Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Game Info

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Infinity Ward

Platform:  PS3

Genre(s): First-Person Shooter

Players: 18

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: November 10, 2009

Intro:

The Intro feature

s a selection of video clips over a world lighting up in neon green lights.  The haunting music has a war-feel that effectively compliments the video clips while the credits play in the same neon green.  It gives a feel for the game while reminding players of previous games in the franchise and creates a successful transition from real life to gameplay.

Getting Going:  

The player immediately finds themselves in cam

p as the game takes you through the play tutorial.  All of the controls are explained in an easy-to-understand and practice way while allowing the player to be actively immersed in the game environment.  In other words, you're not only told to shoot a target, but are sent through an obstacle course of civilians and enemies choosing the right ones.  Some verbal instruction is given if you mess up and, when the tutorial is through, the player is placed at a skill level for the game based on their performance.

Fun:

I've never been a huge player of war games and Modern Warfare 2 hasn't made me a fan.  The appeal is definitely there for people who are fans of war games, however.  Intel is given in the same way those familiar with war movies are used to hearing it.  The environments show damage.  The enemies move in realistic ways.  There is a host of weapons and they can be picked up and used.  In other words, the chaos and confusion of a war-like situation is effectively displayed in this game.  When I played, most of the time, I had no idea what was going on.

Visuals:

As stated above, the environments show damage.  This was the one visual item most immediately apparent to me during play.  When you are hiding in a building, the bullet holes coming in through the door and hitting the wall leave behind noticeable marks.  They aren't small holes or gun-powder-blackened holes, either.  Infinity Ward seems to have taken physics into account to create expected damage so that a grazing bullet will leave only small damage, while many bullets fired at an angle might leave several baseball-sized marks in the wall.  If the player is using a snowstorm for cover, they can't see anything in it, either! Much has been said about the texture streaming used to create more realism in this game.  This is done to great effect, at least in some

places.  In close-up shots, you get a great feeling for texture and realism.  In others, the environment, animations, and NPC's look very game-like.  One notable thing is the amount of creativity and thought put into the various environments.  Players go from the sandbox to the tundra, onto an airport tarmac, into a small town, through restaurants and diners.  It has it all, and with a surprising amount of detail.  Things are where one would expect them to be. Flags float on the wind. My only complaint is that, in areas where combatants are also militia, it is difficult at times to tell friend from foe. 

Sound:

Sound is a problem in this game.  While the musical score is amazing and instructions from your guide, usually Soap, are very clear, it is often hard to hear yelled instructions over all of the environmental noise.  While it may reasonably be argued that this is realistic, it makes gameplay more difficult.  There are times when you are unsure of what, exactly, you are supposed to be doing and you end up blindly following the guy with the "follow" bullet above his head.  Since that's not very realistic either, a little ducking or more ear chatter would have been a welcome addition to the game.  Even with subtitles on, instructions are often hard to catch.

Intelligence:

The enemies definitely know you're there.  They don't move in predictable ways, but they do move in realistic ways; taking cover, using cover to fire, etc.  Each mission seems to be a mini-story with a set-up, action and a brief conclusion.  In the airport, an optional level, the innocents try to get out of the way, the injured move and drag themselves to safety.  In other missions, they don't get in the way or jump out in front of you as they do in some games.  However, this was one place in which I was actually aware that NPC's weren't paying attention to me.  I didn't shoot anyone in the airport.  I didn't even fire my weapon.  I wondered if anyone would notice, but no one did.  

Immersion:

Confusion takes the player

out of the immersive experience.  Although Modern Warfare 2 effectively uses the First Person viewpoint to create player immersion, the player's role in the game, and even the PC name keeps changing.  Also, barked directions are often difficult to hear and understand making the player unclear as to what the mission is, exactly.  On the other hand, some directions are given repeatedly while you are on task.  Occasionally, this is merely irritating.  The NPC is telling you to "look for the ladder in the kitchen" while you are looking for the ladder.  At other times, it's less than helpful, which is actually more annoying.  One repeated bark that means nothing to the player is not helpful when repeated over and over.  If the game notices that the player is struggling, a series of barks that are progressively more instructive would help.  Using the ladder in the kitchen example, the NPC guide may start with the broad direction and slowly narrow it down to a room.  There is a map, yes.  But switching back and forth between play and map repeatedly doesn't add to the immersive quality of the game.

Cameras: 

The cameras and scopes work quite well and maps are layed out nicely.  The camera offers full visual quality and range of motion.  The scopes give players a lot of flexibility in stealthy travel, zoom, and navigation.  No complaints here, but neither does anything stand out as being refreshing or new.  Still, the range that the player has and the fact that it doesn't stand out speaks well of the design.  It goes unnoticed because it's well done.

Controls:

The controls are easy to learn with a very low learning curve.  They're not too loose nor too tight, keeping aiming a relatively easy affair.  An onscreen part of the HUD shows whether the PC is standing, lying or crouching and makes it easy to tell whether lying is even an option.  The controls are intuitive enough that players don't have to spend too much time thinking about what they need to do during play.

Ideas:

It seems to me that games are tested and reviewed by people interested in the genre or franchise.  In other words, I've noticed during the challenge that reviewers don't always notice when a game is in unfamiliar territory for a player.  Modern Warfare 2 may not play as heavily on the familiarity of the rest of the franchise as some games do, but players who have played other games in the franchise are going to have a much easier time understanding and playing the game.  In addition, if a reviewer, or even a tester, has been playing FPS' since grade school, they will have a much harder time noticing the subtle things that make play difficult, or out-of-range, for a newcomer.  As an industry, I think this is important to note.  We need fresh testers, newbies, because we, as an industry are always trying to reach a wider audience.  Games like this have to be worked up to.

As a writer, I also feel that barks need to be more progressively interesting and helpful.  Barks can be created to give the player hints.  I'm aware that this should be done carefully.  Some players want more challenge and less help.  Therefore, barks must remain realistic to play. 

Memory:

Despite the fact that my feel for Modern Warfare 2 is rather neutral, I will finish this game.  It's not difficult to play, nor is it boring.  However, neither is it the most interesting, well-done, immersive game I've ever played.  It's a different type of play than I'm used to and I'm interested in what it still has to teach me.