Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

[toblix]

Just started this on the PC, and holy shit:

• It has a strong "console port feel" to it, from the black intro copyright screen to the half-assed menus.
  
• This is the most intense game I've ever played, especially since I always try to catch all scripted events, hear all the conversations and see the little custom animations, I love that stuff. "Unfortunately" everything in this game feels like this. The opening tutorial level is basically a huge arena filled with awesome scripted stuff, and the second level has a car sequence that's like the Half-Life tram ride meets a billion people whose job it is to script crazy stuff. For example, the scared guy in the alley, with the red shirt. You can follow his flight if you look at the right places at the right time, and if you're lucky you'll catch a glimpse of some sneaky people with rocket launchers peering out from behind a car AND THEN EVERYTHING EXPLODES AND YOU'RE ON THE GROUND AND HURRY YOU HAVE TO FIGHT YOUR WAY THROUGH THE SCHOOL etc. Long story short, it's extremely intense, and also fun.
  
• If anyone else has played this, did you get some weird sound mixing stuff in the tutorial level? When I hear people speaking in a game I always think "okay, I've triggered a scripted event", and then quickly try to find out where it's taking place so I can see it. So, I'm walking around this military camp, and I hear these guys talking, and I can't find them. I run around everywhere trying to triangulate their position by moving and turning, and make sure my speakers are set up correctly, but as best as I could figure, the guys were inside a crate or something.
  

[Thrik]

Yeah, I heard about the porting issues so I opted for the 360 version — technologically it was quality in every way. I finished it last week and the only games I'd put above it in 2009 are Assassin's Creed 2 and Uncharted 2.

Don't expect the scripting up the arse to stop as it's like that all the way through, but then that's kind of what you expect from Call of Duty. However this does result in some pretty spectacular set pieces later on and the environments are mixed up so constantly it's probably the finest game of that type since Half-Life 2.

[Moelman]

Don't think I quite liked this one as much as Call of Duty 4, it was just too ridiculous. I certainly don't play these games for the story, but when it is billed as "the most realistic war experience" (or whatever), you'd think the events are at least somewhat plausible. And then it was way too short, I knew this going in from hearing about it from other people, but still I played on hardened and am not great at fps games like this so I die a lot, and it still didn't take very long at all, especially compared to CoD4 on hardened. But the gameplay is fantastic, haven't tried online mp yet but I've done some spec ops and those are great.

[miffy495]

Still not buying Activision, but I got this for Christmas, so I didn't have to break my code. I'm playing on PC as well, though not that often. It's installed to my laptop for gaming on the road and such, but that also means I don't play it much at home. Last level I finished was the one that ends with a rooftop run to a helicopter in (I think) Rio. I quite enjoyed what I played, but it is sort of overwrought. I can't help feeling all the best bits are just rehashes of CoD4 as well. For instance, the aforementioned helicopter jump was really exhilarating and crazy, but afterwards I started thinking about it and remembered that that was exactly how the first mission in CoD4 ended, but with a sinking ship instead of Rio. To the point where I think they may have been able to use the same "grabbing a rope ladder at the last possible second" animation they had in 2007. Still, as I said, exhilarating, so I can't complain that much.

So yeah, I'm enjoying it but I don't think I'd classify it as one of the best of the year. At the very least, glad I didn't pay the $60 (on PC!) myself.

[Thrik]

Haha Moelman, yes the story is definitely a bit far-fetched. I do like it though, in that how exactly certain things happen is questionable but the actual events themselves are extremely compelling to experience. I found it pretty interesting seeing roughly what the scenario presented in the game would be like, as I've never really seen it depicted before.

I think where you are now I didn't rate it that much beyond the original Modern Warfare miffy, but once I'd finished the game I definitely thought as an overall piece it's superior. Not only is the storytelling better IMO with more genuinely exciting set pieces, but the gameplay is more refined — albeit shorter — and didn't infuriate me as much with ridiculously unbalanced bottlenecks.

[Nevsky]

I've been completely sucked in to the multiplayer. I'm not even enjoying it, it's just tickling that deathmatch muscle that has lay dormant since I stopped playing Quake. And the XP / Level-up system makes it very compelling.

[JonCole]

I've been completely sucked in to the multiplayer. I'm not even enjoying it, it's just tickling that deathmatch muscle that has lay dormant since I stopped playing Quake. And the XP / Level-up system makes it very compelling.

Yes, this.

[Chris]

I played it on PC and didn't really have any issues with the port (other than obviously more multiplayer freedom would be nice) but I didn't think the single-player campaign was that good. It was scattered to the point of bewilderment, really inconsistent, and reused a lot of tricks that were surprising and clever in COD4 but more ineffective now.

[miffy495]

Yeah. The reusing tricks thing was what I was getting at with the helicopter example, and I don't get a feel for any of the characters yet. When No Russian happened, it was only the second time I'd been in the shoes of the character (can't even remember his name now) so I had not reason why he wouldn't be totally comfortable slaughtering all these people. I did it without thinking, mowing down anyone who crossed my path because I try to roleplay things like this and for all I know that's exactly what the character would have done.

This is still not to say the game is of low quality though. The moment to moment action is incredible and reason enough to keep me playing. As anything other than a string of setpieces though, it's bloody ridiculous. Asking me to care about anything going on is silly given the context they're giving me. I'm enjoying this game a lot, but in the same way I enjoy Serious Sam, not the same way I enjoyed CoD4 or Half Life. I gather they were going for the latter, so in that regard, it's an utter failure.

[Sombre]

I played multiplayer for a few hours and got an average ratio of 10 deaths to 1 kill. People are too good already.

[JonCole]

I played multiplayer for a few hours and got an average ratio of 10 deaths to 1 kill. People are too good already.

