In one early level, you man the turret of a Humvee patrolling the claustrophobic streets of a Middle Eastern city. Though it is disappointing that there isn't more of it, what you do get is a relentless barrage of tight combat and thrilling set pieces. Modern Warfare 2's campaign, like that of its predecessor, is quite short, and you'll likely finish it in about five hours. The aggressive enemy AI will keep you on your toes, and achieving your hard-earned success is satisfying. Opportunities for cover and flanking present themselves naturally, allowing you to move through the battlefield in a variety of fluid ways. The diverse levels not only provide varied sights, but they are also cleverly designed to allow the action to flow at an exciting pace. Modern Warfare 2 isn't a beautiful game, but it looks great in action. Environments are well designed and detailed, though many textures don't look particularly good upon close inspection. The action is smooth and exhilarating, thanks to sharp shooting and movement mechanics that allow you to be as quick and deadly as your skills permit. Your missions take you around the world to a number of exotic locations and engage you in a variety of different conflicts, ranging from stealthy and silenced to crowded and cacophonous. Once again, you play as a few different soldiers who are part of the effort to make the world a safer place. The campaign picks up where its predecessor left off, and there's a new violent ultranationalist terrorist on the scene. Yet despite this disappointment, there is still a lot to love about the online multiplayer, and the other elements of the game remain unblemished. Paying more and getting less is abhorrent to consumers, and this deterrent, along with the online restrictions, make Modern Warfare 2 much less appealing from a multiplayer perspective.
And the money issues don't stop there: Modern Warfare 2 costs $10 more than most full-price PC games.
Furthermore, there is no support for user-created content, so rather than enjoying free mods and community maps, PC users will have to pay for downloadable content. Players cannot set up dedicated servers to host their own custom-tuned matches, and the player count for each match has been capped at 18 as opposed to the possible 64-player matches of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Yet when compared to other online shooters on the PC, the multiplayer component is decidedly limited. If you compare Modern Warfare 2 on the PC to its console counterparts, the game is every bit as awesome and enjoyable. Now Playing: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Video Review The campaign takes you to some dangerous, claustrophobic places.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Unfortunately, these improvements are marred by limited online flexibility that may leave the PC shooter community out in the cold.
Though the addictive action remains the same at its core, there are a host of new elements that make matches more accessible, more strategic, and more rewarding. Last but not least, the competitive multiplayer that took the online shooter community by storm two years ago is back. The new Special Ops mode allows you to experience some campaign-inspired thrills with a friend and it's an engaging challenge to coordinate your maneuvers and tackle the varied objectives. The new campaign is chock-full of intense action and dramatic moments, and though it is more muddled than its predecessor (in more ways than one), it's still an absolute blast. Yet, amidst a raging storm of anticipation and expectation, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has done it.
The following weapons and equipment can be unlocked by attaining the (multiplayer) levels below: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Unlockable: Equipment