Greetings one and all, it's head honcho Valkor welcoming you back to Gameview and introducing y'all to mah boy Sentroid91. He helps run the show over at Adultswim Central, which is a fan-based site covering all things AdultSwim (but in no way affiliated) and you guys should check it out if you're fans of the block (namely me. I Loves me some ATHF and Morel Orel, but what the hell is Tim and Eric all about?) Anyway Sentroid is joining the TOV ranks and starting things off with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 - a game so good I might start playing shooters again... MIGHT! Enjoy the read!
With the recent news of Activision's takeover of Infinity Ward and the next installment of Call of Duty, it seems only fitting that I review their most recent game. Anyone who's a fan of the Call of Duty/Modern Warfare franchise know to expect bigger and better with each new game... MW2 is no different.
In single-player mode, the story begins five years after the events that occurred in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. You begin the game as Private First Class Joseph Allen, a grunt who gets the call to infiltrate and investigate a terrorist cell in Russia, led by Vladimir Makarov (a follower of CoD4: MW's big bad, Imran Zakhaev. Eventually this leads to an incident in a Moscow airport where Makarov, his henchman, and if you choose to... yourself, gun down civilians. At the end of the mission, Makarov shoots Allen, revealing that he knew all along he was a plant. Allen's death essentially points the finger at the US, which causes Russia to stage a full-scale invasion of Washington D.C. From this point on, the game switches you between Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson: A soldier under a secret task force headed by Captain John "Soap" MacTavish (the main character you play as in CoD4.) and Private James Ramirez: A soldier stationed in D.C. to help combat the Russian forces. The story (as with most games these days) has many twists, turns, and doublecrosses. Eventually you meet up with MacTavish's mentor, Captain Price (who was also in CoD4, but presumed dead.) and assume the role of MacTavish for some of the later levels.
On the multiplayer side, it's pretty much the same as CoD4's multiplayer with a few new add-ons such as customizeable titles for your characters as well as new goodies for the KillStreak bonuses (such as a Tactical Nuke which equals instant game over for the other team.)
The Good:
The gameplay is basically an upgraded version of CoD4 (which supposedly is based on an unspecified engine from iD of Doom fame.) You're able to wield various pistols, shotguns, semi-automatic weapons, explosives, etc. In MW2, you also have the ability to wield riot shields, which despite taking away most use of weapons actually comes in handy for straight-fire attacks from oncoming enemies. Another really impressive weapon in the game comes in the form of a new version of the UAV (which if you've never played CoD4, is when you kill enough people, they allow you to call in a chopper or stealth bombers.) which now allows you to control where to deploy the bombs, chopper, etc.
The Bad:
I have to be perfectly honest, nothing is bad in this game. Infinity Ward successfully spun off a game in their Call of Duty franchise.
The Ugly:
Well, if I had to add something bad/ugly... getting pwned in multiplayer... especially with Tactical Nuke. x_x
I've only played a handful of war-based games and truthfully, Modern Warfare is currently at the top in my book (at least until i've had the chance to play Bad Company 2.) 5 out of 5 (Stars? Thumbs? I don't know what they use here. 5 of something good, ok?)(Valkor's Notes: We use a 5 Star rating, but what you won't hear me complain lol)