Well, this is where people would say that MW2 actually takes major steps of improvement. Paybacks, weapon xp, and the like all make is so even someone who isn't performing so well can gain XP and have a fighting chance.

For me, I had a similar problem until I found a weapon I liked. Thus, I stuck with the FAMAS and the UMP for the first 30 levels or so. Once I had the mechanics ropes in hand, I was a bit more experimental in my builds.

[James]

Yeah, the single player definitely didn't grip me quite as much as the original. It had a disjointed feel, and some of the shock moments did feel a bit gratuitous. What bothered me more, though, was the departure from reality, into what many have described as Tom Clancy territory. Not that the original was very real, but it was convincing enough for me to suspend my disbelief, and it made the big moments all the more effective. To be clear, I really liked the single player campaign; it's just that it didn't have the impact of the original, and didn't feel as important.

The multiplayer is great, too. I prestiged last week! I never bothered in the original. The extra custom class slot is what did it for me this time.

[brkl]

I haven't played the MW2 multiplayer (or single player), but I played CoD4 for a while when I had access to my brother's 360. I didn't exactly like it, but that deathmatch itch needed scratching. The multiplayer is heavily geared towards giving the people who have played a lot all the tools they need and more to trounce the people who haven't, and limiting new people's choices to defend themselves. The iron sights in the game are badly designed, so for a while you can't even see where you are shooting until you get new sights!

[gdf]

I thought the campaign was good, and there were some amazing moments, but it wasn't as smart, well-paced or relatively subtle as Call of Duty 4. It's almost entirely an entertainment game this time around, doing a Killzone or Uncharted and throwing a million things in your face a second. It's not as overblown or patronising as those two on a moment to moment basis, but I think the way they dealt with torture in this one was pretty symbolic of the change. It's something Soap employs in an almost casual manner, and when he was making those sparks with the rods beside the guy tied up in the chair, I swear he had a grin on his stupid face.

That Rio level, actually, represented both the best and worst of Call of Duty to me. The best in that: a) the action was intense throughout, never got entirely stupid and allowed some form of dynamism in more open areas and I accidentally shot a civilian who got caught in the crossfire and fell prey to my all too eager trigger finger. Awesome, horrible emergent moment there. It represented the worst because: a) there was extreme bottle-necking and gating in places a seeming glorification of violence in a very deprived area c) poor handling of a sensitive issue d) those guys springing out of the windows - come on Infinity Ward.

[JonCole]

I haven't played the MW2 multiplayer (or single player), but I played CoD4 for a while when I had access to my brother's 360. I didn't exactly like it, but that deathmatch itch needed scratching. The multiplayer is heavily geared towards giving the people who have played a lot all the tools they need and more to trounce the people who haven't, and limiting new people's choices to defend themselves. The iron sights in the game are badly designed, so for a while you can't even see where you are shooting until you get new sights!

I think that for the most part, you're right, but it sort of breaks down when you consider that some of the best players use starter weapons because they're most accustomed to them. In the case of COD4, the M4A1 and M40A3 were really excellent weapons. Similarly, some people just use the SCAR from the beginning of MW2 and will tear you up late game once they accrue all of the upgrades.

[brkl]

They have the upgrades though, which make a huge difference. And certainly saw tons of P90s when I was playing. Seemed to be effective, although of course I would never know.

[Vorlonesque]

My biggest gripe about MW2's gun/upgrade setup is the fact that my beloved AK47 unlocks at level 70. AND they tacticlol'd the thing all to hell making it look like a glorified M4.

I have found that the UMP45 isn't bad and the SCAR would be nice in hardcore modes (it doesn't have enough ammo to be worthwhile for me in non-HC modes)...except the modes I like to play in (DOM and CTF) don't have HC modes (DOM did back in CoD4...because servers could run whatever they wanted...now there are few if any HC-DOM servers (haha, hardcore domination) in CoD4 as people have moved to MW2 (there were very few of those servers to begin with)). I tried the Vector and liked it, but I find it eats ammo very quickly so I've mostly used the UMP45 (oddly IRL they both use the same ammo and would have similar ballistics...but the UMP does more damage...I assume for balance reasons). I am looking forward to the ACR unlocking after having used a few of those...they seem to be nicely effective.

[adammark]

I think you've gotta remember that Halo 3 was only available on Xbox 360, whereas COD-MW2 is a cross platform game(XB360,PS3 + PC). Considering that Halo 3 reached 170million on one console only is massive.

I think the next time we'll see this record go is with Modern Warfare 3, the Halo franchise proved you can go bigger and better with Halo2/Halo3 and I think Activision will already be rubbing their hands with glee.

[JonCole]

I have found that the UMP45 isn't bad and the SCAR would be nice in hardcore modes (it doesn't have enough ammo to be worthwhile for me in non-HC modes)...except the modes I like to play in (DOM and CTF) don't have HC modes (DOM did back in CoD4...because servers could run whatever they wanted...now there are few if any HC-DOM servers (haha, hardcore domination) in CoD4 as people have moved to MW2 (there were very few of those servers to begin with)). I tried the Vector and liked it, but I find it eats ammo very quickly so I've mostly used the UMP45 (oddly IRL they both use the same ammo and would have similar ballistics...but the UMP does more damage...I assume for balance reasons). I am looking forward to the ACR unlocking after having used a few of those...they seem to be nicely effective.

Maybe you should try using Scavenger sometime. I didn't really buy it (mostly in favor of Marathon and Sleight of Hand) for the longest time, but when I tried it I was absolutely sold. It makes it so you essentially never run out of ammo on your primary weapons (Scavenger+ grants extra mags), makes ammo-limited secondaries totally deadly (the AA-12, Thumper come to mind), and makes equipment refill like it's nobody's business (unlimited Claymores is beautiful, though you can only have two laid down at any given time).