Modern Warfare 2: “Yes, it’s great, but…” That in essence is the core of what you need to know about the new Call Of Duty game, and the second in the Modern Warfare spin-off series. Want to know more about one of the games of the year? Read our full Modern Warfare 2 review.
On the plus side, Modern Warfare 2 is simply the most slickly presented, non-stop, big-bang-for-the-buck action game. Probably ever. It’s awesomely, ludicrously insanely over-the-top.
Modern Warfare 2 is a non-stop firefight of epic proportions peppered with blood-splattered screen action and silly setpieces. A handful of examples?
Repelling an invasion force in a nuked-out capital city still on fire – including helicopter gunshipping a massive and recognisable national monument. Slum clearing a Brazilian favela infested with drug gangs and arms dealer cronies popping up round every corner, flanking behind you and firing RPGs at you from distant rooftops. Escaping a Russian gulag with a VIP as bombers tear the prison to pieces under your feet. Pegging it through the midst of a vicious running battle in a graveyard for airplanes. The list of Modern Warfare 2 epic moments goes on.
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The relatively short (seven hours regular play) single-player mode in Modern Warfare 2 does at least deliver a ludicrous number of thrills per minute. And it is, of course, massively bolstered by superb multi-player and new co-op two-player Special Ops mode – that’s arguably more varied than the single-player campaign.
And that’s where the “buts” start. Firstly, the single-player levels in Modern Warfare 2 are all utterly cranked to max volume – there’s no respite. And the US Marines missions in particular start to resemble Gears Of War’s gruntier missions for their repetitive combat. (Although it is the best combat you’ll have ever got stuck into).
Secondly, Modern Warfare 2′s plot is utter tosh – a stretched-to-breaking-point excuse to shuttle between levels. And the script, while stealing jargon from the brilliant Generation Kill TV series, has copied none of its wit, subtlety or emotional impact. It is, basically, a lot of blokes yelling “get some”.
There’s also the fact that Modern Warfare 2 clearly courts controversy. Not just the already infamous and controversial “airport massacre” scene, but in the main US levels too (trying not to give anything away) that play too heavily on post-911 fears without a really good plot to back them up.
The airport level is the worst example in Modern Warfare 2 – it could have been rendered as a cut-scene, or even off camera in plot terms. And the jerky, gamey movements of the civilians as they flee and are shot at by terrorists don’t feel realistic (in stark contrast to the fluid movement of the armed opponents you face elsewhere). The level feels tacked on and uninvolving – it doesn’t have the emotive impact that it needed to, and instead feels a bit slow and silly.
These are ultimately minor quibbles though, in the face of the overwhelming awesome firepower that this game pumps out single and multi-player. For get-some action goodness, Modern Warfare 2 is clearly one of the games of the year.
