Game Rant reviews Modern Warfare 2 For months Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has made headlines: record breaking pre-orders, alleged marketing insensitivity, controversial gameplay content, and angry PC dedicated server proponents. Infinity Ward’s game may be the most hyped title of all time (even beating out the always-controversial Grand Theft Auto series), and for months gamers have been speculating, "Is Modern Warfare 2 deserving of all the hype?" Our answer here at Game Rant: Mostly.

Modern Warfare 2 is an incredible game and easily follows in the footsteps of its Call of Duty predecessors. It is without question the premier war simulation first person shooter, no matter what console you’re playing on. The game spans a number of locales, providing diverse, albeit intense, mission variety. Missions find you scrambling through tight Rio de Janeiro alleys, infiltrating a prison, rescuing hostages on an oil rig, and sneaking into the enemy's mountain-strongholds. The game is at its best in these moments, immersing the player in a variety of exciting and action-packed scenarios.

Without question the title looks amazing. Enemies and supporting characters move fluidly, and with fast-paced action, this is no small accomplishment. Characters stumble around corners, take cover, and melee opponents without stuttering or locking into place. Some of the best animation in the game occurs in the infamous “No Russian” mission, where crowds of pedestrians funnel through tight areas and even drag the wounded across the kill floor. The environments are diverse, but each is crafted with the same careful detail. The scenery is crisp and lifelike whether viewed up close or through a scoped rifle flying high above the ground in a helicopter. The DC map in particular, with the mix of rain and ash falling out of the sky, is especially impressive.

The game controls similar to previous titles and still utilizes the “look down the scope” centering system for firing accuracy - basically one of those “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” situations. There were a few points in the single player campaign where it was extra-easy to get disoriented, which is further compounded by the aiming system, but altogether the game handles great.

Modern Warfare 2 provides three main modes of play: the single-player story campaign, traditional online multiplayer, and Special Ops — a series of tactical scenarios that can be played alone or with a friend. Infinity Ward knows its audience, and the multiplayer in Modern Warfare 2 is everything you’d expect from a FPS war simulator. The reward system is much larger than previous Call of Duty titles, providing players with regular incentives to level up and build their combat arsenal. The game also introduces “Kill Streak” rewards for racking up kills without dying - i.e., a kill streak of 5 will net players the ability to remote-drop a predator missile on a selected area, and a kill streak of 15 will allow the use of an electromagnetic pulse to disable all enemy electronics. If a player happens to get a kill streak of 25, they’re rewarded with ability to drop a nuke that kills everyone on the battlefield - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, literally, because the bomb kills them too.

The multiplayer has been hampered a bit out of the gate with leveling and unlockable problems being reported on both Xbox 360 and PS3, not to mention a sea of still-sore PC gamers who are boycotting the title for its lack of dedicated servers. In the long run, these problems won’t affect the core gameplay. Infinity Ward will certainly patch the game to correct any glitches that may currently be plaguing gamers; as for the dedicated server issue, there’s no doubt it was a lousy move on Infinity Ward’s part and will certainly discourage some PC gamers from picking up Modern Warfare 2, but if you're not concerned with the controversy, it shouldn’t deter you from purchasing a copy of the game.

The “Special Ops” mode adds great replay value to the Modern Warfare 2 package, especially for players who get worn down by the intensity of online multiplayer. The variety of missions (imagine DLC-like challenge rooms) can be played individually or co-operatively with a stranger or friend (both online and local). If you don’t have a lot of friends playing the game, you’ll still enjoy these added missions; though they definitely shine a bit brighter in two-player co-op. The missions are un-related to the story mode and range from training in The Pit, racing snowmobiles, racking up body counts, and securing an entire airbase with only stealth weapons. Successful completion of the various challenges nets you stars that unlock trophies and achievements. The higher the difficulty level you play on, the more stars you’ll snag.

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Finally, there’s the single-player campaign, an under-sized clip show narrative with mostly disconnected story moments and a number of exciting battle scenarios that most players will complete in under five hours. The "campaign" is a loosely thrown together collection of great multiplayer maps - it's as if the battle locations were chosen for the type of tactical simulation or action packed scene each could provide, and then the actual story was retro-fitted to accommodate those environment choices.

The "plot" is divided into several story threads that occur in succession, through the eyes of different protagonists. Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson, an elite commando and Private Ramirez, a US Army ranger, enjoy the majority of game time in the campaign mode, as the player jet sets in and out of each of their heads, and subsequently, their plights. Neither character has a distinctive personality and we’re never privy to cut scenes that make us appreciate them as individuals. We know them only through their actions - brave but ambiguous heroes.

There’s still plenty of great moments in the single-player campaign, though, each challenging the player in different ways — from running and gunning, defending targets or over-taking enemy controlled embattlements, to slow-motion breaching in order to save hostages. The game spans a number of settings and utilizes the environments to full affect — whether checking corners in abandoned suburban mansions, rushing across a battlefield avoiding fire from multiple enemy factions, or remotely controlling predator missiles in defense of an evacuation point, each of the chapters in the game offer different objectives and scenarios to overcome. Modern Warfare 2 rarely repeats itself, a testament to how carefully constructed the gameplay is, challenging the player with new, intriguing, tactical moments as well as allowing the gameplay to change depending on the player’s approach to the situation. The title easily competes with the other action games of 2009, delivering a number of incredible set pieces that are extremely satisfying in their over-the-top execution.

Infinity Ward has delivered a comprehensive package based on the passions of their base — outstanding multiplayer and cooperative gameplay with loads of replay value - not to mention the promise of future DLC support. That said, a heavy criticism of FPS games is the notion that Call of Duty-like titles are nothing more than exercises in senseless killing and Modern Warfare 2’s thin narrative does little to counter this idea. The game tries to be deep, dabbling with a terrifying glimpse at our potential future - a world of retaliatory warfare, where opportunists who capitalize on our fear of terrorism write the historical record.

However, whatever point the game attempts to make about the sacrifice of soldiers for the greater prosperity of freedom is undermined by the faceless protagonists who come off as nothing but meat for the war grinder, a point made even more ironic by the return of the death-screen quotes, of which a number emphasize the sacrifice of the individual for the greater good. Admittedly, many gamers jump into a title like Modern Warfare 2 without ever playing through the campaign, but with terrific FPS games like BioShock out there now, it’s getting harder and harder to simply dismiss the value of story-telling in the FPS genre.

Anyone who enjoyed previous Call of Duty games, first person shooters, or action titles will undoubtedly get their money’s worth from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It’s a solid title that builds on the previous episodes in the series, offering topnotch visuals and gameplay — along with hundreds of hours worth of replay value. See you on the battlefield.

Will you be picking up Modern Warfare 2?