Disk Inserted

Having not played the original Modern Warfare, or any of the former Call of Duty titles for that matter, I was a bit hesitant to get this game. Sure, I wanted to get in on all the hype and try something other than a futuristic first person shooter like Halo, but I wasn’t sure if a “war” game would interest me. I picked up Modern Warfare 2 back in the beginning of December, and I have yet to be able to put it down. Infinity Ward, you have amazed me with an awesome title for the Xbox 360! Also available for the PC and PlayStation 3, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 takes place five years after the previous installment. The campaign mode is divided between the multinational counter-terrorist group, Task Force 141, which is tasked with eliminating ultranationist Vladimir Makarov, and the U.S. Army Rangers, who are tasked with defending the United States from a Russian invasion. Settings for the game include Afghanistan, Rio de Janeiro, Siberia, and Washington D.C.

Modern Warfare 2 has received highly positive reviews from various gaming websites, attaining a 94% aggregate score on Metacritic, with praise stemming primarily from its in-depth multiplayer component. According to Wikipedia, Upon its release, the game sold approximately 4.7 million copies worldwide in 24 hours!

For more information about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, check out the game’s article on Wikipedia’s website, located here. Now, without further interruptions, on to my review!

* Just a fair WARNING, the Campaign section of my review contains loads of spoilers! *

The game’s controls are quite simple to pick up, especially for me. I hate games that require memorizing the manual to get all the controls and button layouts down pat. By default the controls are as follows:

A – Jump up/over obstacles
B – Crouch; Press again to prone (lie down)
X – Reload/Use
Y – Switch Weapons
RT – Fire
RB – Frag Grenade
LT – Aim
LB – Special Grenade
RS – Look/Aim; Click to melee
LS – Move; Click to sprint
D-Pad – Inventory
START – Pause
BACK – Multiplayer scoreboard

Multiplayer

To be completely honest, It’s quite easy to level up in the game. Remember, I picked up the game around the second week of December and have been playing it everyday since and at this current time, I am a Level 43 Major. That means I don’t suck! Okay, okay… I do…

Leveling up requires XP or “experience points” which are usually granted for kills, assists and completing objectives. Even if you only get one kill throughout the entire match, don’t worry; chances are you’ll still get XP though it’ll be a small amount. There are multiple varieties of multiplayer modes like Free-for-All, Team Deathmatch, Domination, etc. You’ll have to explore your personal tastes and see which one is best for either your comfort or “pwn” zone.

Free-for-all is just that… an every man for himself fight for the most kills. First time and/or novice players, avoid this game type until you are comfortable taking on trash talking high school kids with no life other than school, homework and video games. Most players don’t care if you’re a new comer or a veteran to the game, they’ll still find ways to kill you and look cheap doing it. If you’re going to give this game type a shot, take my advice… being a “back stabber” via melee or the Tactical Knife will save you in close encounters with your enemy… especially on smaller maps like Rust and Highrise. Lock-on launchers are a must on bigger maps like Afghan and Wasteland where airstrikes are common and helicopters have free roam of the open, unobstructed skies. Experienced players (and campers) like to guard the hallways and the airplane cabin on Terminal. Take a quick shortcut through the bookstore and take your time peaking around the corners. A simple smoke, stun or flash grenade will be sure to surprise the snipers waiting for you at the end of the hallway.

In Modern Warfare 2 they took custom ability to a whole new level. There is so much you can do to make your class new and unique! Along with the classes are the Callsign and Kill Streaks which you can choose from and customize.

Custom Classes

In Modern Warfare 2 the custom class set ups are a bit different than past Call of Duty games. You get to choose one primary weapon (with one attachment unless you have Bling), one secondary weapon (with one attachment unless you have Bling Pro), one equipment, one special grenade, one death streak, and three perks. To make the best custom class available, you need to think about what type of person you want to be. Each class can have it’s strengths and weaknesses which you can try to enhance and cover up.

Campaign

So basically, a private went undercover (chosen by General Shepherd) in a massacre in Russia with a man named Makarov. Makarov knew he was an American undercover so he killed him and left the body at the scene. The Russians then believed it was the Americans that planned the Massacre and invaded the U.S. with super steal planes. Task Force 141 (the English) went working with the Rangers (the Americans) to get all of it straight. They found the bullet Makarov used to kill the Private in the massacre and traced it to Brazil where they went after some people for intel. After that, Task Force 141 infiltrates an oil rig to gain access to a fortress known as the Gulag where they try to find a prisoner Makarov is after. The prisoner turns out to be Captain Price.

Meanwhile, the Rangers (Led by General Shepherd) are still fighting the Russians in the U.S. Task Force 141 infiltrates a Submarine Base as a contingency plan for the U.S. He sets off a 6 megaton nuclear missile in the atmosphere which causes an EMP to occur right over the U.S. Nobody dies but all the electronics are gone. The Rangers were out numbered but the EMP helped them retake DC. The U.S. campaign ends there saying they’ll be heading to Moscow soon and burn the place down.

General Shepherd gives Task Force 141 intel that there may be one of two places Makarov can be. They split up and head to both places at once. Roach is with Ghost and Price is with Soap. Roach and Ghost gather lots of intel from Makarov’s Estate but don’t find Makarov. They head to the extraction area where General Shepherd is. There the General betray and kills them. Price and Soap find out and try and warn them but they’re too late. Shepherd was working with Makarov from the start. The General’s thought was to become a world wide hero through this world wide disaster. So they find where the General is hiding by convincing Makarov he’s just being used like they were. This became apparent to Makarov because the Rangers started attacking Makarov’s men while Price and Soap were in the middle of it sneaking past them. They go to take him out but get injured in the process. They kill him and escape with Nikolai to a safe house, and the game ends.

Got all that? Great…

Special Ops

The Special Operations mode is either a single player or two player split screen or online. Two missions MUST be done with two players. You cannot search for partners but only invite people. Missions are unlocked by earning stars, which are acquired by playing levels at certain difficulties. Regular difficulty earns one star, hardened earns two, and veteran earns three. Missions will be divided by groups called Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo, with the latter being the hardest.

If you play two players with one person on a different/lower difficulty than the other person, the stars earned will not be as high as it could be. If one person is playing on Veteran and the other is playing on Hardened, than the highest amount of stars that person can get is two stars instead of three stars for completing the mission. If one person goes down than they go into Last Stand unless they get shot even more than they’re just down and cannot shoot. The partner can revive them, but if both partners are down than the mission is failed. On certain missions where the partners can’t revive each other, the mission will end once one of the teammates dies; he will not go into Last Stand.

A few cons, nonetheless, but nothing to cry about. It’s mainly about timing and tactics.

In Conclusion

So, you still think you have what it takes to grab the game and get going with leveling up and completing the Campaign and Special Ops missions? Give it a go! You won’t be disappointed with this game nor will you be able to put it down. Mark and myself (and soon to be Mike) usually play Team Deathmatch on Xbox Live. If you think you’re main enough (or woman enough) to challenge us, our gamertags are PhishShticks, IBraineater and HrubixCube.

For more information on Callsigns and how to obtain them, visit this link. (Thanks, Mark)