At the time of this game's release, I was still open to experiencing all manner of gaming, and I was caught up a bit in the hype of things. I primarily got this game because a few friends of mine were playing on it, so we could all get on and play war with each other.
Then, I watched as a massive onslaught of other military shooters flooded the market. In the few short years that followed, I watched as Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops, MAG, Homefront, and the third Modern Warfare game filled up the shelves, along with God-knows-what. I couldn't help but to regard them all and ask myself, come on, how many ways are there to fight a war? I think playing Modern Warfare 2 made me realize that I have a certain ambivalence toward military shooter games; even though they all offer unique stories and experiences, they all kinda run together and look alike. Meh...
Regardless, Modern Warfare 2 is not a bad game at all, and it's not too hard to see the appeal in playing it, even if it is just another military shooter. The game is fast, intense, and enthralling. Playing the campaign, it runs through a gauntlet of challenging levels that allow you to witness the whole world erupting in all-out war from multiple points of view. Across multiple levels, you get to infiltrate remote enemy bases, run undercover operations, rescue prisoners, save hostages, chase down bad guys, fight against a massive hoard of militia, and ultimately fight off an invasion on American soil. While vehicle driving is limited in this game, you do have access to a decent arsenal of oodles of guns with oodles of fancy attachments and scopes, and plenty of destructive gadgets and drones and whatnot. As promised, the game plunges the player into the worst-case scenario of the modern world, and allows you to use 21st century weaponry to experience...modern warfare.
Playing the story mode will be linear and straightforward. It's what you get if The Hurt Locker, Quantum of Solace, The Rock, Red Dawn, and probably a bunch of Tom Clancy novels were cobbled together. The story has an interesting narrative that tells the overall story across multiple viewpoints and characters; what the game lacks in emotional resonance, it makes up for with its intriguing politics, a few standout characters, and the sheer scope and ambition of the story. Chances are that the story will resonate more with those who've played and enjoyed the first MW game (I have not, so some things probably go way over my head). Despite all its intrigue, I find it a little hard to suspend disbelief at times.
But wait, there's more! You can shoot even more bad guys in Special Ops mode: a bunch of missions you can play with specific objectives to try and challenge yourself. It allows you to play either solo, or with friends on co-op mode.
The biggest draw likely will be the multiplayer action, which I partook in for a while. As I recall, it was quite easy to jump into the action, going through either team-based matches or free-for-alls. The different maps offered numerous variances in strategy and advantages, while the games themselves were often gripping and unpredictable. It can be surprisingly addictive to play through the multiplayer, steadily gaining experience points to level yourself up, and trying to longer and longer kill streaks to try and obtain special abilities.
If there's anything to complain about for the overall gameplay, it's that the game can be frustrating as hell. I must have died a thousand times, usually shot or stabbed because of stupid mistakes or a stupid judgment on my part. In multiplayer, it's to be expected. In single-player, I found myself cursing at the AIs for being so relentless and smart. Chances are that you might thrive on such challenges, but I found it pretty aggravating at times. Having the entire screen turn red with blood droplets didn't help either, as it often obscured the entire view. Oh God, the flash-bang grenades are even worse...
Regardless, the game is well-built. It's not a particularly sharp-looking game, but it is loaded with highly-detailed levels and plenty of impressive texturing and particle effects. The game moves very fast and smoothly, with practically no drag or performance issues. I don't even remember ever having a crash with this game. It utilizes a decent voice cast with quality acting and passable writing. The game utilizes superb character designs, settings, and weapon selections. It all looks quite realistic and detailed. Music is pretty darn cool too.
For a military shooter, MW2 is good and it should be a must-play for fans of these types of games. My only quibble is, I realized that this isn't my type of game.
4/5 (Entertainment: Frustrating | Story: Pretty Good | Game: Good)
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