Modern Warfare 2 was one of the biggest releases in 2009 and one of the most anticipated games in recent history. Building on its predecessor, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, this game continued with the present day setting and some characters remained in the game from the last one. The game focuses on two groups Task Force 141 consisting of Soap from the first game and Roach, the character you play as, as well as some others. The other group is Sgt Foley’s US Army Ranger squad, you play as Pvt James Ramirez when the story shifts to this group.
Like the first game the focus shifts from group to group allowing for tons of different environments from snowy terrains to deserts and more. The story is pretty intricate but isn’t too hard to follow, for spoiler’s sake I won’t go into the story very much.
The gameplay has definitely been made more fast paced as there are many chase sequences and parts where you slide downhill to make the game more like an action movie. In this respect the game does a great job of making you feel like you are playing an action movie and that is a cool feature that hasn’t been done this well in games in the past. The storytelling element is great and is a leap forward for games in the shooter genre.
There is a wide variety of weapons in the game and it is fun to see what kind of havoc you can wreak on the enemy with different weapons. Flash bang grenades are very useful for room clearing and grenade launchers on machine guns pack a nice punch. There are also sniper rifles, pistols, shotguns, and RPG’s. You can dual wield certain weapons, like the Glock 18, and this allows for more firepower but less accuracy.
One level that garnered a lot of attention before release was the “No Russian” level where a terrorist attack on an airport is portrayed. The level is disturbing but the option to skip it is there with no negative consequences to the player. While disturbing the level is important to the story and not put in just for a shock so I believe that it is a natural step forward in storytelling in games. An R rated movie with a scene like this wouldn’t be a shocker so an M rated game with a level like this really shouldn’t be that much of a problem.
The graphics are nice and polished and there are very few clipping problems or other things like that. The visual design is great incorporating all kinds of 
environments and all of them rendered beautifully. The weapons and equipment look fantastic and the sound design is good but not great, Bad Company 2 does a much better job capturing the sounds of the weapons in game. But even though the sound isn’t as good as Bad Company it is still very good.
There are some gameplay issues like M203 grenades that just don’t explode and grenades that roll way too much downhill, I appreciate the effort to make the grenades rolling on a slopped surface but it was taken a little too far at times. The single player game will take about 8-10 hours to complete, more if you are on a high difficulty level.
There are some other modes besides the story that will keep you entertained; special operations (or spec ops) are missions that take place in the locales from the game but are special objective-based side quests. There are 5 levels of spec ops missions and in order to unlock the next level you need to get a certain number of stars, you get more stars for the higher difficulty level that you complete a spec op on. Some operations need 2 players but most can be completed solo. All of these can be completed with a friend online.
The multiplayer is some of the best that the industry has to offer, there are a variety of modes but nothing too far out of the ordinary; capturing territories, team deathmatch, free-for-alls, and the like. You can create custom classes that you can outfit with different weapons and equipment that you receive for leveling up. You can also personalize your kill and death streaks, allowing you to have certain perks for going on a kill streak or perks to help you get back in the game after several deaths in a row. The team deathmatch games are 6 on 6, which is a reasonable number but some maps are bigger and could take some more players.
Overall Modern Warfare 2 is a fantastic game that takes the shooter to a whole new level. The story is fantastic and gripping, the gameplay is smooth and entertaining, and the game offers a wide variety of gameplay modes to keep the game fresh. If you like shooters this is an absolute must have.
(Note: I am changing the way I do my scoring, I found that the categories made it a little difficult to give credit where credit was due so now I am going to give a few pros and cons and an overall score out of 10)
Pros:
-Fantastic gameplay
-Great Multiplayer
-Stunning visuals
Cons:
-Some slight gameplay issues (like the dud grenades that happen too often)
10/10
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