It’s official. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has set the record for the largest media release of all time. The game has brought in $550 million (selling no less than 4.7 million units in the first 24-hours in the US and UK alone) within its first week of release, easily eclipsing previous record holder, Grand Theft Auto IV by a pretty big margin. A comparison with Hollywood isn’t even fair, with the game having a $200-odd million lead against anything the movie business can throw at it. Insane sales numbers aside, the game returns on the X360, PS3 and PC, while a ‘reflex’ edition sees Modern Warfare making a much-awaited (one can only assume) debut on the Nintendo Wii. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to play it as yet. In fact, I’ve only had the chance to let loose on the PC and PS3 versions (Infinity Ward almost denies their existence — just take a look at every single promo or gameplay video of the game), with majority of my time spent playing the single player campaign. I did manage to spend some time with the game’s co-op segment, titled ‘Special Operations’, so you will find a few thoughts on it as well.
One can argue that the Call of Duty series (well, Modern Warfare, at least) is all about the multiplayer — the leveling-up system, the class system, the perks and the killstreak rewards. This is true to a large extent, and that’s precisely why I have chosen to evaluate the game’s multiplayer separately, with it’s own dedicated (PC gamers might get the pseudo-pun) review. Anyway, fact of the matter is, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had one of the most (arguably the most) memorable single player campaigns in recent memory. Some of the missions were simply spectacular — the sniper mission where you play as Captain Price (who is not dead, by the way) The middle-eastern encounters felt real, while the SAS missions set in Russia took FPS gaming to places it had not been before (the AC-130 section, for
example), and some of the non-interactive sections (shown entirely from a first-person perspective, in what has become a CoD trademark) gave you an unparalleled feeling of immersion. While Infinity Ward chose not to take an entirely story-driven approach, there was enough of a plot-element in the background that explained why you were repeatedly gunning down respawning enemies. I think that’s enough of a build-up, and it’s pretty obvious that the first game set a pretty high standard for all future FPS games. So, the $550 million question is, does Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 live up to the standards (in this particular case, single player standards) set by it’s predecessor?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
By no means is Modern Warfare 2 a poor game. It’s probably one of the best FPS titles we have had all year. I think that says it all. In 2007, there wasn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind what the best shooter of the year was. Halo 3 was great, but CoD4 was phenomenal. I think in an attempt to better CoD4 in ‘every conceivable way’, Infinity Ward went a little too ‘balls-out’, I’m afraid. The shooting is still fun, there are plenty of new weapons, Captain Price is back, and the graphics engine has received some plastic surgery, but there’s absolutely nothing new here. There are a few levels that are interesting, with most of these either involving Captain Price, snow or mountaineering (go figure).
The much-hyped snowmobile section didn’t have the same appeal as it did the first time I saw it (the gameplay blowout and trailers had more spoilers than anything else), while weapon attachments such as the heartbeat sensor in the same level was nothing more than a novelty as well. The total number of weapons and weapon attachments have been increased considerably,
offering a variety of new options to mix-and-match — the thermal scope should offer an effective anti-smoke grenade option in the multiplayer.
Gameplay additions include a ‘breach and clear’ sections (like the ones you see in Rainbow Six: Vegas — only in slow-mo) and an open-ended element to the game’s levels. The breach-and-clear sections are alright (but pale in comparison to R6Vegas), while the open-ended system is let down by some pretty lame friendly AI, which let enemies flank your position all too easily, while equipping long-range assault rifles for CQC situations that warrant the use of nothing more than a combat knife. The fact that you still can’t open doors (in 2009, no less) doesn’t help
either. The story is told through cutscenes which double-up as loading screens, but its pacing is uneven, while the story itself is dumb, self-indulgent and highly implausible. The game also features the notorious ‘No Russian’ mission that sees you playing as a terrorist (the game gives you the option of not playing this mission without telling you what it is), but since the game clearly gives you, the adult player, a choice between killing and not killing innocent civilians, I don’t see what the problem is. I might not be the biggest fan of the campaign overall, but the ‘No Russian’ mission is a step ahead for interactive storytelling, even if I find the circumstances leading to it, and its outcome to be less-than-plausible.
Verdict
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s single player campaign has nothing new or original to offer. At it’s current price point ($60 on steam for PC, 3,499 for PS3 and X360), it’s definitely not worth picking up solely for a single player experience. Special Operations offers an interesting twist to the existing formula, but you will be playing and re-playing a lot of the same campaign sections in it.
— videep@gmail.com