Modern Warfare 2
By Saurabh “Nemesis!!!” Rajeeva |Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Ever experienced what it is like to be shot or stabbed point blank? Or to jump across a high rocky crevice only to go sliding down with a stomach churning feeling? Or to fall down a huge waterfall? Or to watch earth from the International Space Station and be lost in space after an orbital nuke impact? If no, then dearest gaming buddies, you haven’t experienced Modern Warfare 2!
The keyword to note here is ‘experience’. Modern Warfare 2, the most anticipated game of the year, and probably one of the best-selling by the time you finish reading this review, elevates ‘experience’ to a whole new level. Developer Infinity Ward delivers one action packed cinematic piece after another to ensure millions of eager gamers around the world do not feel let down. But does MW2 have all the elements to be the best all-round action shooter? Sadly, despite great visuals, intense action and memorable soundtrack, the short length and almost incomprehensible story of the single player campaign culls the meat out for lone rangers, making MW2 look like a ‘made for multiplayer’ title. However, the extra content in the form of Special Ops mode comes as a surprisingly engrossing piece which is sure to satisfy any action FPS lover!
Modern Warfare 2 offers three game modes: Special Ops, Single Player Campaign and Multiplayer. Special Ops, being the new addition, is about completing a set of assault and stealth missions in single or co-op mode and gaining stars (69 in total) for performance based milestones. Campaign is the regular story mode tracing the adventures of familiar characters from the past MW title who are now engaged to save the world from an opportunist madman.
Presentation
The opening movie is meshed with scenes from the previous Modern Warfare; it has to be, since the game picks up after the events of MW 1. Don’t anticipate any ‘large scale awesome introductory sequence’, since the first mission, sticking true to ‘Call of Duty’ genes, is about training & getting your moves right. However, trust MW 2 to distract you from even that and stare open-mouthed at the graphical extravaganza in front. MW2 graphics are extremely good and much better than the original title. The draw distances, fluidity of character animations, level of detailing, surface textures – everything is simply astounding to look at. I walked up to a pair of soldiers playing basketball and even yelled manoeuvres to whoever had the ball, only to realize my room-mate was giving me a strange look. “It’s still a game dude!†he reminded me. Indeed it was, but easily blurring the demarcation bordering reality. While you may not achieve anything significant (besides training & difficulty level) in the first few minutes, you’d surely want to brace yourself for what MW2 will throw up next, because at those benchmarks, it will be nothing short of ‘spectacular’!
Story
MW2’s story continues from where MW 1 left off. Five years on, Zakhaev (lead antagonist of MW1) is declared a martyr in Russia and his aid Makarov unleashes a string of terror attacks. He manages to portray American involvement in a massacre at Moscow Airport. Russia, enraged by this American portrayal invades the United States in a surprise attack. While tracking Makarov, Task Force 141, a multinational special force group, learns that Makarov’s biggest enemy is locked away in the Russian prison (Gulag) and rescues him for luring Makarov out. However, the prisoner goes rogue and launches a nuke towards Washington DC, exploding it in orbit and crippling all American and Russian electronic and vehicle warfare equipments in the city. Task Force 141 then splits up and goes to capture Makarov simultaneously at his safehouse in Caucasus Mountains and the aircraft boneyards in Afghanistan. After a surprising plot twist, the real antagonist is revealed. The two-man team at the boneyard escapes and kills the lead conspirator and gets branded as ‘war criminals in hiding’ soon after.
The game’s plot is not easy to comprehend, and Modern warfare 2’s story delivery technique doesn’t make things easier either. This is perhaps the biggest grudge for a game in a series that has churned up stupendous single player campaigns. Whatever information you receive is through mission briefings (which boast some really slick animations!) or through instructions barked when walls around you are exploding with enemy fire – definitely not the best of times to comprehend text! You will rely on the waypoint indicator most of the time to determine where to go and then probably pause the game to evaluate current objectives to try making sense of the story. While MW2 does make you feel really exhilarated at executing sequences you will love to re-do, there’s absolutely no connect on ‘why’ you did ‘whatever’ you did. This lack of information feels kind of drab because convincing story-telling definitely augments the thrill of any action set piece and enhances gamer involvement.
The single player campaign is divided into three ‘Acts’ and all offer abundant variety from assault to stealth combat with some memorable moments between them. The first Act has five missions including training, recovery of an ACS satellite module from a Siberian airbase (followed by the famous snowmobile chase!) and thrilling fighting in Rio De Janero’s favela to capture an enemy contact. Act II has six missions ranging from defending home turf at Virginia, rescuing hostages from an oil rig laced with explosives and fighting through the Capitol building in Washington D.C. Act III is the longest of the three with seven missions (albeit the last barely qualifies as one). They range from capture of a Russian nuclear submarine to launch a nuke, escaping from an aeroplane boneyard amidst chaotic crossfire and finally clearing out the enemy’s hideout in Afghanistan to conclude the game
The missions are inter-woven in a fashion similar to MW1. The lead characters – Capt. ‘Soap’ McTavish, Pvt. Joesph Allen, Pvt. James Ramirez & Sergeant Gary ‘Roach’ Sanderson have their missions alternating amongst the Acts and continuing in parallel to each other.
Next Page – Gameplay and Weapons
