• Format: Xbox 360 (version reviewed), PS3, PC
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Activision
• Developer:  Infinity Ward
• Players: 1 (Campaign), 1-2 (Spec-Ops), 2-18 (Multiplayer)
• Site: www.modernwarfare2.infinityward.com

Modern Warfare 2 is like a shock and awe campaign against your brain. Whether it’s trying to say something poignant or rewarding another crazy kill it’s constantly overwhelming you with information. This is at once pulse-pounding, rewarding, thought-provoking, and a little exhausting. Some of the game’s ideas get lost in all the noise, but when so much good content is thrown at you, most of it is sure to stick.

The cacophony of gunfire, explosions, and radio chatter begins with the single-player campaign. Similar in presentation to the previous Modern Warfare, this direct sequel jumps between characters, telling a story of global terrorism and the men that stop it. Peppered throughout are shocking moments not unlike the first-person execution and nuclear bomb scenes in the first game.

One scene will have you questioning every pull of the trigger, if you can even stomach to pull the trigger at all. Conceptually, the encounter has some issues: towards the end it’s impossible to avoid confrontation, and the game never questions your actions. But it’s a step in the right direction towards presenting challenging content in a video game.

That scene also doubles as a catalyst for the major conflicts in the game. Modern Warfare 2 jumps between apocalyptic warfare through the eyes of US Marines, and the globe-trotting counter-terrorism adventures of “Soap” MacTavish and his ex-SAS crew. Apocalypse might be an understatement though, especially for any middle-class suburbanites playing the game. Most war stories focus on a known quantity; WWII or a war-torn third world country, but MW2 takes one of the safest places in the world and turns it upside down. The results are both frightening and reflective, questioning much of what we hold so dear.

When it isn’t challenging your morals or way of life, Modern Warfare 2 plays out like the most intense summer action movie of all time. The plot isn’t too different from any number of war games set in modern times. As much as it questions war it also glorifies it – Generation Kill-inspired jargon, weapon caches that feel like gun porn, and a “hoo-rah”-ing cast of testosterone-fueled heroes (including the wonderful Keith David), remind you that this is still pretty much an interactive Bruckheimer movie. The back end even devolves into personal vendettas and melodrama, much like an episode of 24 or a Metal Gear Solid game. The insane plot is still tense and entertaining, but it feels at odds with the more powerful moments of the game.

The actual combat is more refined than ever, offering the only FPS controls that give Halo a run for its money. The difference is how fast-paced it is. Whatever mode you’re in, enemies dart out from cover in every direction. Reaction time is key, and the aiming controls are up to the task – they’re as quick as your own reflexes, and they never feel automatic.

The AI enemies swarm from all corners in massive, but finite numbers. MW2 finally addresses one of the biggest complaints of the series – no longer do endless waves of enemies pour out of closets like clowns from a Volkswagen. They’ll bound along rooftops and sprint down alleyways to get to you, always arriving to catch bullets in a logical fashion.

The level design is a high watermark for the genre, crafted with equal care across all of its modes. The attention to detail is most obvious in the campaign, where you’ll find shanty towns and villages that dance between strict linearity and maze-like complexity. You’re always funneled down an obvious path, but there’s also plenty of options for both you and your enemies.

The more finely crafted areas are re-used for Spec-Ops. Intended for two-players, this mode has one goal: variety. One moment you’ll be racing in snow mobiles, and the next you’ll be defending a convenience store with your life. The best missions split the two players between ground warfare and air support. The contrasting viewpoints force teamwork more than most online games, including MW2′s own 18-player multiplayer.

But that multiplayer mode is what most people will buy the game for, and with good reason; long after the campaign and Spec-Ops modes run their course, Modern Warfare 2 will hold its crown as the most approachable online FPS out there.

Sure, there are legions of hardcore experts jumping at the chance to pick you off and insult your corpse, but that’s not nearly the hindrance it is in most online games. For better or worse, MW2 is extremely low-impact – death comes and goes, objectives are clearly spelled out, and the game moves so quickly it’s nearly impossible to coordinate with other players.

That’s not to say there isn’t teamwork, but it’s all so simplified and communicated through the game that it’s not important to strategize. This leaves you open to chat with friends or even skip the headset altogether. In fact, this is the most rewarding online shooter out there for lone wolves – even if they want to jump into team games.

