As a single player game, I am not blown away, but it is still a solid game.
Pros:
-Intensity rises with each level
-Gun Mechanics are dead on
-Dramatic Music
-Action Packed
-FPS in real world setting
-Explosions, Explosions, Explosions
-Great Voice Acting
Cons:
-Feels arcady
-Plays as if it is being fast-forward
-Poor story presentation
-Moving from one location to the next with no transition
-Cheap Deaths
-Not as intenese as it should have been
-Less than stellar graphics
-Pointless vehicle sequences
-Short
-Weirldy, the game feels tacky and unpolished
-Made for Multiplayer gamers
First off, there is no actually story to follow and the game is definitely short, but from my knowledge, this game was not intended for that purpose, but still the short campaign is way better than longer titles released, a great example is Wolfenstein. One thing I liked about the game is it takes itself serious, while adding enough "arcade value" to make the game feel alive which is part of the gameplay. Though there is no story, death and betrayal in this game are handled in the way it should be perceived and betrayed in a game. Sadly though, the story did not flow nor did I care about my characters death, but the music made me care which I really loved. There is a villian, but I never really noticed it until the game ended and I did not know who he was while playing. Did I care that I killed my betrayer at the end, hell no. I never ever cared about the story, and that is something I love in quality games, example Bioshock, MGS, Uncharted, Assassin Creed, etc. This is something I was not really looking forward to anyway, I was looking forward to the gameplay and on that part, it does deliver to a certain extent.
The guns are accurate, but sometimes they feel a little too accurate, but why complain about a good thing, well because it makes the game a little too easy. People go down with the right amount of bullets, unlike in Killzone 2 especially on hard, which feels right. Each level moves at a real fast pace with no respect for story, but for mission objectives. Enviroments vary from snow, wilderness all the way to your backyard. This war looked liked something that could happen right outside my house, it felt relevant and I will give the game its props on that. Gameplay can be very dramatic with the heart hitting soundtrack in the backround, though the same song is used for intensity, same song for drama, same song for etc. Some things that caught me off guard were the slow motion parts of the game which were nice touchs. What also caught me off guard was the dramatic parts of the game that made the game feel more like an orchestrated masterpiece rather than overdone clown show. There are alot of memorable 'gameplay' events, especially the helicopter parts, but there are truly no memerable story moments. The twist that came along were nice, but sadly it is hard to call it a twist when there was no true story begin with.
Some of the failures of this game include sections using the snow buggie and the water raft just seemed like they were thrown in because honestly they felt pointless, to a degree that I got mad when I felt another episode of this was going to take place, but luckily, it is only twice in the game. These sequences add to another issue with the game and it is the arcade feel of it. Nothing wrong with making games unrealistic, example Bioshock, but this game feels tacky because it plays as if someone hit the fast forward button. I got use to it, but it still bothered the hell out of me. On top of that, the graphics also help this game from feeling realistic. Another one my gripes comes from the fact that intensity does not come from the enemies, but more or less the background events. I loved watching exploding televisions in house, or fiery buildings in the backround with helicopters and jets polluting the air. Missions that take place in the city are some of the highlights, but missions in the snow were pretty low on intesity because too me, the enviroments make the game more dramatic than the gameplay actually is. This is a good thing, but it is also a bad thing. I think Killzone 2 created a better sense of panic, than this title. Though this game is more relevant (enviromental settings) and faster paced, it fails in certain areas compared to Killzone 2.
I will be honest, Killzone 2 is actually more intense and better paced than this game. Not only that, the graphics are phenomal and there is a story, though it is not the best thing in the world. If I never played Killzone 2, this game may have felt special too a certain extent, but in the end it just turns out to be a fine game behind Killzone 2. I am not a fan of FPS's and Killzone 2 won me over, this game did not, but that does destroy the fact that this is one of the best this year for multiplayer fans and for people looking for a solid rental. Remember, everything I just said was subjective, so anyone reading this, please do not get immature over my critical take between two totally different shooters. I am just saying I would play Killzone 2 or Bioshock (fiction based FPS's) over MW2 or any other military based FPS's in general.
This game is not 'my' game of the year, if anything it is sixth on the list behind Uncharted 2, AC II, Killzone 2, Batman Arkylam Asylum, and Infamous. I do understand that it sold better than all of the afermentioned games because it has longetivity when it comes to the multiplayer, but I choose the above titles because the single player portion were just phenomanal, something I will remember when my gaming days are over. I am not a multiplayer fan, so my review is solely based on the single player campaign alone. I do dibble and dabble in the multiplayer, but not like some of the others who are serious about it. And therefore I can say I am not a fan of Call of Duty because in all entirety, it does not offer "me" anything in general because I admire fine made single player campaigns, not multiplayer. This game definitely has a solid campaign, but I wouldn't call it memorable or the best thing ever. But, I can see why people love this game, but for me, its just another great game, but nothing I will fall in love with and loose nights of sleep over.
I don't mean to be one of those people, but this game was truly overhyped for no reason. Now GTA IV was definitely over hyped as well as Uncharted 2, but those games delivered something special, while MW 2 (too me) just feels like a remake of something I have done already.