Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review
- Posted November 16th, 2009 at 11:11 EDT by Mike Harradence
- 68 Comments
Review Score
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- PSU Review Score
- 9.5
- Avg. user review score:
- 7.6
Summary
Modern Warfare 2 is an essential purchase regardless of your affiliation with the Call of Duty brand. In short, buy this game now. That is an order, soldier.
We like
- The stunning visuals
- The gripping narrative and action-packed campaign
- The utterly brilliant Special Ops and Multiplayer modes
We dislike
- The fact the main campaign mode is over too quickly
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
(continued from previous page) ...a gold star, which are in turn utilized to unlock further mission sets.
What’s more, the game rewards hardship, with additional stars unlocked if you’re able to crack the higher difficulties or plow through your objectives in record time. Teaming up with a mate is the best way to go, though, and the sense of accomplishment is practically overwhelming when you successfully coordinate your efforts with your partner and subvert the enemy’s plans (one of our favourite was assisting our ground-bound friend by unleashing terror from above in the mighty AC-130 gunship). Ironically enough, however, it’s the fact that Special Ops proved such a competent affair that we felt disappointed at the lack of a genuine co-op campaign, as you realize just how great it could have been. Still, fingers crossed for Modern Warfare 3, eh? Speaking of the campaign, it’s woefully short, though it remains such a challenging, action-packed affair that you’ll want to plough through it multiple times over, especially on the higher difficulties. Enemy laptops containing varous intelligence also make a return, affording ample replay value if you are to unlock all the hidden goodies on offer.
Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer component remains as compelling and horrendously addictive as past iterations, albeit this time with a few new twists. Your basic game modes remain in tact, whether it’s the mammoth kill spree of Free For All or the strategic-based operations of Capture the Flag. We were chuffed to bits, however, that Infinity Ward saw fit to tweak certain parameters, such as the fact matches no longer unceremoniously crash to a halt if the host ups and leaves. Perks once again form the nucleus of online play, encouraging copious amounts of playtime in order to rack up experience points and bolster your character with bonus items and weapons. Fresh ideas this time around include the ability to play in third-person mode under certain conditions, heaps of new weapons and equipment, along with over a dozen new kill streak awards (predator strikes, calling in air support among others) Don’t get us wrong; while the campaign and Special Ops will provide hours worth of enjoyment, it’s ultimately the multiplayer that’ll eat up most of your time and ensure the game remains firmly embedded in your PS3 well in to 2010. In short, it’s one of the most compelling, rewarding online experiences you’ll indulge in this year. Indeed, we spent virtually an entire weekend playing the game, and have only just scratched the surface.
Infinity Ward’s impeccable coding also extends to Modern Warfare 2’s visuals and sound effects, with the scope of detail injected in to the game’s battlefields nothing short of impressive. Explosions kick up clouds of dust obscuring your view, wrecked cars lie burning in the street, and crumbling buildings hang precariously on their foundations as the roar of gunfire and vociferous radio chatter fills the air as you press forward the assault. As with the original Modern Warfare, voice acting is also top notch and remains a consistent affair throughout, particularly Captain Price and Soap, voiced by Billy Murray and Kevin McKidd, respectively. Meanwhile, Hans Zimmerman’s pulse-pounding score is the perfect stable mate for your adrenaline-filled antics, injecting everything from heart-thumping intensity to gut-wrenching poignancy in accordance to what’s transpiring on screen.
As a sequel, Modern Warfare 2 is more than a worthy successor to its critically acclaimed predecessor. Viewed as a standalone effort, it’s probably one of the most accomplished video games we’ve dissected in years, and one of the most beautiful to boot. Whether it’s the gripping campaign, pulse-pounding multiplayer or immensely rewarding Special Ops, Modern Warfare 2 is an essential purchase regardless of your affiliation with the Call of Duty brand. In short, buy this game now – and that’s an order, soldier.
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Comments
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edward_moffet
- 6:33am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 5
I'd give it a high 8. Though there are some great set pieces in the single player IW did a poor job of fleshing the story out and explaining the antagonists motives, Also some of these moments could have been done better (like the helicopter crash in DC where it's basically just a spinning camera). I'm not saying it's bad but it lacks the depth necessary to meet the monumental hype. The MP is as good as ever though, and i love the dual wielding. And while the SP campaign is absolutely not what it could have been those set piece moments were awesome.
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tristan88888888
- 7:15am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 7
got it last night. have yet to play it. tonight is the night. i was beginning to buy in to all the hate so i decided i needed to get it so i dont miss a great experience just because of other people on the internet.
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Acid-Hippie2007
- 7:27am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 9
I just beat MW2 yesterday and started over on veteran, man talk about a good game !!!
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darthrazorback
- 8:08am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 11
The game is very well produced and it is good to see them not just toss in the same type of level every time. However, the campaign always has me feeling like I am following a strict script and that has not changed AT ALL from COD4, and therefor I get pulled out of the story most of the time. Where this game shines is in the two multiplayer modes... provided no one is cheating. I give it an 8.0 for production, multiplayer, but losing points for the lacking singleplayer campaign.
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rycexboi
- 8:16am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 13
Just got done with the campaign, it's a good game for a multiplat. Didn't really like how the screen would turn all red and your aiming being thrown off when shot. It made it really had to take care of the enemy that shot you and hard to find out where you got shot because of all the redness. Overall quality of the game decent for a multiplat, but felt like they rushed this more compared to the first one.
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Bazookajoe_83
- 9:42am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 16
The campaign is ok, short but pretty deacent. The mp is where the money is. So if u play mp games this is a must buy. If youre interested in the single player rent it.
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lordAlucard |
sympozium_666- 10:21am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 18
Automatic 7 Call of Duty is just overated, if anyone wanted to play a real modern warfare then Bad Company is just about right!!
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Rengaw
- 10:31am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 19
I still have yet to buy another COD game as the last one i bought was COD3 for my XB360, I prefer the PS3 Battlefield series as it has more freedom like open sandbox style of play, 1943 Pacific is great and i'm looking forward to BC2, COD feels too linar to me but it does have good graphics, i played the COD WAW demo and it felt too repetitive with soldiers constantly respawning, in Battlefield when you kill the enemy they stay dead.
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MysticStrummer
- 10:38am EST - November 16th, 2009
- 20
It almost seems like it should be illegal for the words "Modern Warfare" to appear anywhere in connection with this game, much less the title. This game is an 8.5 at best. Less than five hours to complete the story... pathetic. They might as well go for full on target lock with the DS3's L1 button. I played the first few levels at a friend's house and I'm so glad I didn't buy this piece of good looking mediocrity. For my money, the only worthwhile thing here is the co-op. If MW2 was a PS3 exclusive, there would be thousands of articles online by now complaining about the short story, lack of innovation, and mindless online play. I'll pass and play Borderlands, an FPS with some creativity, and Demon's Souls, an action RPG with old school challenge and innovative online component. F*** IW and Activision.
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