Oscar Mike- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review

When franchises offer an annual iteration for five consecutive years, stagnancy is a near inevitability.  Few series can offer a continual improvement in gameplay, graphical richness, and depth over extended durations. While the Infinity Ward team has had the advantage of a two year development cycle (with Treyarch filling during even number years), many have approached Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with a sneaking suspicion that the franchise may be on the wane.

A quick expedition into Modern Warfare 2’s new Special Ops mode would contradict any doubts with the title. While Activision stated that the stages would be heavily influenced by the ‘Mile High’ epilogue in Call of Duty 4, in execution these new scenarios are vastly superior, and offer some of the most visceral FPS action in recent memory. Each of Special Op’s 23 mission can be enjoyed either by a single player or as a tango killing duo, either locally or online. The amount of tasks is impressive- some variations have players defending a territory from waves of enemy attacks, others have player slaughtering a specific number of foes. The game’s Time Escort deviation requires vigilant collaboration as one player flies a C-130, eliminating forces for the second, ground-based player.

One of my favorite stages was Sniper Fi- which gives gamers an elevated position, a Barrett .50, a handful of SMGs and claymores, and a few Predator missiles. Players have a few seconds to place the antipersonnel mines in defense positions, before a cascade of ill-equipped enemies pepper the protagonists with gunfire. Using the advanced arsenal against foes is pure, unabashed war porn that will have FPS aficionados feeling euphoric. Most of these levels are expertly designed and offer enough playful mayhem to support multiple playthroughs.

Impressively, Modern Warfare 2’s single player game also has its share of visceral intensity. Although woefully short (the whole campaign can be completed in five hours on the game’s Regular setting, seven hours on Hardened), the pacing is deftly relentless, rarely giving players a chance to catch their breath.  Players move around the globe with the velocity of a James Bond film, as they eliminate hostiles in icy Kazakhstan, the labyrinthine favelas of Brazil, and on the home front in Washington D.C. Atypical of the genre, enemies are positioned in a variety of vertical positions- from guard towers and rooftops, requiring players to move with meticulous precision. Modern Warfare 2’s tension is also elevated by the aggressiveness of the enemy AI, which attacks players with a relentless fervor. The top difficultly levels can present an unrelenting and disorienting hail of gunfire against players, which is compounded by a screen-obscuring effect to represent damage to the player.

Building upon the already robust multiplayer framework that catapulted the first Modern Warfare and sequel World at War to success, the series continues to be one of the best competitive FPSs around. With fifteen new maps and two additional game types, there’s enough novelty to warrant Modern Warfare 2’s purchase, even for franchise veterans. Experience points, rank progression, and perks all make a welcome return, while new elements like customizable Kill Streaks, Death Streaks and custom ranks and call signs offer a dose of innovation. It’s a testament to MW2’s finesse and refinement that competitions rarely feel unfair; the title’s masterful balance is a product of a protracted evolution and a team dedicated exclusively to the game’s multiplayer component. 

Infinity Ward has skillfully tweaked their existing graphical engine to offer a nearly unhindered amount of visual splendor. The title’s 60 fps framerate is constant during the most furious firefights, and maintains its fluidity during successions of on-screen explosions. One of Modern Warfare 2’s most potent elements is its animation system; from the motion capture of ‘Soap’ MacTavish tackles, to the subtle movements of dying hostiles, the game feels incredibly dynamic and vivacious. Credit must also be given to Hans Zimmer’s brilliant score, which elevates the proceedings beyond the conventional military snare accompaniment.