In almost every aspect, Modern Warfare 2 lives up to the Call of Duty name. Addictive - intelligent - awsome.
Being that it is always - if it's not it should be - the pillar of gameplay in a shooter, I will start with Modern Warfare 2's campaign mode. The campaign in this go round will cover a lot of familar territory to the casual, and hardcore shooter fan. Even if you have never played a game in your life, the story and the setting will feel a lot like a Tom Clancy book or a James Bond movie, which is good for the intended audience and type of gameplay it offers; however, it must be done right.
You start the campaign as Private Joseph Allen, a US Army Ranger stationed in Afghanistan who is sent on a mission in a hostile infested city. From there, the campaign goes as you expect it to; a lot of cool places, a lot of bad killing guys. You infiltrate a Russian base in the Tien Shan mountains, run through Rio De Janeiro to capture a rogue arms dealer, and then; surprise! defend America from the invading Russian's. The feel of the campaign remains consistant throughout yet some storytelling and pacing flaws make it comparable to the mediocre campaign of Call of Duty 3.
One of the first complaints you will here from many people, is the inclusion of a terrorist mission entitled "No Russian", where your character (undercover as a Russian terrorist), participates in a massacre at a Russian Airport. Though I am no Jack Thompson, I did find the level somewhat disturbing and unnecessary, feeling that a simple cutscene would have sufficed. I do understand why Infinity Ward chose to include the level though; they thought that it would make you hate the big Russian baddie Makarov that much more and in turn make the story that much more dramatic. Surely, that would have happened if the story wasn't so muddled and incomprehensible to begin with. Characters come and go like shadows and just when you think you understand what is going on, something comes out of no where and completely changes it. A good example of this in the game, is the random and chaotic invasion of the Eastern United States by Russian forces. It seems as though Infinity Ward wanted to just figure out a way of slapping America into the mix with a sort of Red Dawnish inspired invasion. I will be the first to tell you that it doesn't work to well. One character in particular had me wanting to click the skip button, General Shepard. We have this idea that all men of high military authority have to look badass, talk badass, fight badass, and piss badass. Shepards over dramatic monologues get very very old and it detracts a lot from what could have been, a cool character. However, shepard was the only character that really irked me, mostly because the others were left in the dust when it came to character development.
Despite my complaints about the plot and the lack of interesting characters, the campaign is very fun and heart pounding throughout; despite being short. I was very happy to see that more stealth missions were included in this go round, as well as missions taking place in unusual locals with intelligent enemies and darker more realistic looking environments. This leads me to my first major applause: graphics. The shading, textures, and vibrant colors of Modern Warfare 2 make it the zenith for console shooter graphics. Never have I seen such vibrant environments, destructable crap and pretty guns coalesced into one on screen entity. From the moment you start playing; the environment's, the player physics, and the AI feels real to the touch, offering very immersive and dramatic gameplay. Another upgrade in Modern Warfare 2 is the splash damage indicator. Gone are the days where you have a crimson circle around your screen telling you how much more damage you can take, instead Infinity Ward added a splash damage indicator which throws more and more blood splatter on your screen as you keep taking fire. Further enhancing the gameplay is realistic squad chatter and a completely revamped arsenal of kickass weapons.
Spec-Ops is a new addition in Modern Warfare 2, letting you play either co-op or individually in a wide range of fun simple arcde style missions. This is a godsend for casual players who have gotten bored with campaign and either don't have xbox live, or don't like to play online. Every mission I have played (I have played about half of them o far) has a simple objective such as "base defense" and lasts a few minutes. Spec-Ops doesn't feel like the campaign which is really really nice, but it instead feels much more like an arcade style shooter, offering you 1,2, or 3 stars for in game performance and dificulty. Good co-op was something the original Modern warfare didn't have which is why I was so glad Spec-Ops was included in the package.
Now I turn to multiplayer; the reason why some bought the game. Multiplayer in Modern Warfare 2 is by far the best, most addictive feature; I have already spent half a day only on Live. Multiplayer customization is so deep that it might be a little too much for you to stomach at first. You have the following weapon catagories, each with 3-12 items to unlock; Assault Rifles, SMG's, LMG's, Snipers, Riot Shield, Shotguns, Machine Pistols, Pistols, Launchers, Perk 1, Perk 2, Perk 3, Equipment sets...the list keeps going. The gameplay online is smooth and lag free. The gamemodes are fun and diverese. And the customization is off the charts.
My only major complaints about the multiplayer is the Killstreak spams and the destruction of private party chat. No more party chat pisses me off the most so it seems logical to start with it. Come on Infinity Ward, seriously Wtf!? I was very surprised to find that they went through with this mainly because they have a revolution brewing on their hands. It's a big pain to have to sit in and listen to fourteen year old boys cursing up a storm while your trying to talk to your friend. If you can't tell, this really irked me, and the community is really really angry about it as well. Now, to Killstreak Spams. With the inclusion of Customized Killstreaks, your going to seee a looot of drone missiles and pave-low heli's in a free for all match which sucks away a lot of fun. But the fun of using a drone missile yourself often outweighs the remorse of getting killed by one; in the big scheme of things, it really isn't a massive flaw.
Overall, Modern Warfare 2 is a definative game to own for practically anyone with a major game console. It is fun, fastpaced, and addictive and its triumphs vastly out number its flaws. Pick this games up, you won't regret it.