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Videogames -
Reviews
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Written by Murphy Simmonds
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
PC/PS3/X360 (X360 version played)
Activision
1.30am. We're lying belly down on a rooftop, eyeing up terrorists through the sights of our sniper rifle. Damned dirty terrorists, stealing our flag and running off with it. We spent £20 on that flag. We spot one lurking behind a big iron shipping crate and line him up in our crosshairs. We hold our breath and prepare to pull the trigger. And somebody stabs us in the head.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a game all about shooting people. The tradition of games about shooting people stretches back almost as far as gaming itself, leading to some of the finest examples of interactive entertainment in the process. The hype surrounding this particular example has been so loud and intimidating that many rival publishers have moved the launch of their own titles into the start of next year. Rarely has one game's success - both commercial and critical - been so pre-ordained.
The anticipation was deserved. The prequel earned itself an incredibly fervent following by the most honourable of means - being incredibly good. Number 2 takes everything that was good about its dad and concentrates the formula. Its single player is a ludicrously-plotted blockbuster so finely crafted and cohesive it brings back memories of the N64 classic Goldeneye. Its co-op mode, though not a campaign in itself, is a generous grab bag of bespoke chunks of gameplay. The former shames most single player games and the latter fills in one of the only deficiencies of its predecessor.
And then there is the multiplayer. Call of Duty, in its various incarnations, has propped up online communities since the early days of the first Xbox. Today, the package is so complete it threatens to render its peers redundant. The solidity of the solo campaign translates almost intact to the frenetic tension of competitive play. An embarrassing abundance of game modes is bolstered by a continual drip feed of progress as weapons and character customisation are gradually unlocked, underpinned by an experience points system ripped straight from the land of role playing games.
Yet where those RPGs offer a grind, a repetitive plough through thousands of enemies to build the player's powers piece by piece, MW2 simply offers itself. A glorious, gorgeous, dynamic and intense shooting match, a gaming black hole which will suck you in for months, if not longer.
The solo campaign is short, the online matchmaking is buggy and the decision to force you into party chat with your assortment of teammates reminds you why the people who play games are their own worst ambassadors. But it doesn't matter. There is, as promised, no other title to own this winter. Which is why, in all likelihood, you've already bought this one.
10/10
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Hench makes this comment
Wed 25 Nov 2009 20:19:24 CST
Iscaria makes this comment
Wed 02 Dec 2009 09:49:50 CST