Let's get down to the facts: Modern Warfare 2 is the most-anticipated game of all time. This is not hyperbole, but an empirical fact, exemplified by the fact that it became the most pre-ordered game in GameStop's history as well as shattering just about every video game sales record there is. The game is so big that it has transcended the Call of Duty brand that birthed it (used purely as a marketing tool for the uneducated) to become its own monster. At the end of the day, Infinity Ward's money-printing blockbuster lives up to the hype, besting its predecessors in just about every facet of the game.
Right when you turn it on, you notice that Modern Warfare 2 has gotten a much cleaner tweak to its presentation, and the main menu appropriately splits into three distinct choices that reflect the three separate pillars of the game: Campaign, Special Ops, and Multiplayer. In accordance with this approach, my review will similarly be broken into those same three sections.
CAMPAIGN
Though ignored by many addicted to the genre-defining multiplayer, it is actually the campaign mode that made Call of Duty famous in the pre-Modern Warfare days. Infinity Ward created their first fictitious, non-historically-based campaign in Call of Duty 4 and the result was one of the best single player experiences in gaming. Likewise, i-dub had huge expectations for the follow-up (and their first direct narrative sequel), but the final product is without a doubt the weakest of the three pillars.
That is not to say that it is bad, because the campaign mode is anything but. It starts off a little bit slow but quickly evolves into a very fast and frenzied experience. Pacing is good and the difficulty and length of the levels is just right, including the signature Veteran difficulty mode. Each level offers its own unique twist to the overall game design and individually, each level is loads of fun and an incredible thrill ride from start to finish. Where the campaign suffers is in its incohisiveness. While the levels themselves are fun to play, from a narrative standpoint they make absolutely no sense.
The story is mostly conveyed through detached conversations on loading screens, but unless you read the Wikipedia plot summary you still won't be able to understand what the hell is going on. After you do figure it out (again, only thanks to Wikipedia), you realize that the muddled story is acceptable at best as it gets lost in its own plot twists and fails to ever develop any real sense of tension or urgency. It just all feels so fake and doesn't carry the realistic, this-could-actually-happen weight that Call of Duty 4's story had, not to mention the fact that it lacks a proper conclusion. All in all, the campaign is assuredly fun, but a poor example of video game narrative.
SPECIAL OPS
Special Operations (or Spec Ops) is the newbie in this trifecta of cool, but is a very welcome new addition to the formula. In essence, Spec Ops is a sort of challenge mode that blends the Campaign and Multiplayer sections. Spec Ops truly shines when played with another player in two player co-op, either online or on the couch, with some levels even splitting to two players into completely different, complimentary roles, such as having one player gun their way to an extraction point while the second lays down support fire from an AC-130 gunship. These levels all stand alone as mini-missions with no storyline to tie them together and just give you one goal that you need to accomplish in about 5 minutes, sans checkpoints.
Each mission has a certain amount of stars you can earn, based either on the difficulty you play on (Regular, Hardened, or Veteran) or, in some cases, meeting certain criteria (such as getting faster times on a snowmobile time trial). Missions are then grouped into packages of 5 missions, with only the "Alpha" group being available from the outset and the rest unlocking as you earn more and more stars. There are also many Achievements tied to this progression, and the short-but-sweet nature of the missions keeps you coming back to get those extra stars on the harder difficulties. Thanks to being a pure gameplay assortment, the missions all offer their own objectives and the variety is astounding, despite reusing many locales from the campaign. Flying solo on Spec Ops is okay, but played co-op, it becomes fantastic.
MULTIPLAYER
And here is perhaps the most important of the three pillars, at least in how it relates to the proportion of time spent playing this game. The still-industry-leading multiplayer from Call of Duty 4 is back, but improved in almost every conceivable way. The graphics have been given an upgrade and the beautiful levels are a sublime assortment, with only a couple duds and many that truly shine. This is by far the best assortment of levels in any of the Call of Duty games.
Loadouts have also been given a boost with the expansion of the gun roster and available attachments, as well as the explosion of the secondary weapon category to include many, many more options. A bunch of new perks have been added, as well as a whole slew of "equipment" in place of frag grenades, which are merely one option in that category. In addition, there is now a whole assortment of Killstreak Rewards to unlock with various streak requirements, letting you select any 3 to go into battle with. Deathstreaks have now also been added to give struggling players a boost when a match frustratingly doesn't go their way. As a little bonus, Infinity Ward has also created a system of "emblems" and "titles" to affix to your gamertag, rewarded based on the way you like to play the game.
The revolutionary experience system is also back, this time going all the way up to level 70, plus once again ten levels of "prestige". It has been tweaked somewhat, however, as most experience points have been multiplied by a factor of ten. There is also noticeably more experience required to actually level up, but this is balanced by a whole slew of new challenges, including many challenges that go far beyond just 3 tiers and into the 6 or 7 tier range. A host migration system has also been added to prevent matches from just ending when the host drops out or when they are really laggy.
Perhaps the only knock against the multiplayer is Infinity Ward's complete ignorance of the beneficial little tweaks Treyarch introduced in World at War. For example, you can't break down leaderboards by playlist to see how you rank against your friends in a particular mode. There are also no vehicles (though many would argue that's a good thing) and destroying enemy Killstreak Rewards doesn't give a boost to your team (although it does net you a little extra XP). These are extremely minor quibbles, however, and the multiplayer package in Modern Warfare 2 is leaps and bounds beyond anything in the market, including Halo and Call of Duty 4. This game is peerless in the multiplayer department, and that fact will show as numbers start coming out about the number of its players on Xbox LIVE as well as the sure-to-break-records map packs that will come in 2010.
CONCLUSION
Modern Warfare 2 is exactly what you'd expect it to be. It's Call of Duty 4, but improved in just about every aspect. The multiplayer alone is a tremendous value, the campaign is fun and does its job, and Spec Ops is an unexpected though very welcome new addition to the family. It is by no means flawless, but it is still everything you (and Activision) want it to be: the biggest blockbuster in the history of video games. Period.
Overall Grade: A+
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