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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 review
There are no surprises in Modern Warfare 2, and yet there are countless surprises. It doesn’t hit the crystal-clear note of perfection that the last game did, but it’s one of 2009’s very best games. You know exactly what you’re getting from it (brilliant multiplayer, insanely intense single-player), and yet you don’t (the new co-op mode is genius).
Modern Warfare 2 left us with mixed feelings, even though most of the feelings in that mix could be roughly translated as “that was f---ing awesome!” But for a series that sets and achieves such high standards, we were surprised and disappointed by how many times the single-player stumbled and fell short. The highly controversial “No Russian” level aside, the single-player gets off to an awfully slow start. The initial missions in Afghanistan, while fine, are the kind of typical Call of Duty fare we’ve all played a million times by now. The intensity is high, the dialogue’s heroic, and you move through the battle as just another cog in a swarm of victorious firepower. But it lacks an OMG kickoff, like the leap from the ship to the chopper that so memorably opened Modern Warfare. A routine, paint-by-numbers beginning is not what we expected.
“Cliffhanger” and “Wolverines” are more like it. In the first, you and Soap penetrate a snow-covered base in what’s really a perfect Call of Duty mission. There’s cool gear (ice picks and heartbeat sensors), there’s stealth in the blizzard and a tense shootout when Soap gets captured, and it all ends with an unexpected, mad snowmobile dash.
“Wolverines” (the first op inside the U.S.) also achieves that captivating combination of hair-raising moments and holy-crap military hardware. Between nervously dodging the BTR (the Russian tank), sniping from the roof with thermal scopes, and then raining death from above and below with a Predator and a Stinger, we almost forgot to breathe.
The campaign builds steadily toward a triumphant finale, and Act 3 is 100% unadulterated awesome. We love unforgettable sequences like launching from the sub to storm the oil rig and dangling from the chopper to snipe while the Air Force recklessly bombs everything in sight. And though Modern Warfare 2 has its fair share of incredible moments like these, they’re sandwiched between too much filler. Slogging through the sequences in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro feels like work, not fun. Aside from the great stakeout-gone-wrong opening, these missions are standard FPS stuff — move forward, check roofs and corners, repeat. The cool is MIA.
The other single-player letdown comes from the bizarrely improbable, almost loopy story that threads the missions together. **(SPOILER ALERT!)** A tight, compelling tale made the first Modern Warfare riveting, but in Modern Warfare 2, even the most willing player will find their disbelief shattered. A Russian invasion of the U.S. that goes practically undetected? Nuking D.C. to save it? And starting a war with Russia in the first place to, uh…um…we never could figure that one out. Without that feeling of this-could-happen realism, Modern Warfare 2’s story lacks edgy allure. **(END SPOILER ALERT)**
No Russian? No Thanks.
Here’s our take on this highly controversial sequence. We imagine Infinity Ward wants us to feel frozen by shock during the optional “No Russian” level — to, in some tiny way, experience what an undercover agent might feel when faced with massacring civilians in order to keep his identity concealed. Except that’s BS. The sequence is interactive, yet we’re locked in a box with only one outcome. Since the situation is so much bigger than that, as are the emotions it triggers, the scene is robbed of its intended impact because we can’t explore even a few of Pvt. Allen’s options. Why not let him try to briefly hide and contact Shepherd? Or at least provide a cutscene that deals with the consequences of breaking cover and killing the terrorists? But because what we’re put through is so inherently shallow and yet so raw, the whole thing feels crass. It wants to give the story a mean ol’ edge, but it lacks the proper weight to respect the fact that we just had to sit through hundreds of innocent people being gunned down with casual brutality. And by not paying off after tapping such a painful nerve, it becomes just another Happy Meal for Fox News. Worse, it takes some of the wind out of the story’s sails. If such a narrow outcome was needed to keep the plot going where it needed to go, then it should’ve been handled in a cutscene. “No Russian” was a significant storytelling error.
Fortunately, the rest of Modern Warfare 2 is simply magnificent, and besides, that’s where you’ll spend the coming months, if not years, with this game. The new co-op mode, SpecOps, completely captured us. It excerpts highlights from both Modern Warfares and gives you mini-game–like goals: kill all enemies in a certain time, ghillie up and sneak through an area undetected, or just blow up all the wrecked cars on a bridge. The only thing missing is matchmaking — why not help lone wolves find others to enjoy this mode with?
