Modern Warfare® 2 Review. Perfecting the First Person Shooter Genre

Call of Duty has finally gotten that jolt of energy that evaded it for quite a while since it tried to transition from the WW2 genre. With modern weapons, an immersive storyline, and a powerful game-dev engine to bring the landscapes from Azerbaijan to Mogadishu to brilliant life, Modern Warfare stands out amongst its peers.

Graphics: 5.0

At 60fps constant, the graphics are among the best of any COD. The characters and weapons are superbly modeled, and their response to input pushes the game to a whole new level. The graphics capture some gameplay mechanics quite accurately. You will be impressed by some of the action sequences and the mastered environments, particularly the abandoned Pripyat Square in Ukraine, which appears in one of the levels.

Gameplay: 5.0

A rogue leader has assassinated the president of an unnamed oil-rich country in the Middle East in 2011. Meanwhile, civil war breaks out in Russia as anti-government militants seek to restore the nation to its Great Power status. These preceding events prompt the US to invade the small Arab country. A nuclear plot is weaved into the storyline when it is discovered that a warhead is being transported by a Russian cargo ship.

For the single-player campaign, you play in a linear progressive mode mostly as a British SAS commando or an American marine, with a total of 6 characters throughout the game. The enemy AI is quite intelligent and tactical in this instalment, therefore you can’t simply fight by taking cover. Some missions will let you control gunships and turrets, or even a high-altitude bomber, and you can also play a sniper mission. Completing the single-player campaign unlocks the Arcade mode which gets you to kill points for every enemy you take down. Multiplayer features a multitude of game types, having different maps and mission objectives such as hardcore, sudden death, old school and prestige modes.   

Controls: 5.0

The real physics in the controls are superb, and the shooting is some of the best of any FPS ever. You can toss back enemy grenades, switch weapons, shoot, and conveniently zoom into action as a sniper easily. On-screen prompts make controls much easier, and an icon can pop up letting you know when to call in a chopper swoop. Occasionally, making a run for it when you had been crouching initially might be difficult, but you’ll get used to it.

Replay Value: 5.0

The single-player mode takes about 6 hours to beat, and after this, you’ll probably play the arcade mode or up the difficulty. The fighting in Modern Warfare is intense, and you carefully need to strategize before you make your advance to boost your XP points. A lot of the tasks are varied, from sniper missions to gunship operations, and you can unlock new weapons as you go. There’s no getting bored. Multiplayer is the best, with 16 maps, ranked matches, and different mission modes.

Conclusion

Modern Warfare is one of the best versions of COD developed to date, and the only reason you’ll take a break from this game is due to your hands tiring from all the game. You have a wide array of engaging options to choose from in both single player and multiplayer modes, and your gaming progression is also quite visible with all the perks that you earn as you play the game.