Well, it’s out. As the whole world will no doubt know, Infinity Ward have flooded shelves across the globe with their latest instalment in the well revered and respected Call of Duty series. There’s no doubt that the first Modern Warfare title broke the mould in so many ways when it arrived back in December 2007, with the now infamous multiplayer and a very well put together (albeit a little short) single player story to keep the offline folks happy. We all thought it couldn’t be bettered….. were we wrong?
It’s been 5 years since the death of arch villain Zakhaev at the hands of “Soap” McTavish after good ol’ Cap’n Price threw his gun to you with his last ounce of strength. All the hard work of the allies didn’t pay off, as the Russian terrorist has now been branded a hero in his native homeland. From the ashes of it all steps up Vladimir Makarov, lieutenant to his fallen comrade, who is intent on wreaking more havoc upon the people of the free world. It falls to the good guys once again to come to arms and eliminate this menace once and for all.
As with most of the previous games in the series, the story is split between multiple characters. It starts off with you taking control of Private Joseph Allen, a U.S. Army Ranger who is re-assigned to the CIA for a very important job going undercover to keep tabs on Makarov. With him taking up that post, it then falls to Private James Ramirez to be your eyes and ears for the corps, as you are re-deployed home to continue your task of fighting the oncoming Russians in your own back yard. The main part of MW2 involves you taking control of Gary “Roach” Sanderson, a sergeant in Task Force 141, which is now under the command of “Soap” after Price’s premature end to his career. It’s their job to hunt down the new terrorist leader and try to stop us all from plummeting into a new World War.
Now it’s worth mentioning here that there has been a lot of controversy over one of the levels contained within the new CoD. The Airport stage has you playing as a terrorist, giving you the option to mow down innocent civilians alongside your “comrades”. Some people and organisations have said this is not needed and shouldn’t be there. I beg to differ. It does play a pivotal role in the story and is there for that reason, not to mention that there is an option available to skip it. The fact it’s an 18 certificate further cements this fact, but I’m sure this will stay in the news for a little while longer yet.
As well as spreading play between the soldiers, the locations are extremely varied and take in many different areas of the natural world, including some you would never see in the condition you will here. Siberia, Brazil and Washington D.C. are among the places picked to be battlegrounds, with each area looking beautifully crafted and well made. It certainly is hard to believe that this is the same game engine that created the first Modern Warfare when you consider just how much more rich and detailed everything is now. The blizzard in Cliffhanger is a stand out, as well as the narrow and claustraphobic streets of Rio, but it’s near the end of the game where you really begin to see the new boy flex the muscles. I wish I could tell you more about them, but then I’d be delving into the world of “SPOILER ALERT” so it’s best I leave it here.
As you play through the new CoD, you get a sense that Infinity Ward have tried to think of every major blockbuster movie they’ve watched from the 80’s and 90’s and cram them into one title. The action is relentless and the pace is very quick, which makes for a very intense time, but it does fall short on length, coming in at about 7 hours. This seems to be the norm now for the first person shooter genre, with it’s predecessor and both Halo games clocking in similar times, but I think that most people would be satisfied if they managed to climb it up to double figures. It could well be that it’s the similar feeling to that of a classic film or a good book, in that even if it lasts forever you just don’t want it to end and you feel sad when it does, but when you consider what else is included on the disc this time around, you certainly can’t accuse them of skimping on anything, but we’ll come to that later.
One area that has never been simply lacklustre is the audio department. Whereas most of the spot effects are pretty much lifted from the 2007 game, everything else has been polished to such a sheen it’s physically blinding. The music is done by film legend, Hans Zimmer and the vocal work includes some well known faces, who even though they may not be in the Hollywood A-list brigade, certainly bring character to the people in the game. Lance Henriksen, Kevin McKidd and Keith David are all present and correct, with even Curtis “fiddy cent” Jackson lending his voice (although he was apparently relegated to the multiplayer section…. poor boy). There really is no expense spared this time around when you look at the complete picture.
