Maybe Not Up to Par with CoD4, But Still Good

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great Multiplayer, Fun but short campaign, Brand New Special Ops mode

Cons: short campaign, airport level.

The Bottom Line: 

Buy it, it's the same price as other newly released games, and this one stands out significantly from others.

Author's Review
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was instantly popular. It was my first first-person shooter game and it was a great experience. This game was unbelievably good and I spent many days shootin' it up. But, like any other game, it becomes boring and old after a certain time period. When Infinity Ward announced Modern Warfare II to be released on 11/10/09, I started saving up money for what I knew would be a great game. 
After maybe a day of playing MW2, I realized that this game is actually not all that much better then its previous. I think the reason why people are so enthusiastic about this game is no other than the fact that it's a new Call of Duty game with a NEW campaign, NEW multiplayer experience, NEW guns, and a brand NEW special operations mode. Sometimes people just need a change from their older shooting games.

For Those Who Have Not Played Before
Modern Warfare 2 is literally an "modern" first person shooter experience. In my opinion, I think this is the best FPS as the gameplay is very smooth and easy to become accustomed to. Prior to Call of Duty 4, I had never owned or played competitively a FPS game. However, it was a very easily understood game and there's nothing too complexed about it. Simply move your right stick onto the target and hold down the right trigger. Thats the main idea. In other shooters, you might come across tactics to dodge bullets or to blindfire around corners or teleporting. But Call of Duty is simple and, for me, simplicity is key. 

CAMPAIGN
Personally, I thought the campaign was excellent, but I agree with most critics that it was, in fact, pretty short. It took me less than a day on Veteran. In addition to being short, it was also relatively easy to the other CoD series. I remember restarting from the nearest checkpoint wasn't as common as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and especially Call of Duty: World at War. The plot is actually very interesting and includes many twists and turns. In the plot, the Ultranationalists have taken complete control of Russia and have honored Imran Zakhaev as a hero. Meanwhile, Makarov, has been performing many acts of terror towards Europe, including the very controversial Russian airport civilian massacre. Roach, an undercover private is framed for the killing and the Russian believe that the massive killings was American-supported. Then much of the rest is just the Americans trying to show that Makarov was the true mastermind while also trying to protect Washington D.C. However, to get the full details on the plot, YOU GOTTA PLAY THE GAME. Like COD4, there is also the intel (randomly hidden laptops throughout the game) that can be collected for various expansions and experiences.  But, some new additions to the single player mode are the "breach" mode where you C4 a door and then enter a slo-mo period where you must kill all the hostiles in the room. Also, there is the snow mobile chase and speed boat chase which is controlled using the left stick. Overall, it's definitely a worthwhile campaign to play through.

SPECIAL OPERATIONS
This was a very cool addition. If you remember the "Mile High Club" from CoD4, this is the same idea. There are 23 missions in which you have to complete an objective. Some may be killing off waves of enemy lines before dying, stealth missions, fighting your way to an exit, and also time trials! These missions can also be done cooperatively which makes it even more fun as you can play them with a friend. And yes, it can be done through XBox LIVE. Each mission can be played on either regular, hardened or veteran difficulty. Each one earning one, two and three stars, respectively. The missions are divided into five sections:Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. Charlie-Echo require a certain amount of stars which can be attained in the earlier sections. VERY FUN.

MULTIPLAYER
This was my main attraction to Modern Warfare 2. I had MANY days logged on Call of Duty 4's multiplayer and it simply became boring as I was using the same guns, playing the same maps, and using the same strategies. And of course, in Modern Warfare 2, that all changes. There ARE new guns, a wide selection of maps and more game types. This multiplayer is very expansive compared to CoD4. There are 10 prestiges with level 70 being the max in each prestige.

GUNS
First off, guns can now have additional camos: Urban, Arctic, Fall. Urban is a red, black, gray, and white camo. Arctic is a white and black camo (default camo) and Fall (the highest camo) is a yellowish orange, green...Fall Colors (It looks great). There are also additional attachments: the Heartbeat Sensor, Holographic Sight, FMJ, Thermal, and Shotgun. The Heartbeat Sensor is a small radar placed on the left side of your gun that displays where enemies are. Holographic sight is basically an improved version of the Red Dot Sight. If you remember the perk "Deep Impact" from CoD4, that's exactly what FMJ does. Thermal is a sniper scope attachment that detects heat. And Shotgun is just an attachment for an assault rifle used for close combat.

