The following review was based on the PS3 version. The actual game is very similar in almost every way; ***WARNING The following review may contain minor plot spoilers WARNING***
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is finally here, the most anticipated game of 2009 and possibly the most anticipated game of the decade! The game picks up 5 years after the events of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Once again, the world faces the complete destruction of Russian Terrorists, dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse. You play a role of many characters including “Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson”, “Pvt. Joseph Allen” and “Pvt. Ramirez” in which you are placed into Taskforce 141, the CIA, and Ranger division . Sent in many locations worldwide you must try to stop Makarov from causing global chaos. After Pvt. Allen is sent off to a secret undercover mission with Makarov, he gets exposed and killed. This causes outrage in Russia and begins the massive invasions. Shortly after, Washington D.C experiences hundreds of thousands of troops, wreaking havoc on American soil.
You then play the role of “Roach” and “Ramirez” in different locations. Taskforce 141 are trying to discover Makarov's location while the Ranger division is trying to fight off invading Russions back in Washington.
Singleplayer verdict: The singleplayer is exciting and very well done while it lasts. The game is an average of just over 5 hours in length, but during that time you will find all missions are very well done. The plot takes a little while to unfold, but once it does, you will find the game much more engaging and fun, particularly in Act's II and III.
Spec. Ops Special Ops is a new 2 player co-op mission mode, that features both split screen and online with a friend. The game features 23 spec. ops modes, each very interesting and engaging. For each mission, you can choose “Regular, Hardened” and “Veteran” difficulty. For each difficulty you receive either 1,2 or 3 stars (in order) for completing the challenge successfully. You can gain a total of 69 stars, giving you plenty of opportunity to test out each mode on all difficulty modes. A few of these missions include “Overwatch” where one player the gunner of a AC130 ship, in which they need to protect their partner on the ground. Other missions include “Breach”, “Snow-mobile races”, “Wave defense” and many more.
Spec Ops verdict: If you take into place that this is like a second campaign, then Modern Warfare 2 will seem like a much longer game, and you can easily forgive the shorter single-player. Spec. Ops is really great for when you have friends over, or you don't feel like just jumping on multiplayer and shooting people. The mode has many challenges and will keep you busy for many, many hours until you complete getting all 69 stars.
Multiplayer: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was mainly known for it's bar-raising multiplayer experience. Once again, the bar has been raised. Modern Warfare 2 delivers an even better multiplayer experience with 17 maps, that are much bigger and more detailed than ever before. This time around there are many more killstreaks, 15 to be exact, and deathstreaks, which give out bonuses for if you die 3 or more times without a kill. You get too choose 3 out of the 15 killstreaks to use while playing. You need to reach certain levels before you can unlock any killstreak that you'd like. Some of the new killstreaks include been the pilot of an AC130 or Chopper Gunner, Care-package drop, sentry gun, EMP bomb, predator missile and even a tactical nuke, which ends the game! The game once again has a great leveling system, but this time you can reach level 70, which is a jump from level 55 in COD4. There are many more challenges and awards that you can pick up from doing little things like getting a certain amount of kills with a weapon, or even jumping off a building. There are hundreds of little things you can do and you don't even realize that it's a challenge. This time around, you can customize your profile with a Tag, Emblem and Clantag. This is what makes the online gameplay seem a little more like a MMO, because you get your own unique profile, and all other players can see it. The game includes many gamemodes including Team Deathmatch, Domination, Headquarters, Capture the Flag and now a third-person view mode once you reach level 20! Once again you get too have 3 perks (upgrades) for each of your 5 custom-weapon classes. These perks include faster load times, steadier aim, better bullet damage and much more!
Multiplayer Verdict: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer is defidently the biggest and best bit of the game. It's online features outnumber all other FPS games, and with a community of over four-hundred thousand players on the PS3 version, you will never not find a game! This part of the game is FANTASTIC and there is not one bad part of it.
Graphics/Sound/Presentation: When it comes to visuals, the game looks amazing. This time round, some of the effects can be used for gameplay elements. For example, shooting though a window with glass requires a few extra bullets to break though, and water can squirt from broken pipes. The lighting and textures are done very well and make a perfect looking game. The sound and voice acting plays a huge part of this game. The music is done very well, and the character voices really suit the way that they act. The opening scenes of each mission are done better than COD4's, and the new menu's for all the game modes are much better and less-clunky. All in all, the presentation of Modern Warfare 2 has been done really well!
Overall verdict: Modern Warfare 2 is one of, in not, the best FPS game ever created. The multiplayer is way ahead of any other shooter, with so many features and unlocks that will keep you occupied for months, or even years. The games singleplayer is great while it lasts, but you will finish it quite quickly. So, if your looking for just a singleplayer experience, Modern Warfare 2 probably isn't for you. However, if your looking for a game with a good singleplayer and multiplayer experience then you can't miss out on this one! The game has very few flaws and bugs and a huge community, so make sure to pick this one up! This is by-far the best Call of Duty game!
10/10 Todd Lang - - Toddster55555
