Saturday, December 12, 2009

Modern Warfare 2 Review .

So I finally got my copy of MW2 after everyone has been talking about it , and after playing it , I immediately screwed Borderlands and started getting engrossed into the game .


First impressions
When I first got the game at The Software Boutique in SS2 for RM219 . I was shocked at its poorly printed packaging along with the horrible Booklet that tells you nearly nothing at all . Everything on the outside looked so cheap and demotivating , especially the screenshots of the game itself . But anyways , it's whats inside the two DVD's inside that counts right ?

It took me around 10 minutes to install the game along with STEAM on my computer .

When launching the game , it has three modes to choose from : Campaign , Spec Ops and Multiplayer .

Single player
Now I'm gonna try to refrain from spoiling the whole campaign experience for you , especially since the Modern Warfare series has been critically acclaimed for its epic storyline . The storyline of MW2 however , is inferior compared to the first one . Don't get me wrong its still really engrossing but it's just not as good . One big issue about the storyline is that it's so obvious that IW (infinity ward) has been rushing this which caused a few plot holes and a really confusing storyline which only some may actually understand it .

And again , it's only 5 hours worth of gameplay or slightly more .

The graphics along with the guns and other systems are AWESOME though , the voice actors also sound really professional .

Another thing that I would like to add on is that for noobs like me , even on recruit mode you would be dying alot .

And just for a reminder , the storyline is STILL better than many other games and even movies out there , just that its too short and it's rather cliche from the first one too , and yeah along with some confusing bits .

Spec Ops
Spec Ops is something fresh for the Modern Warfare series . It's like a co-op multiplayer campaign with no storyline at all . Through this mode players can either choose to try this alone (HIGHLY UNRECOMMENDED) or team up with a friend on STEAM to do tasks . I tried Spec Ops with Jeremy finishing the Alpha missions and completing half of the Bravo ops . Some missions allowed one player to be an AC-130 gunner to cover the other player on foot on the ground that has to reach a certain extraction point . Some missions required both player to coordinate themselves to avoid guards and only killing the necessary guards with your silenced sniper rifles to reach a certain point or they could just try to kill them all (Which , me and Jeremy tried , is harder than avoiding them ) . This is something new and kinda fun , but it doesn't beat the REAL reason why everybody loved CoD4...


Multiplayer
Yes , you've probably heard of the boycotting of MW2 because IW just HAD to remove Dedicated servers from MW2 . Here's what it means :
-No choosing what server you want to join
-No in game admins to kick hackers (VAC supposedly does the work but human admins are ALWAYS more efficient in catching hackers compared to anti-hacking softwares)
-Maximum capacity of 8v8 ?!
-PC gamers will suffer alot since you might get matched up with people from around the globe and start lagging .

To replace the dedicated servers , IW has chosen to use a matchmaking system which they call 'IWnet' . Basically when you hit the 'Find Server' button , it will automatically matchmake you to other players that has the closest latency/location to you . While this was done to prevent lag fest games , it fails when I'm a Malaysian and play at the wee hours and get matchmaked to American players -.-

It has some advantages though , because it chooses the player with the best IP and connectivity to be the host .

Other than the IWnet issues , the MP experience is just AWESOME , sure the higher levels still get the upper hand BUT with death streaks and the beginning classes , it's relatively easier to play as a level 1 now .

The maps are good , the perks are slightly more balanced (Except Akimbo Shotguns (Many debates about that one 0.o) . Guns...They're more of them .

Just for the record , out of 10 games that I play per day , I usually get only 2 to none laggy games , and so far I haven't found a single hacker yet after the update . And even if my latency is just 1 Bar(when I was matchmaked to Koreans) , I managed to get some kills because the lag is BEARABLE .

Oh and BTW , they removed the console which means that there is no way to mod maps/game types and etc.



The verdict
MW2 isn't as epic as its predecessor , but it's still a REALLY REALLY great game . It doesn't deserve Game of the year like CoD4 but it's still good .

Pro's
-Storyline still engrossing
-New guns and weapon systems are amazing
-Amazing voice acting and graphics
-Multiplayer experience (not taking in account IWnet) is still solid

Con's
-IWnet and the lack of dedicated servers pulled this game down for good (ONLY for the PC community , the Console community are widely unaffected)
-Players have barely any control over which map they want to play
-No more console which means no more mods
-Storyline could've been better


Overall rating ,
8/10

`Signing off
Decky AKA [ReSo]Deckay(MW2 Alias)







This review was complete 3 in the morning , so if you spot grammar mistakes , feel free to point it out or just edit it .

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