It’s all about the carrot on a stick, as the game blankets you in tangible rewards as you play. Half the appeal is doing well enough to level up and unlock that next ability, weapon, or game mode. It’s the same idea as the original Modern Warfare, but refined and expanded upon to astounding effect.

With so many options at your disposal, you can create truly unique warriors. From suicidal flag-runners spraying uzi rounds in every direction, to ghillie-suited snipers lying in wait, the game offers an incredible range of possibilities.

Say what you will about the hype Modern Warfare 2 generates, but understand that few games can even come close to the monsoon of polished gameplay this title offers. Sure, it can be a bit low-brow, but it’s still furthering the medium in significant ways. There’s something for almost everyone, and a game that brings so much of the community together is worth all the accolades it’ll surely earn.

10/10

The following article comprised of dangerously opinionated views will contain SPOILERS covering the whole of Modern Warfare 2′s story and should be read at your own risk. This is your only warning.

What follows is not a review of Modern Warfare 2, at least not in the conventional sense. A review is an opinion, but a good review balances up an opinion against the masses. A good review may point out flaws, but at the same time suggest the type of person who wouldn’t mind them or offer balance with what was good. The following article will not be so balanced and will only focus on flaws, at least for the most part.

This article will also not mention the competitive multi-player available. Why? It isn’t my thing, so I can’t really comment on whether it’s good or not. It doesn’t interest me and from an outside view seems no different to the first Modern Warfare’s multi-player (which I also never played). A great single player or co-operative experience is what I’m looking for. If my disinterest in the incredibly popular multi-player has already made you dislike me, then you might as well stick with it and read on.

To spare me some hate mail, death threats and angry glares as I play ‘lesser’ games for more enjoyment than this provided me, I should point out that I thoroughly enjoyed the first Modern Warfare. To an extent I also enjoyed the sequel, in so far as the graphics were astonishingly good, the voice work was above par and the gameplay was fairly smooth. But that is where it ends for me.

Modern Warfare 2 is a game of extremes to be sure and, at the time of writing, it is already confirmed that at least five million copies have been sold. A sizeable chunk of those sales will be in America, but we British will also have paid out to play this game. We British also had the joy of paying a greed based publisher’s premium to get our hands on this game (assuming you didn’t make the most of the supermarket price war).

Due to circumstances I won’t bore you with, I had to wait an extra two days after release until I got my copy of Modern Warfare 2. This didn’t bother me since I had successfully avoided all hype surrounding it (partly because I didn’t want to risk spoilers, but also just because I had no intention of buying it). I sat down earlier today with it though, ready for my extreme experience. I fired my PS3 up and four hours, twenty-six minutes and fifty-two seconds later I was done.

Is this what passes for a single player experience in the most anticipated game of 2009? The game that scared so many other developers enough to push back their release dates to next year? Not even five hours of my time? Don’t yell at me about higher difficulty levels, Spec-Ops and multi-player – those are added extras. Yes, for many people it may in fact all be about the multi-player, but that isn’t why I play games. I want to be immersed in a decent story for a decent length of time and enjoy every second of it.

How happy I was when the first Modern Warfare came into the present and near-future. The Call of Duty obsession with World War 2 was just getting morbid. Concessions were made as a result and what we, as the player, got to experience was a loosely strung together tiff with terrorists in ‘made-up-istan’ setting off a nuke and a mad Russian with one arm plotting against America that was in no way original. It was a great experience though, I think partly because it was a new direction for the Call of Duty series but also because they had made it look so good. The graphics made you forget that you were working your way through a generic action movie plot. Well, the graphics and Captain Price’s mutton chops.

How disappointing then that the first Modern Warfare also featured one of the worst endings of recent times. Having survived everything with your squad and going through hell and back you sit there and watch as each is killed for no good reason, then you get to kill the nasty Russian and that’s it. Not that the story had much focus anyway, but to wrap things up like that was lazy, uninspired and did the rest of the game that preceded it no justice. Modern Warfare 2 manages to pay homage to the first game by featuring an ending almost as bad, albeit for slightly different reasons. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

My understanding of Modern Warfare 2′s story may not be entirely accurate. This is because lack of information made the last quarter of it very hard to follow. Let me run this by you to see if I’ve got it clear (and if I don’t, do point it out).