Speaking of multiplayer, let’s now turn our attentions to the bit that everyone REALLY buys Call of Duty for now. The online section we all know and love is still pretty much intact, offering another 16 maps full of varying layouts and catering for as many game types as possible. Campe.. SORRY.. Snipers will feel right at home with Wasteland and Quarry, which offer some lovely little hiding places to pick off the unsuspecting. The more gung-ho amongst us (including yours truly) will get a kick out of Favela, Karachi and Terminal, which all offer tight, narrow streets and corridors to give you more success to the people who just like to point and shoot until it goes “click”. All of the maps are high in quality and don’t feel stingy at all. The perk system has had a bit of a makeover too, with many of the originals from CoD 4 being dropped or placed into the new death streak option, allowing those who think Prestige is a furniture polish to get a helping hand and keep away that feeling of uselessness. It’s very similar to the kill streaks, but this rewards you extras if you die multiple times without registering a kill. This does have it’s advantages, such as the Copycat one, giving fresh meat the chance to grab a hold of the more powerful guns that others may have, evening things up a little. Final Stand, Painkiller and Martyrdom are also included in this and is a welcome change.
The kill streak side of things has been greatly improved, with many extra armaments now available to those who can build their soldier up quickly, not to mention stay alive long enough to frag enough people to get them. AC-130’s, Harrier jets and even a tactical nuclear strike are amongst the choices on offer once you unlock them and this can only be done by levelling up, which makes that prestige carrot just that little bit bigger. If you’re not feeling the 10th time round bug yet then you can simply kill 4 soldiers in a row to get the care package. This is like a lucky dip, giving you any of the streaks on offer (except the game ending nuke). It gives you a taste of what you can get, but although it counts to your team score, you don’t get the kills from it to get other items.
Perks have been looked at too, with some nice new touches, whilst retaining many of the better choices. Hardline allows you to kill one less person to grab UAV, air strikes etc, and good ones like Sleight of Hand are available from the start. While the amount on offer has dropped down, there are now incentives to use them more actively, as each one has a pro mode, which adds a secondary function to your existing perk. This feels like the IW team have listened to what the fans have had to say and refined things to make it not only more accessible to everyone, but also more rewarding to the loyal hardcore faithful.
Each weapon also has more to unlock, but again you need to put the effort in to get the most out. The inclusion of the Street Fighter 4 style emblem and banner customisation allows for maximum gloating, but it still doesn’t beat a gold D-Eagle. Things look great so far, but I haven’t come to the best part yet….
Special Ops is Infinity Ward’s answer to the 4 player campaign that Treyarch had tried in World at War. It was decided that instead of having four players go through the campaign simultaneously, which didn’t feel quite right in last year’s game, it has to be said, that the approach of a two player co-operative style was more in line of what the series was about, fun and excitement.
There are 25 levels to choose from, allowing you and a friend to take part in mini missions, which are totally separate from the game. These are well varied and can range from stealth style Metal Gear A-to-B efforts to snowmobile racing across the Siberian landscape. The harder the difficulty setting, the more stars you earn to progress to further stages. Some bits do have an arcade feel to them, with the Brazilian terrorist elimination one feeling a bit like Virtua Cop, with civilians running out of nowhere every so often, taking you by surprise. It feels like the right idea, as it allows for people to still play on the same team, but it doesn’t feel cluttered or fiddly, with everything still feeling as sharp and controllable as the main game.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is quite simply magnificent. There are first person shooters that wish they could even attain the multiplayer following that this behemoth in the industry now has. The single player is straight out of Arnie or Sly’s back catalogue and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout, as well as giving you a hell of a workout on any level from hardened upwards (the amount of people I know who chickened out and did it on regular is shocking). Multiplayer wise things are smooth and sharp, just like before, but the facelift feels greatly justified and helps to bring more fresh faces to the fight as well as those veterans who have already served time on the battlefield.
With Special Ops rounding off an already impressive package, it can be said with great certainty that this is a perfect example of how a follow up to a hugely successful title should be handled. The fact that the team behind this are true gamers at heart shows, with every nook and cranny feeling like it’s been created with great care. I thought to myself 2 years ago that the original modern warfare couldn’t be topped. After seeing what they’ve come up with this year, I’m so happy I’ve been proved wrong, but how on earth are they going to beat this one?
One of, if not THE game of the year. Miss this one at your peril.
VideogameUK verdict: 9.5/10