At least you can play most of these set pieces solo, but they really shine when you work with a friend who enjoys coordinating tactics and working as a unit. The star of the show are the two levels where one of you mans either an AC-130 gunship or a helicopter turret, providing overwatch as your partner runs the gauntlet on the ground. It’s incredibly fun to meticulously clear enemies away from your buddy with the devastating ordnance of both aircraft, and it’s equally tense and exciting to be on foot, proceeding cautiously and calling out targets to your friend. The level of coordination is as rewarding as all the fireworks, and we wish the game had 10 missions like these, not just two. DLC…please?
We also expected big, gigantic things from multiplayer, and Modern Warfare 2 delivers them. Put plainly, it’s the best FPS multiplayer on Xbox 360. Every map is lovingly designed to max out its replayability — we tried to find a dud that we didn’t like…and failed. The rank and XP structure provides steady rewards for the time you put in, and being able to customize your kill-streak rewards is a fantastic addition. Our favorite new feature, though, is a small but great thing: showing the match-winning kill cam to the whole room. Brilliant.
We also appreciate how the new deathstreaks help noobs dig themselves out of a hole, and how even smaller refinements — grenade spamming is less effective; opposing forces can now have aircraft up at the same time — pay off in big ways. Between all the playlists, all the dense angles of fire packed into every map, and the constant incentive to level up, this multiplayer’s got the sturdiest legs we’ve ever seen.
Modern Warfare 2 is easily one of the year’s best games. Because it’s more iterative than innovative, though, it’s not quite as perfect as we’d expected, but it is a terrifically fun, nerve-wrackingly intense spectacle that you’d be crazy to miss.
On Xbox 360
+ SpecOps co-op mode is a hugely fun new feature.
+ Best FPS multiplayer to date on Xbox 360.
- Ludicrous story; too many filler missions.
? Just how will Soap and Price return in Modern Warfare 3?
9.5
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martincrowe54
December 06, 2011 at 10:25pm
In most of cases I used to enjoy the various types of online games in my systems through Xbox 360 and playstation 3, simply Call of Duty is the most well known game simply developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, it gives a better gaming experience and I was just feeling great to watch over the review of this game.http://www.evictionresources.com/
Dude Manrod
June 29, 2010 at 8:43pm
This review is total crap. First of all, the campaign was great. Way better than COD 4's. Spec-Ops was decent, but not something this game excels in. The multiplayer is where this game truly lacks. There are no achievements whatsoever, so why would I even bother to play? Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing on multiplayer, I admit it was fun for several days, but there's no use to play for extended periods of time. Warning: side effects of playing this game's multiplayer include low, nooby Gamerscore! Bottom line: 8/10.
xPancak3 M1Xx
October 16, 2010 at 7:06am
True, but lets just wait until Black ops, it should be fixed
Ice balls360
June 23, 2010 at 12:36pm
This game does not deserve a 9.5. After countless hours of play, it's clear to me that the multi-player is way too unbalanced(infinite ammo grenade launchers that explode bigger? Sniper range shotguns? Sniper range knives!?) and the story is just too short with not enough...pizazz. This is just your average shooter with too many campers in multi-player, not worth the $70 or hype. This game should have got a 8.0, and I'm being generous. Splinter Cell Conviction is infinitely better then MW2, and if you don't agree with me chances re you suck at MW2 and don't play anything else ( I'm proud of my 1.92 K/D with 4 prestiges of throwing knives and USP), it took me 9 prestiges to realize that this game sucks...9 prestiges.
Carsoniem101
March 14, 2010 at 10:32pm
Carson Abbott I Think This Game Was A Great One.. I Think Calling It A "Ludicrous Story" Was Going A Little To Far, This Games Story Was Great I Think And I Loved It.
mrs runnyvenom
February 17, 2010 at 5:34pm
I like MW2. Not as much as COD 4 but it's up there. I wish they hurry up with the map pack already though. My stealthy friends are already getting tired of the same maps and losing interest. I don't play enough to lose interest but I would love to have new maps soon.
KFHOMICRON
January 03, 2010 at 7:36pm
Honestly I think that this review is a little to harsh. Personally I really didn't care for the Multi-Player of the first Modern Warfare. I thought the story line was great, but the lack of a co-op mode was really embarrassing. I believe that the mission "No Russian" was not crass, it was a key plot detail that kept gamers drawn to the story. It was shocking to see the main character executed in the very beginning of the game. Also, this multiplayer is the reason I have an xBox. It is completely addicting. Also the new co-op mode is fantastic. About the plot, it is the same if not better than Halo 3's and that got a 10. Indeed it was cliche but it was just as good as any of the tens in 2007. _____________________________________________ you remind me of gay.
