I’ve played Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare since its launch, so my natural reaction is to look at Modern Warfare 2 as a masterpiece and begin criticizing it from there. This sounds unfair, but developer Infinity Ward created something in the previous Modern Warfare that I hadn’t seen in a console online game in ages – a truly balanced online experience with a solid single player crust. Modern Warfare 2 (henceforth referred to as MW2) makes a solid attempt at doing justice to its predecessor while still suffering from the same faults.

Gameplay

Single player is an entertaining mess. When at its best, which is the majority of its 5-10 hour duration, the campaign is riddled with excellent set pieces; you’ll be belly crawling through the snow to evade guards one minute, and controlling a jeep mounted gun the next. However, there are many points where the razor sharp gunplay is forced to serve the same tiring chore concepts as the first Modern Warfare - enemies keep respawning until you happen to walk across the invisible line in their territory that stops their clown car march and cues the next spawn point along your path.

However at odds with itself as it may be, single player still sticks in my mind as one of the good parts of MW2. Though the backgrounds of the characters returning from the previous Modern Warfare aren’t especially reinforced, the game’s subtle touches of laboured breathing and moments of last resort - brilliantly captured in ways I won’t spoil- make you care about the characters through their suffering. If you don’t haughtily subscribe to the idea of game length = quality, MW2’s imperfect but still adrenaline packed campaign has you covered.

For many, the competitive multiplayer is where things are at in MW2. Those ignorant of and uninterested in the Call of Duty franchise will glance at gameplay footage of MW2 and huff at how everything looks the same. For anyone who’s had their shot at the prequel, MW2’s multiplayer compounds many small changes into a multiplayer that looks the same, but plays a hell of a lot differently.

For example, where you were defenceless against air support, you can now shoot it down; when so many perks created a confusing array of choice, they’re now streamlined into a smaller list that gives each perk multiple functions; when you couldn’t make use of your pistol (shame on you), you can now carry a shotgun or machine pistol instead.

This probably sounds exciting to anyone who’s played the multiplayer part of recent Call of Duty games or those inspired by them such as Uncharted 2, but something is gained and lost with these changes. The original Modern Warfare held a tight balance of perks that each countered each other in special ways, with neither perk nor weapon holding an altogether undefeatable power.

In MW2, the stripped down list of multi-function perks, coupled with new equipment and weapon attachments like the heart beat sensor, presents some obvious problems while refreshing an old formula. For instance, how do you counter another player using an ‘increased bullet damage’ perk? With Modern Warfare’s ‘juggernaut’ perk absent, there really isn’t a clear answer in MW2. Also, some rewards for killing players without dying (killstreaks, in other words), like the care package, add an element of randomness as any of the dozens of killstreaks can be given by using it. While that may sound fun, and it is, it’s startling to see how quickly a match can turn to the other side because some guy got lucky and became the gunner of an AC130 gunship.

On the other hand, there’s a huge level of joy in having a beefed up perk like slight of hand, which not only increases reload speed, but makes the quickness of looking down the sight instantaneous. Other times when the chips were down and my teammates were floundering around like lemmings with guns, I took pleasure in turtle waddling through hallways with a riot and blast shield, smacking confused enemies to death to ease my frustration.

After countless hours in multiplayer that begged for countless more, that’s really what I took away from MW2’s multiplayer mode – it doesn’t play very much like the razor sharp polished piece that was the original Modern Warfare, it’s a new beast entirely that mixes random elements and loose ends in with a few familiar facets of gameplay to create something different, but good.

A new appendage to MW2 is its cooperative spec-ops mode. Though it can be played alone, all of the missions are better with a second person; in the case of many missions involving one player in a chopper gunning down enemies while the other slogs through hordes of enemies, a second player is mandatory. These small piecemeal missions focus on different elements of MW’s campaign, from point defence to high speed chases, and really add a great outlet of fun for anyone of any skill, contrary to the philosophy of the hardcore competitive online mode.

Graphics and Sound

I’ve never shot a real gun outside of a standard .22 caliber rifle, but after listening to all of the gunfire cracks and muffled crunch sounding explosions of MW2, I feel like my ears would be right at home in the armed forces - except maybe for the part where officers yell at you.

The music in MW2 serves its purpose, but is altogether forgettable. There will be a low humming cello note in one spot, reinforcing a sense of foreboding before a gunfight. At other times, a guitar riffs and orchestral shouts of wind instruments will gently assault your ears during a daring escape. The music serves its purpose as an aid to atmosphere, but takes a minor role next to all of the well voiced military chatter and the satisfying sound effects that roll into the ears with ease.

As far as visuals go, MW2 doesn’t take any huge leaps past it’s predecessor. What it does effectively is provide more complex and interesting environments with an increasingly overwhelming amount of action, all without any slowdown or technical hitches. Where MW2 doesn’t astound with "woah, look at that pretty water/bloom," it impresses with "how the ** is my disc not about to explode?"

Value

Depending on where you shop, $59.00 to $69.00 is the current price for MW2 as of this writing. While a favourite reviewer of mine once said that a bad game at $60.00 is still a bad game at $10 (and he’s right), MW2 lives up to the asking price in terms of content and quality for anyone interested in first person shooters.

Looking towards the future, its not unreasonable to expect reworked maps from previous Call of Duty games, particularly the original Modern Warfare. If those additions fall in line with previous Infinity Ward authored map packs, gamers can look forward to getting quality for their cash. These maps can’t come soon enough, because not all of MW2’s 16 maps are particularly great for every game type.

Spec ops mode should keep players busy outside of competitive multiplayer, and it would be great to see some more additions to this mode.

Conclusion

Though MW2 suffers from some of the same faults as its other ‘modern’ predecessor, it’s still a well made package that shows how although no game is perfect, a developer can still put out great work. If you like shooters at all, Modern Warfare 2 is the piece of work this year that you should be playing – like, right now.