COD: Modern Warfare 2 is nothing short of fantastic, whatever angle you analyze the game from. Modern Warfare 2 is a direct sequel to Multi award winning COD: 4 Modern Warfare, released back in 2007.

MW 2 production values have definitely rocketed through the roof since its last release and without a doubt has paid off. You will now see dynamic weather effect’s such as blizzards of snow, new locations such as Russia, Rio de Janeiro and the attention to detail on terrain to name a few.

If there’s one question pondering gamer’s minds its how does it live up to the hype? Is there a significant difference or improvement from its mind blowing predecessor? Most importantly, does MW 2 top MW 1?

The amount of revenue this game gained from pre-orders alone is quite comparable to what other games amount to at the end of a fiscal year. Anyone who has played MW 1 has no reason not to buy this latest installment.

With an immersing yet heart stringing campaign, brand new features implemented into the winning multiplayer formula and 23 missions played either alone or with a friend in co-op mode, MW 2 is defiantly value for your money and a warm welcoming member to your collection of video games.

The campaign is like a high budget action film with moments where your spine tingles leaving your hair standing on edge. One person I definitely have to give applause is Hans Zimmer, for composing such heart stringing music scores for this game, which brings a definitive experience like no other to a video game.

Without spoiling it for you too much, in one scene a team was betrayed.  It’s the first time I felt so attached to a video game character I forgot I was playing at all.

Without Hans Zimmer’s impact, MW 2 wouldn’t be the same; it would be like playing any other FPS. I’m sure Infinity Ward is thrilled that they managed to persuade him to work on MW2 (which is his first video game project).

The general narrative of the campaign is that there’s a new Russian terrorist, who goes by the name of Vladimir Makarov; he is your top priority within the game. According to the cut scenes he was a former associate of Imran Zakhaev, following his death he has become a follower with the same ambitions, views as Zakhaev.

Without giving too much away, the only way you’re going to understand the motive behind finding Makarov is by playing the infamous airport mission.

When you first startup the game you’re given the choice to either skip this level in the campaign or play through it. Whether or not you feel offended by this mission I can assure you the only way to understand the story is to play this mission, in fact I would even go as far to say that this is the key plot of the campaign.

Playing MW 2 I’ve found that this time the enemy AI has improved, maneuvering to different cover and even trying to flank you. There is certainly a lot more chaos as well; I saw more soldiers spawning onto screen than MW 1.

Playing through the campaign the first time through the eyes of different soldiers, it’s very unclear as to what’s going on at times. It makes players indecisive to what story they’re following, often going over your head.

After you’re done with the campaign there’s Spec-Ops mode which is basically co-op mode and totally different and longer than the campaign. There are 23 missions that can be played either alone or with a friend, which vary from snowmobile races to completing training mode in the fastest time and sniping a whole enemy’s fortress for example.

The co-op missions are played out for example, with maybe one person taking control of a gunship while the other is on foot. Not all missions are unlocked from the start, you have to gain stars in each mission to unlock others. Stars are gained by either completing objectives in a level in the fastest time or getting from point a to b and surviving to be concise.

A neat touch that I enjoy about Spec-Ops is the addition of an enemy called the juggernaut. He’s the toughest and biggest enemy you’ll come across in the game, wearing some thick clothing and armour almost resembling a space outfit with a colour scheme. To take him out it will take a really high caliber weapon such as a sniper rifle fired 6 times to annihilate him. 

Moving onto perhaps the only reason anyone will buy this game; the multiplayer. One of the newest additions to the multiplayer experience is customizable killstreaks, which are unlocked progressively.

The great thing about this is the fact that you can mix and match killstreaks, experimenting for the one that suits your needs. One killstreak that I’m sure gamers will like is the 25 kill’s killstreak that blasts a nuke into the map whipping out all your enemies and ending the match.

Amongst the new multiplayer features is death streaks, giving the unfortunately killed something to stand back on their feet. Death streaks that can be used are; last stand, drop a grenade when you die, copy the loadout of the enemy that killed you and a 10 second health boost. 

In MW 1 there were so many places for players to camp, the solution to that in MW 2 is high terrain, taller buildings, more entrances and a lot more open planned maps.

In some maps there’s literally no place to hide, just trash cans or destructible debris to use as cover. Overall this makes online a better experience and more intense, not knowing who you’re going to run into around the corner.

Infinity Ward has made MW 2 such an in-depth multiplayer experience, its more than players ever bargained for. I can’t imagine another sequel by IW that’s going to surpass the time and effort put into this year’s installment.  

The inconsiderate decision to get rid of dedicated servers is a big middle finger to PC gamers. So PC gamers can kiss goodbye the good old days of 32 players online, it’s basically the same experience on all platforms now.

What this also means is no mods for the PC community either, essentially PC gamers are forced to have the same experience as PS3 and 360 owners. It’s not even worth buying the PC version for multiplayer.

PC gamers are so annoyed by this, that there is even a petition out there to bring back dedicated servers. It’s a shame that those who have been putting food on the developers tables and established Infinity Ward for what it’s known for today, is being middle finger saluted for some careless reason.  

Now I bet some of you are thinking well that’s not so bad without dedicated servers. Well let me explain why so many people are annoyed by this decision.

The first few times I actually found a game I was waiting for 5 minutes for a match to start. Before you know it I got a message saying server timed out.

The downside to the game is the amount of time it takes for some lobby’s to find players, establish a connection to play a game. Every time I want to play multiplayer on PC I find myself wasting about 10 to 15 minutes trying to find a lobby with a decent connection.

Another thing to take into account when you’re playing online is whether the host is downloading or has got a web browser open. If he has you will experience a vast amount of lag or the game will try to establish who will be the host of the game. None the less when you do actually find a good lobby, with a host that has a decent connection the multiplayer is magnificent.

Modern Warfare 2 is a state of the art video game, whether you’re looking at the phenomenal graphics, second to none music score or the epic multiplayer, raising the bar of what was already a winning formula. Even if you despise on first person shooters, Modern Warfare 2 is enough to make FPS games your new born obsession.

9/10