Jaw dropping, Amazing, A Phenomenon and people have also called it This Decades most anticipated game. Modern Warfare 2 is a Direct sequel to Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare. Call of Duty has always been a favorite of people who love first person shooters. After three epic World War II adventures the franchise moved to the Modern times with Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare. Everyone expected it to be good, however no one expected that it will become the most successful game in the series, selling 13 million copies. CoD4 set a bar on how the first person shooters should look across all the gaming platforms that included PC, Mac, XBOX 360 and PS3. Due to the enormous success of CoD4, we all had great expectations from the sequel: Modern Warfare 2, and it does not disappoint. Our Team at WiSy had the opportunity to play the PS3 version and it has been a thrill. We review its Story, Design, Gameplay and Presentation.
Story
CoD4 had a very engaging storyline and had bits and pieces from our present world. Such was the progression that every player could relate to the game. MW2 picks up 5 years after Imran Zakhaev’s death. Vladimir Makarov, a former protégé of Imran Zakhaev (the chief antagonist from CoD4), serves as the primary antagonist throughout most of the story. We don’t want to give out any spoilers as this game has number of twists and surprises. Writers did a good job in carrying forward the story from the prequel and it will keep you guessing until the end. The story creates a very scenario that seems impossible however it does a good job in creating our interest in the story. From beginning to the end it will feel like being part of a summer Hollywood blockbuster action movie. MW2 story line has a number of new characters, but you will also meet some familiar ones. Story telling is still the same as in other Call of Duty games i.e. through mission briefings. It would have been great to see some cut scenes, however in-game cinematic do a good job. In general we found some issues with story telling of this game. At certain spots it feels like that Infinity Ward thought of all the cool features they want to include in the game and then create a story around it and not the other way around.
It would be wrong not to mention the controversy that this game has created due to certain parts of its story especially the mission in which you play alongside the antagonist killing innocent people at a Russian airport. This mission has turned a lot of heads and has been considered insensitive. It has only been 1 year since the 26/11 shootings in Mumbai and the game has been criticized to offend the people of India. Infinity Ward has explained its stand by saying that it is a very important mission on which the whole plot of the game is based. Game at the very beginning informs the player that there are some scenes in the game that can be very offensive and gives an option to skip the missions. Writer attempts to use this mission to create a hatred for the antagonist and the mission does a very good job of doing that.
Design
Modern Warfare 2 has more missions than its prequel however they are shorter than the original, so ultimately we get about the same playtime as the previous game. On Regular mode you can get a play time of about 5 – 6 hours depending on your FPS skills. Maps are bigger and do not feel linear at all. This also makes the game more challenging as enemy locations are very hard to guess and even if you feel that you have cleared an area, bogies might still be found. One great addition to the game type is the SpecOp mode in which you can play a set of missions solo or with a friend online or locally. SpecOp mode has no check points in the missions and is hard compared to the single player as it requires some serious coordination among players to finish it. The SpecOp mode is a lot of fun and highly addictive. and then of course is the multiplayer mode, which is hands down the biggest strength of this franchise. Multiplayer is the reason for which people were playing CoD4 even after its release of 2 years. Even though there have been no revolutionary changes, multiplayer has definitely evolved and the designers have expanded on the basics. MW2 has more maps than its prequel and also the rewards have been increased. The game constantly rewards you with introduction of the death streaks even if someone is playing bad. Die three time in row and you will get the perks like last stand or health boost. Kill streaks are customizable and the upgrades are great.
Game Play
This part of the game is still the same in terms of controls and we will not have it any other way. Game still has the auto lock feature to provide assistance while taking on multiple enemies at the same time. Game has a number of real weapons to choose from and no doubt that these weapons are just awesome. Weapons feel bigger and more powerful than CoD4 due to their better animation and an excellent physics engine and gravity plays a very important role in combat. Specially the way grenades roll on a staircase or hill is very good and funny at the same time. Even when you are using a sniper rifle, you have to keep factors like wind direction in mind.
Presentation
One word to describe t he presentation of the game will be Stunning. Game looks absolutely amazing on all platforms. Environments are very detailed and maps are big and when you shoot at things you will notice more destruction and debris falling. The lighting engine works amazingly specially in the night missions. Even in the day missions like the one in Rio, you have to bee very careful and look around for enemy shadows and that way you can find their position otherwise you might die very quickly as they will attack you from behind if you miss them. Game runs at a blazing 60 frame per second irrespective of the absolute madness that takes place on screen. CoD4′s Multiplayer graphics were toned down quite a bit, however MW2 even the multiplayer graphics look stunning.
According to Wall Street Journal Modern Warfare 2 earned a revenue of $550 Million and made it the biggest launch in the history of video game industry, better than most Hollywood movies. If you like video games and you haven’t played this one, then you are missing something very good. Its almost three spectacular games in one – an amazing but Short FPS, a grand co-op game, and an awesome and exhilirating Multiplayer. You don’t get no better deal no more.
Scorecard
| Design |  |
| Gameplay |  |
| Graphics | |
| Sound |  |
| Muliplayer | |
Liked the review?
loading...
