I love the Call of Duty games. I know I shouldn’t. I know I should be appalled by the violence and the fact they take real life events and put them in game form. But I still love them because quite frankly they are some of the most intense video games I’ve ever played and the newest member of the family is just as much of a nutter as his previous brothers and sisters.
When I first joined the “Next Generation” of gaming one of the first games I bought was King Kong. It was a decent enough first person shooter but I never really loved it. I traded it in and got this other game called “Call of Duty 2” which I’d been told was really good. It was one of those World War 2 games that involved you running around and killing Nazi’s. Naturally that sounded appealing so I put the game in my console fully expecting to enjoy it. 4 days later I emerged from my living room after completing the game twice in a row and pretty much accepted that I’d played one of the best games ever.
CoD 2 would probably seem stupidly basic today but I back then I was enthralled. These days I still play it from time to time just because storming the beach on the D-Day landings is still an exciting and dramatic experience. That being said, I no longer think it’s the best game ever.
Modern Warfare 2 continues the legacy but this is CoD 2 on anabolic steroids. It’s bigger, brighter, has crazier weapons and generally just slaps you in the face while yelling “You like that? Well do you? BITCH!!!, I know you're having a good time!”.
And to be honest you’d be a fool not to. Now granted, Modern Warefare 2 has some flaws and it would be remiss not to mention them. One would be that the single player story mode isn’t exactly a Peter Jackson epic. I blew through it in about 2-3 days and I’m sure people who are actually good at video games smashed it in one afternoon. That being said, there wasn’t a single moment in those 2-3 days where I wasn’t on a constant thrill ride. And even though the single game is over rather quickly, the online modes more than make up for it. Honestly, if you take Modern Warefare 2 online then your life will start to evaporate.
Another flaw, to some certainly, would be THAT level. You know, the one in the airport. Yes, THAT one! Now I usually don’t get uncomfortable playing games but even I have to admit that this particular level in question is pretty messed up. If you haven’t played the game before you’ll be greeted with a message at the start of the game giving you the option to opt out of this level. For those who are easily offended, I would suggest you take the game up on its offer.
The level is a perfect example though of the games biggest flaw in my eyes. Sometimes it tries so hard to be shocking that it comes across as trying too hard. In the first Modern Warfare there was a level where your characters helicopter had been shot down in a nuclear blast. The level consisted of your character crawling around for a few minutes before dying. There was no way to save your character; he just died while you stood helpless. It was a shocking and very powerful moment. They do it again in Modern Warfare 2 but this time it involves your character being shot and then being set on fire while semi-conscious. This time rather than being a moving and poignant point it just becomes annoying. It worked so well last time that the developers clearly felt the need to do it again but this time it just doesn’t have the same feeling or appeal.
So, Modern Warfare 2 isn’t perfect. There are flaws to the single player mode and sometimes the game just comes across as being a bit tasteless. I’ve not even really got into the story but needless to say there are some great bits and some very shocking moments. That being said, I think there are almost too many twists and turns to the story. Modern Warfare felt a lot more focused, it had its eye on the prize so to speak. Modern Warfare 2 clearly feels it has to top the previous gaming experience and tries so hard that it becomes obvious that it’s trying. Kind of like how the second Matrix movie upped the explosions and car chases because it realised that it couldn’t really add any more to the message from the first film. Modern Warfare 2 adds more set pieces and weapons to try and make up for the fact that the story just isn’t as good.
Modern Warfare 2 strikes me as a game without a message. And actually I think this isn't too much of a problem. Far too may games try and have a message these days. It’s nice to play a game where the goal is to shoot as many bad guys as possible with as many cool weapons as possible. And as far as that goes, Modern Warfare 2 is a bona-fide classic. It has smooth gameplay, excellent graphics and a top notch online mode. If you have to buy a first person shooter for any console then I’d recommend this one.
Overall Score – 9.5
No comments:
Post a Comment