although not the authentic combat experience, still the best of '09.
User Rating: 9.5 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 X360
You will come into playing this game (if you haven't already) with the high expectations that the absolute classic COD4 had laid upon it- and you wont be disappointed. the game is absolutely, completely, without a doubt everything it could have been, despite what the haters may think. the first note I'll make- it plays almost as a carbon copy of COD4, controls haven't changed etc, but that isn't to say they haven't made great strides, the weapons have been refined and improved (as well as futurised, not only in look but with accessories such as the heartbeat sensor- expected advances to be taken in a five year period since the time COD4 was set), and the overall set of weapons has been broadened in every way, you'll also notice a lot of old weapons return for a second outing (mostly pistols and shotguns- other areas such as sniping have scrapped their old guns). You'll also notice that it introduces itself in much the same manner as COD4, with a commanding officer showing you how to shoot, and then a timed mock battlefield determining which difficulty you should play on (if you feel confident with your shooting skills ignore infinity ward's 3 warnings and go strait for the veteran). The campaign has been noted as short by many and is to an extent but by cranking up the difficulty it reaches around 7 hours on veteran, so not a bad effort. another point I'll bring up- the graphics, they are sublime, among some of the greatest I've ever seen, and never slip up- and the game still manages running at 60fps almost without hic-up, so full marks there. Now on to perhaps the most notable new feature of the game- spec- ops, this single player or co-op set of missions are set out as short (10-20 mins) missions based on racking up a body count simply getting from A to B or timed missions, set in areas from the campaign, the COD4 campaign (notable mention to the mission 'hidden' for reviving COD4's Chernobyl sniper mission) and seeing that there are more than 25 of them it will extend replayability by around another 7 hours- a true asset to the series that hopefully is here to stay. now finally, the multiplayer- it was always going to be great, and comes back better than ever with all the favs, perks, classes etc, if you ever played COD4 (which you have) you'll know what you're getting into, with this. now on to the negatives, my first problem would have to be that COD has now become a bit detached from realistic war, and has departed into the realm of FPS action, with snow mobile and boat races, only requiring the trigger to be pulled to lay waste to all in front of you feels very James bond-esque and very departed from the realities of war, and my other problem is that story in the campaign is non-existent and is really just there to serve as purpose to kill people in a plethora of locales and get the adrenaline pumping - which in hindsight, I'm largely OK with.
Overall, an action masterpiece that deserves a spot in every shooter fans' collection. 9.5/10