PERKS
Like CoD4, there are three categories of perks.  First Perks include: Marathon, Sleight of Hand, Scavenger, Bling, and One Man Army. Second Perks include: Lightweight, Stopping Power, Hardline, Cold Blooded, and Danger Close. The Third Perks include: Commando, Steady Aim, Ninja, Sitrep, Scrambler, Last Stand. Now only a few of these perks may be recognized from the previous games but Modern Warfare 2 has a new "perk" to the perks. Once completing a perk-specific challenge, you unlock the "Pro" version of the perk. For example, Scavenger is a perk where you resupply from dead enemies. Once you collect from 100 dead enemies you unlock Scavenger Pro which gives you more ammo to start with. And this, you might recognize as Bandolier from CoD4.

STREAKS
In CoD4, there was only the 3 Kill Streak for UAV, 5 Kill Streak for Airstrike, and then 7 Kills for the Helicopter. Now, there are 15 Killstreaks to choose from. But, you may only choose three. Here is the list of streaks with the number of kills required in parenthesis: UAV(3), Care Package(4), Counter-UAV(4), Sentry Gun(5), Predator Missile(5), Precision Airstrike(6), Harrier Airstrike(7), Attack Helicopter(7), Emergency Airdrop(8), Pave Low(9), Stealth Bomber(9), Chopper Gunner(11), AC-130(11), EMP(15), and then the Tactical Nuke(25).

UAV is just an active radar for 30 seconds while Counter- UAV jams the enemy radar. Care Packages are airdropped crates that are positioned with a flare. (Emergency Airdrop is just four aidropped crates at once). Sentry Gun is airdropped as well and can be placed anywhere acting as a machine gun. (Good for alleys) Predator Missile is a self guided missile from above. Precision Airstrike is a self-positioned airstrike. Harrier Airstrike is an airstrike with a hovering Harrier. Attack Helicopter is the same from CoD4 but strangely very ineffective. Pave Low is a stronger Helicopter. and Stealth Bomber is a precision airstrike that gives the opponent no warning. Chopper Gunner is very powerful and you shoot down on enemies. AC-130, you control all three guns for 30 seconds. EMP disables all enemy electronics for a period (includes killstreaks and red dot sights). And then Tactical Nuke gives your team the automatic victory. If this is fairly confusing, play the game as it will make much more sense.

Now, in addition to Killstreaks, there are also death streaks. There isn't much of a selection and you can only choose one. Copycat(3 deaths) gives you the opportunity to copy your killers class in the killcam. Painkiller(3) gives you extra health (3x regular) right after spawning. Final Stand(4) puts you in last stand with your primary gun and if you survive long enough, you stand right back up. Martyrdom(4) drops a live grenade where you died. I didn't really like this addition as it just awards players who perform poorly.

EQUIPMENT
In Call of Duty 4, there was only the frag, stun, flash, and smoke grenade. There were also explosives, but that required using the first perk; there were RPGs, C4s, and Claymores. In Modern Warfare 2, there is a slot for Equipment. You can choose from Frag, Semtex (sticky grenade), Throwing Knife, Blast Shield (explosive resistence), C4, Claymore, and Tactical Insertion (choose your next spawn). This was a great addition to the game.

SECONDARY
There are four different types of secondary guns you can choose from. Handgun, Machine Pistol, Launcher, and Shotgun. I thought this was a good idea, but I didn't like having the shotgun as a secondary basically because it's very effective at killing and far too good for a secondary gun.

Overall, I really like the multiplayer, but it seems like it was built for even bad players to get kills easily, whether it is from a launcher, shotgun, or the knifing class (Marathon (unlimited sprint), Lightweight (run faster), Commando (Longer knifing range). So while you are going for a Chopper Gunner, your streak is ended from this "kamikaze"-style gameplay. But other than that, it's very fun.

GAMEPLAY, GRAPHICS
This game is absolutely smooth and very easy to control. For me, atleast, it's still hard for me to play on an HD TV as there is some controller- tv screen lag. If it is your first time playing, you'll catch on very quickly. It's a simple game to learn, but a complex game to master. The Graphics are excellent, sometimes it seems very realistic. The Washington, D.C. level is exceptionally realistic. But, of course, you'll have to play the game to fully appreciate the graphics.

...finally
This is a great game to play, especially with friends. All aspects of the game are phenomenal and sometimes mind-blowing how advanced our gaming technology is nowadays. It's competitive and the game is very long-lasting if you have LIVE. If not, it's still worth the buy as you still have special ops and the campaign. Whether this is your first FPS or your second or third, it is a fun-packed game that has "Buy me" written all over it. Listen to the game and just buy it.