23 Nov 2009

Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2!

...or to give it it's proper name...CoD 6! It's finally out - an eagerly awaited sequel - the original game is still at its RRP even after the 2 years its been out! That's quite extraordinary for a 4th outing in a series, so the hopes are high for this latest title.

I got it the day it came out (for a change!) & managed to get a few minutes spare that lunchtime to get past the opening credits & training mode - it's really fast & great fun is had using the modern weaponry - all machine-pistols, sub-machine guns & the occasional shotgun.

One (almost-instant) negative of note - the included manual is perhaps the worst I have ever seen! Everything is in standard font, there's not a huge amount of substance at all & even the 1 screenshot has no background to it. It certainly look incomplete & a little unprofessional - especially for such a high quality game - very bizarre. It was almost as if they didn't feel the need to tell people how to play the 6th edition of their game!

Anyways, the game-play! There are many moments of awe-inspiring/jaw-dropping` game-play - on board a stolen skidoo going at full tilt over an epic jump, taking an entire airbase with just one other member in your squad, the Rio scenes are impossibly good, & the some of the later levels seem rather epic.

The challenge offered by the single-player is good - it's not just a simple walk, shoot occasional & progress - even on the regular difficulty setting there are some parts of the game that really do take all your concentration & effort just to get through. For example holding a building, whilst downloading files, all the while your enemies come from all sides at the same time with scoped weapons & sub-machine guns is an epic & challenging bit of play, reminiscent of the legendary Nazi Zombies!

The Weapons, the sub-machine guns all feel pretty similar, but with different sights & scopes add a little variety. There are lots of different pistols, but the most fun have been the shotguns. Normally their lack of accuracy over distance is quite limiting, not so much now - in Rio & especially during Whiskey Hotel the quick-shot & lethal Striker is very much the harbinger of doom!

I did complete it on Regular in just 2 evenings (about 8 hours) which seemed a little fast, but I then wanted to play it again & grind through on Veteran, just to run through it all again with an epic challenge!

Also there are the side missions - Spec Ops to be precise - 23 levels of increasingly difficult replays of the original storyline, as well as some familiar reworkings of the first Modern Warfare. Expect lots of silliness when playing with your friends - it's a little bit Bob & Steve (see below)



But the levels are really tough - even for the experienced CoD gamer - it represents a proper challenge, but I think it's great fun & does reward you for playing well.

The more starts you earn (1 for regular, 2 for hardened & 3 for veteran) then unlock more levels, each represents a big step up from the previous levels - so far have unlocked Delta & need just 1 more star to open up the hardest levels - Echo. The Delta levels are already the toughest I've seen, so the Echo will need every ounce of prowess methinks.

In terms of the levels - the ghillie-suit vs ghille-suit & snow-sniper levels have been favourites - but the bridge levels are great fun as well.


The overall rating is a well-deserved 5 out of 5

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