Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

By Mike Bantick
Monday, 16 November 2009 15:07

Entertainment

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has broken entertainment opening day records, selling through the roof and raking in the moolah for developer Infinity Ward and publisher Activision.  In doing a follow up game to the excellent original, Infinity Ward had a chance to tell a sophisticated mature tale, instead, while the action is intense, the premise is paper thin.

The original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was a tension filled adventure that tapped not only into competitive and survival skills, but also at an emotional level.  The much mentioned AC-130 Gunship scene where the player is in no danger, and must destroy targets, in the form of human shaped heat signatures on the ground, with the detached, robotic-like voice over from the pilot urging you on.  It was this moment, more than any that defined the Modern Warfare experience over that of other shooter games.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
	Developer	Infinity Ward
	Publisher	Activision
	Rating	MA 15+
PC, Xbox 360, Reviewed on PS3

The original Modern Warfare was always going to be a tough foundation of expectations for Infinity Ward to build upon with this sequel, and I will begin this review with an apology to the developers, after my first hour or so with the game I was very much in the so-so camp of COD enthusiasts, mainly from disappointment with the games writing.

Beware, there may be some slight spoilers along the way here, but some of the decisions around the story driving MW2 are worth discussing. 

In particular the now infamous, yet core mission as an undercover CIA agent secreted in a Russian terrorist cell.  The mission involves, walking slowly and determinedly through a crowded airport, mowing down scores of unarmed civilians, and then fight a hapless security team followed by tougher security forces.  Whilst the mission is harrowing (it can be skipped, by a request given to the player at the start of the game, but I doubt any of the games owners would do so) and is meant to convey just how bad the games baddie is, it also is pivotal to the battles to come.

The fact that you are forced to kill innocents, as a terrorist has raised the ire of many, but contextually it fits within the games storyline.  And, the truth is, you can traverse the entire mission without firing a shot, as I did the first play through.  As a further matter of fact, whilst ‘my gang’ fought it out with the authorities, I was able to hide in a corner, put down the controller and wander off for a wee and to brush my teeth.  By the time I got back, it was time to advance further along.

It is certainly a harrowing mission, one that Infinity Ward do a great job of not going over the top on, for example, there are no elderly or children amongst the victims, and, in what is most likely a deliberate act, the airport mission is the most ‘game like’ graphically in the entire game, certainly not on par with the rest of the single player experience.

That mission coupled with an early skidoo driving section did not sit right with me as a COD fan, I wanted more.  Luckily, a small amount of perseverance (the single player campaign is not the longest on record) results in a fulfilling romp that should really be treated for what it is, a mixture of Tom Clancy and Matthew Reilly novel brought into digital life.  Despite the serious setting, the infamous terrorist play and the subsequent story, the game should be treated as a series of action flick missions.


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