Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Players: 1-18
Age Rating: Mature

The PS3 version is reviewed. Differences may exist with versions on other platforms.

I wonder, if accidentally, this game created a watershed moment in gaming.

People are confused about this game. Everyone knows about “that scene”, gamers or not. People wrestle with the internal conflict about that scene. Is it justified? What would I do, and why?

Modern Warfare 2 is possibly one of the first moments where legions of gamers are making an ethical choice. Other games have had these elements – SMT: Nocturne, a game I reviewed a while back, also has these choices. The Fable games, Jade Empire, Fallout, Demon’s Souls etc. – they all have these choices.

The difference with Modern Warfare 2 and other games is that while other games with these “ethics” system is that MW2 doesn’t lampoon us with game mechanics based around our choice. There’s no obvious “ok if I help this guy I’ll get Pure White WT and I won’t get my ass beat as much” – there is no hidden (or not so hidden) counter keeping tally.

It truly just asks us, as a player, what we would do if placed in this character’s shoes. No more, no less.

The simplicity of choice in the scene is overshadowed by the fact this was done by accident. Infinity Ward, developers of Modern Warfare 2, intended to shock the gamer in to hating the villain through the scene. From that perspective, it outright fails because the rest of the game is paced like rubbish. Full of holes and possessing less tension than Canada’s international affairs, it has no flow. There was too much emphasis on “setpieces” without actually realizing that the purpose of a setpiece is to provide framework, a landmark to build upon. As a result, that game feels like a collection of scenes, zipping along at a breakneck pace to hit all the points shown in the commercial.

That’s a pretty sad realization. A summary of the Modern Warfare 2 single-player experience is the commercial. That’s exactly how it feels.

You can see now why I say Modern Warfare 2 lacks “tension”. COD4 has tension by slowing it down, having moments where you just observe, moments to think. When you have no reference for a “slow” moment, how can you know how tension feels? It all feels too similar.

So, for all of its aspirations, the single-player campaign of Modern Warfare 2 is a mess. But, that one moment, which people still talk about, is a landmark, a moment where a game asks us not to act as gamers, but to act as people, setting aside what would be beneficial to us as gamers.

Modern Warfare 2 isn’t just a single player game though! As evidenced by the main menu, it is just a third of the experience. There is also Spec-Ops, and the dedicated Multiplayer suite. All of this is framed with the same core of the COD experience.

It’s an experience of rock solid gameplay mechanics, which haven’t really changed much from previous game. Aiming down the sights is still required, and it still feels snappy as ever. Personally, I feel as if on Normal difficulty the enemies go down a little faster, but there are simply waves of them. I don’t mean waves like in COD4, where the game would wait for you to cross checkpoints; I mean there are a ton of enemies, everywhere. I know a lot of people feel as if the game was easier, but personally, I think it’s a harder game because I feel more surrounded.

It looks nice and sounds furious. The score tries to inject a bit too much melodrama, trying to frame the action, but this isn’t Rez. I don’t rely solely on music to establish the action; I demand intelligent design as well!

Spec-Ops is brilliant. Playing it a few times with friends, it echoes COD4 game design. It has pacing; playing with a friend, you truly feel moments of desperation, running to save your partner, cover him while he makes a run for it. It’s intelligently designed to support two players, and this is why it was spun off into its own mode leaving the story single-player only. I know when I first heard news of no story co-op mode, I was disappointed, because Gears of War and its sequel have incredible co-op campaigns. But this works to. It’s so bite sized, and with the mechanics of CoD remain as strong as ever, it works for gameplay sessions of any length.

I never played the multiplayer game much in COD4, as the single player was actually good enough that I had my fill from that game. Modern Warfare 2 follows the same general path that made COD4 so revolutionary with its metagame. The basic system is the same; play in matches, gain experience (XP) to level up. Certain actions, like getting revenge (happens a lot for me) or getting killstreaks (not so much) will give you more XP. The system is augmented a bit by having deathstreaks; die a certain amount of times, and you can activate something similar to a killstreak to help you get back into the game. Things like greater health for a certain amount of time, or the ability to mimic your opponent’s class.

What’s great about this system is that even when you suck hard, like I do, there is still incentive to play. You still gain experience, even when you lose, and there is remarkable balance between giving you too much reward for your lack of ability to win and pushing you to do further. The constant reminder of how much XP is required to go to the next level, the smaller rewards, like getting a certain amount of kills under certain conditions, it all embraces the player just enough to encourage him to keep going. It’s a caring parent, one to foster your abilities even if you rank below Stevie Wonder worldwide.