PredatorDrago
December 24, 2009 at 8:37am
From what i played of the game Special ops only. I wasn't to Impressed with it at first but after i played it for a while i started to enjoy the game. I can see how it got VGA Best Shooter game Graphics: 10 Gameplay:9.5 Controlls:9.5 Overall: 9.5
bigjayshade
December 04, 2009 at 7:26am
This is just my opinion but this game is mediocre at best...The single player campaign story was pretty fun to watch. Its the gameplay that I did not like. Watching the NPC's in my squad peek around corners and blind firing at the enemy made me jealous. I had to stick my entire body out of cover to get a shot off. Not very tactical. In any case, its someone elses game now.
tF Blue Magic
December 03, 2009 at 3:58pm
The story while jumbled, offered many WTF moments. Spec-ops is a fun time waster,although I would like to have seen asomething closer to resembling Nazi Zombies. The multiplayer, however, is like the first Modern Warfare, only bigger, better, and more varied then its predecessor. I give it 10 out of 10 for the MP alone. Single player i would rate 8 out of 10.
teggeroo
November 30, 2009 at 7:27am
I Played Modern Warfare 2 by renting it first, and I was dissappointed. The story line is like bleh, not as much action, and the game was no where near as long as the first Modern Warfare. I give it a 6.0 :( Life is a memory, a memory is for life.
Tommybomb
November 25, 2009 at 6:25pm
@BillionCobra Hard to say, but it certainly wasn't MW2. There's an article on Gamesradar that makes some good points about the plotholes in the campaign. I still haven't played it, so take a look, get back to me and let me know if any of it resonates with you: http://www.gamesradar.com/f/modern-warfare-2s-glaring-plot-holes-exposed/a-20091120123332495077
BillionCobra
November 24, 2009 at 9:20pm
Why is it that you have a year where you give games 10 a plenty, and this year, modern warfare gets a 9.5 because of what, story? I think the plot may be a little bad, but every campaign has parts where you get an emotional burst of sorrow or awe. When the russians opened fired on all of the civilions in front of the elevator, i was really shocked and thought about what had just happened. You can't really mark a game off for its story can you, how many games do you know that ended with a completely satisfying story without clif hangers or questions unanswered?
edmanhobo
November 24, 2009 at 10:03am
The game has awesome graphics. multiplayer is awesome you can customize guns add perks. customizable kill streaks is sweet. You can also get turret time on AC130 gun ship.
Sl8ter13
November 21, 2009 at 1:45pm
Please, next time you guys review the biggest game of the year, could you do with a little less plot summary. I say this as a journalist asking a fellow journalist a favor. It can't be easy to write without mentioning the plot but in the first two pages you told us a major plot twist and spoiled several key events. That said, they may have been spoiled previously in a preview article. I appreciate the work your magazine puts out but now I'm going to beat the game before I read your article, and doesn't that defeat the purpose of a review?
Preston
November 20, 2009 at 10:18am
I agree with the post above. No Russian was an excellent level. It started the story off nicely and went from there. Towards the end, I agree the story got a little out of hand, but the gameplay was still outstanding.
Tommybomb
November 19, 2009 at 7:56pm
hm...you know, while I haven't played the game yet (which, believe me, I'm taking into account as I type this) I read up on plenty of material and even saw a couple of youtube videos from the campaign to get a sense of what the game is all about - and that doesn't really happen unless you actually play it, but I did the best I could without $60 burning a hole in my pocket. I can also take what you say in this review into consideration when it comes to COD4 (which I did play) and compare notes across games. The half a point you took off about the campaign flaws (which I'm not whining about at all - I'm going for "intelligent argument" here, but you be the judge) has me wondering: how freaking hard must it be to top something like COD4? I mean, once you nuke someone's head from sheer awesomeness, then what's left? How about a gameplay sequence where you witness the aftermath before you fall onto your side and the screen fades to white? That's what MW2 sounds like to me, in a nutshell.
Iamth3tr00per
November 19, 2009 at 4:47pm
I don't understand why you say that the "No Russian" mission feels shallow and crass. It lends a key element to the story. Makarov kills the CIA member to make the world believe that America is responsible for the attack. This mission is on par with the best moments of Call of Duty 4. Infinity Ward could have made this mission just another pointless "its-shocking-so-it-must-be-good" mission. They handled it in a mature fashion, and they deserve kudos for that.
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