doomsday scenario. I don't need to have a case of the giggles from a random pamphlet on the ground when I should be be shooting militant terrorists.
As for the multiplayer, all I can say it that it's an absolute disaster. Along with the aforementioned poor level designs, you also have to evade countless aerial threats from every sort of airborne army vehicle and explosive weapon imaginable. Not only must you escape airstrikes from fighter jets and lingering gunfire from hovering choppers, NOW you have to worry about remote-guided missiles, secret weapons caches delivered to your enemies, annoying hovering jets and even tactical nukes. So basically the online multiplayer consists of everyone pulling helicopters and missles out of their backpack every 20 seconds. REAL FUN! How can I concentrate and enjoy shooting enemies like in a REAL shooter when I have to worry about neverending bombardments from every direction that goes completely contrary to what disciplined warfare is all about?
Lastly (and it's a big one) is the ABSOLUTELY HIDEOUS blood spatter that splashes accross the screen every time you get shot! I can't even begin to explain how annoying this is, and yet is hands down, the straw that broke the camels back for me in enjoying this game. The first game did a great job with the natural looking bloodshot eye effect and increased heartrate indicator that not only felt realistic, but didn't distract from gameplay one bit. Now, in this new installment, expect to see this horrendous new attempt at damage indication EVERY TIME YOU GET SHOT! I suppose they want to make it look as if your TV screen has blood on it, but it comes off as an amatuerish overlooked game bug, esspecially since the blood spatter LOOKS THE SAME EVERY SINGLE TIME! Tell me you don't recognize the same blood pattern on the screen time after time, I DARE YOU! You can't miss the huge bubble in the upper left side of the screen every single time, and judging by how often you see it, it's guaranteed to be burned into your retinas after just a few short minutes of gameplay. Why substitute something that looks completely natural in the original game with a downright laughable blood spatter effect? Couldn't they have AT LEAST designed one or two more blood spatter designs so it didn't look as obvious? If this were any other game, people would be crabbing about it all day, but since it's Modern Warfare, everything is okay? Forget that!
Long story short, Modern Warfare 2 is a big cumbersome step backwards in the wrong direction. I can't believe so many people esteem it so highly, when it clearly succeeds only in scripted presentation and good-looking graphics. I would much rather dust off my N64 and play some Perfect Dark than play this farce of a modern day shooter. Better yet, maybe I'll just go back to Modern Warfare 1 and pretend this game never happened.
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