The Only Easy Day was Yesterday

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

The end of Fall has always been one of my favorite times of year. The air outside is a little bit cooler than the usual 100+ degrees that we are used to, Christmas decorations start going up, and oh yeah, the holiday game rush starts! After coming of a particularly nasty Summer game drought this year, we have one heck of a holiday line up ahead of us.

And of course, leading that charge is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Without a doubt, this is one of the biggest game releases of all time, shattering previous day one sales records and presale records. However, all of this is for good reason. The first Modern Warfare was a triumphant return for original series developer, Infinity Ward, seeing as how they were shoved off the development for the third game in the Call of Duty series. With the first Modern Warfare setting the bar so high, can the sequel stack up?

The single player campaign was my first stop after putting the game in my Xbox (the game is also available on PS3 and PC). To me, the CoD franchise has always been one of the shining examples of how to make a cinematic first person shooter and I do have to say that this game does not disappoint in that regard.

The story is pretty cut and dry here, folks. War has once again broken out in our oh so stable world and you get plopped in the shoes of either an Army Ranger or a memeber of an elite special task force, dependent on which mission you play. The story is honestly something you are going to find in almost every Tom Clancy novel, so expect a lot of intrigue and double/triple crosses. What sets this game apart are the set pieces. For the first time in Call of Duty history, you are fighting on American soil, and let me tell you, it is almost terrifying seeing this, given the current political climate.

One thing I do have to touch on about the story is probably one of the most controversial moments in a video game to date. Without giving too much of the plot away, you are put in the shoes of an undercover operative trying to get next to a terrorist leader. Of course, this means you’ll have to do some things that might go against your moral compass. One of these things happens to be a terrorist attack on an airport lobby. Now many people have already cried how tasteless this sounds, but I have to be honest, it is very well executed and it give gravity to the rest of the game. Now Activision does give you the option to skip this scene, as it is brutally violent and disturbing, but I think it actually makes sense in the narrative and helps put you in that characters shoes. I actually felt horrible doing this, which to actually make me feel bad for my actions in a video game is quite a feat. Infinity Ward made a ballsy move in doing this, and I honestly believed it paid off from a narrative standpoint.

However, the campaign is just short of being perfect. One of the main gripes I have is the lack of a defining “Holy Shit!” moment. Don’t get me wrong, this game is more action packed than most summer blockbusters, but there is not one defining moment. Not only that, the campaign is quite short. I finished the story on Regular difficulty in about 4 hrs.

The next mode that I tried out was the new Special Ops mode. Basically, this gives you bite sized chunks of action that you can either play solo or with a friend. The missions range anywhere from defending a spot to hunting down militia. I adore this mode because sometimes I want to jump right in and pop some terrorists without having to sit through an entire multiplayer match or watch any of the main narrative. There is also a lot of replay built in here, with time leaderboards and different difficulty levels to conquer, Spec Ops witll get play for years to come with the possiblity of DLC.

Now the most popular feature of the game is of course the multiplayer. The first Modern Warfare is one of the few games to keep the Halo juggernaut off of the top played XBL game spot for a consistent ammount of time and I see the sequel keeping this tradition alive. The general gameplay hasn’t changed that much, but that is a good thing, seeing that the first game was such a fine tuned experience. Instead they just added more to an already winning formula. New weapons, titles, and the ability to customize your killstreak awards means that you have a lot to try to unlock. Matchmaking is fast and easy, just tell the game what gametype you want to play and in less than two minnutes, you are right in the action. Another new feature I find innovative is the death streak rewards. These help some of the newer or less adept players by giving them perks that the other players will not have. Overall, the multiplayer remains addictive and fun, which was really no surprise. This will be the game people will be playing until the next Call of Duty comes out.

This game is stunning in every sense of the word. The visuals have improved over the first Modern Warfare, which is a feat in and of itself. The smoke and fire effects are so realistic, you’d swear you were right there on the battlefield. Call of Duty has always been known for its excellent sound design and this one lives up to that prestige. The rattle of almost constant gunfire and booming explosions will definately give your sound system a workout and probably piss of your neighbors.

Overall, Modern Warfare 2 is the complete package. Whether you have a fear of playing with other people or won’t even touch the single player campaign, there is something for everyone here. You will not be disappointed with your purchase of this game.