Modern Warfare 2 is a game of the times. Game design these days encourages razor-sharp game mechanics that can lead to fully developed multiplayer suites, and Modern Warfare 2 nails this. It also has an incredibly weak single player campaign, frustrating for players like me who absolutely adored Infinity Ward’s common sense approach to COD4.

But I guess making multiplayer maps is easier than making single-player content for DLC!

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Ratings


Graphics: A Bold and brash, endlessly detailed.
Sound: A The music is a bit over-driven, but it’s fitting given the overblown nature of the campaign. Guns sound like guns.
Gameplay: A Snappy control, with enough “fuck yeah!” feedback to get you immersed.
Replayability: B The single player is rubbish, but the other components of the game – Spec-Ops and Multiplayer – can last you a very, very long time.

OVERALL: B+ A game of today, enjoyable today. Timeless like COD4? No.

Got to say the only issue with your very accurate statement of 'what would I do?' in the characters shoes is undermined by the fact his only REAL options if he wants to progress is walk through and kill civilians or walk through and don't. Fail states exist for trying to kill the terrorists, you can't refuse the mission, say to your general 'I don't think I can do this' and have him send someone else (though that would have been a cool way to cut the scene but still have events unfold).

But a nice review. (don't ask me for a grammar reading though, dyslexic fool I am).

See, the thing is, I didn't expect Modern Warfare 2 to give me absolute freedom, which is what people have contention with. I accepted that I had a role, and I had to play that role, as the game tries to establish prior to the scene. People wanted a full suite of options, but the game establishes that this is your required role - how you perform is up to you, but don't overstep the role. Does failing the mission feel like a cop-out? Yes, and I would have liked more flexibility, that's not what really got me. What impressed me is that the gamers actions towards the civilians was driven by the ethical perspective of the player. Killing Makarov is a "gamer" solution; kill the bad guy. If you were to kill Markarov in real life, can you imagine how fucked you'd be? You may have killed one guy, but not the rest of his army!

I think in real life I would never have got past the police. Plus I don't think dyeing before the end of the level would have made much difference. I have argued much the same as you. I have no trouble with the idea of a scripted experience, but the choice here I don't even see. I gunned them down unfazed. They weren't real. Could I ever even hit someone without them first; 1 - hitting a girl, 2- hitting something smaller, 3- hitting me, no.

Lets face it, we have all shot Alex Vance in the face. That was a moral choice to.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I know that I didn't shoot anyone - I actually shot at empty areas with no civilians to make it looks like I was playing the part That's what makes this scene interesting to me - how people decided to go about it beyond the "I did/did not shoot them".

True that. I find many things in games emotionally effecting, don't get me wrong there, but for me generally unless the designers add character, they are just pixels.

Or maybe Im just a sociopath.

I shot the hell outta everyone in that airport, especially the bore SOB's crawling for their lives. Come on guys its a video game, have some fun! As for the whole game I thoroughly enjoyed it, the main story was WAY to short but pretty action packed. I really enjoy online but god damn campers are EVERYWHERE.

And you're joining the Marine Corps, right?

...I think I'mma quietly move to Europe. I know enough of French to buy eggs and bread, I can make it...

Well, me and Cas were thinking of having another little 'un.... the spare bedroom ain't doing anything.... and at least this was we don't have to have all the sleepless baby nights again....

I really wouldn't have that much of a problem gunning down people in a game. Amazingly, I'm one of those bipolar gamers. Outside of the game, I'm actually quite nice and friendly, if a little cynical and sarcastic.

Inside most games, I'm a complete psychopath, guns blazing. Outnumbered, but never outgunned is the phrase that springs to mind. Which probably explains my complete inability to do stealth games at all. Personally, I'd be running through the airport, gunning people down left, right, and centre. I'd probably be cackling like the guy in Home Alone (I'm gonna give you to the count of 10 to get your lying, double crossing, no-good keester off my property, before I pump your guts full of lead).

I aim for the throat.

I double tap.

But that's just me.

To me, MW2 looks like a generic shooter, just set in a modernish setting, with some shitstorm surrounding one of the levels. There's nothing really there that makes me jump up and go HOLY SHIT, I MUST HAVE THIS GAME, like Killzone 2 did, but then, there's nothing to really turn me off from it, other than previous bad experiences with other COD games.