An American soldier formally stationed in Afghanistan is hand picked to become a spy in a Russian terrorist cell. To get close to the leader of this terrorist cell involves taking part in an airport massacre (more about that in a second). However, it seems the leader of this cell knew that the American was undercover and kills him in order that his body is found, America is pinned for the massacre, and Russia can go to war with America in a justifiable way that would mean no one would come to their aid. That about right so far?

I have a few problems with that airport level. The first is that it was clearly only put in to create media uproar and get a ton of free advertising as a result. If they really just wanted to evoke hatred in the terrorist leader Makarov (because, you know, the fact he’s a terrorist isn’t quite good enough it seems) they should have placed the player in control of a civilian trying to escape. The second is that it is the first of many plot holes. The undercover American you have control of isn’t the only terrorist that dies at the airport. Two of the Russian terrorists die as well, so why is America blamed? Why is America blamed at all even if the American was the only one to die? Countries don’t go to war just like that and they certainly don’t suddenly clone American satellite network controls and launch a sneak attack invasion of Washington DC.

Yes, I know analysing a story that is essentially brainless like this is probably pointless. Modern Warfare 2 tries no harder to have a moral lesson or important point buried in it than an average episode of 24, but I was just disappointed how shoddily it all hung together.

While the Americans wage war on home soil against invading Russians, you then have the special ops team made up of former British SAS from the first game and others. They somehow piece together that the Russian terrorist waging war on America wants a prisoner in a Russian prison. The reason for this is beyond human comprehension. The prisoner also in fact turns out to be Captain Price. Hurrah, mutton-chops wasn’t dead after all! Why was he in a Russian prison when last he was seen getting CPR from an American soldier?

Anyway, with the war going on in America, Price decides to set a nuke off (that clearly had no radiation in it) just above Washington, so it looks like they are now the victims and America will get aid from the world. But oh no, it turns out that Shepard – the man leading the American army and not the Spectre from Mass Effect (this distinction is especially hard to make since Captain Anderson voices Sergeant Foley) – is in fact the real bad guy and sets about cleaning up all records of…something.

Don't follow MacTavish's example. Run through the game and you'll be done in three hours.

I honestly tried to pay attention. Besides graphics, story is the most important thing for me but I just felt my brain melting out my ear trying to let all this in. I have no idea why Shepard was the villain. Something about five years ago and people not caring about the war? His soldiers dying in that nuclear blast from the first game possibly? Did he hire the Russian to do everything? Was he killing thousands just to make people pay attention and sign up to the army? The last couple stages focus purely on killing him because that achieves…? And yes, after a very stylish knife kill Shepard is indeed killed and revenge is obtained. Now what? What about that Russian and American war still going on? What about Makarov? What about Price and MacTavish being the most wanted men in the world?

To think they can just end it there is deplorable. It isn’t a cliffhanger and it isn’t closure either. It’s laziness, or desperation after giving themselves no where else to go with a broken plot. At least I hope it is, because it better not be an artificial end just so we can see the ‘real ending’ via future DLC or another sequel.

The phrase “It’s just a game!” gets flung around a lot and I can almost hear it hurtling my way right now to deafen me into submission, but hold on a moment. Yes, Modern Warfare 2 is just a game. It’s just a game that sold a few million copies in a single day. It’s just a game that got mass media attention for putting you in the role of a terrorist, albeit briefly. It’s just a game that will be judged by thousands of people to be as near to a perfect game as is humanly possible when it deserves no such credit. Modern Warfare 2 is alright. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either. It’s a horrendously short experience that will dazzle your eyes and bore your brain. It’s a 7/10 at best.

You know, despite trying to form all these really good arguments about why the story was awful and why this game was just about average, I do have one pathetically nit-picky thing to complain about. The instruction manual is one of the laziest I have ever seen. It’s barely seven pages long. It has one hint for how to play and do you know what that is? It’s how to eject the disk (seriously – check page two).

I’ve given Spec-Ops mode a whirl and it’s alright. It’s two player and I love co-op but it does beg the question (given that each Spec-Op mission is simply a scenario or section from the single player game) of why the whole thing couldn’t be played together with a friend. Despite being short, just that simple addition would have made me like it a lot more. Ah well, perhaps I will need to look to that dreaded and overly popular competitive multi-player. So will you, if you want to get any kind of value out of the over priced purchase that you just made.