But once you move on from the game’s shock therapy and get used to/ desensitised to the new Mature approach, not an awful lot has changed. Scratch the surface, and it’s largely the same tightly choreographed shooter experience underneath, only with less immersion-breaking quirks than before.
Soap contemplates the next field of battle.
What makes it interesting, first and foremost, is context. Infinity Ward’s canny knack of crafting compelling and contrasting set pieces drags you through by the scruff of the neck, subtly varying the pace and gameplay style at exactly the right moments. Set at a variety of locations, you’ll take in the sweaty slums of Rio De Janeiro, the icy mountain paths of the Russian-Georgian border, as well as the suburban streets of the USA and the White House, among others. It certainly doesn’t lack locational variety.
As in the original, just as your enthusiasm and energy for high adrenaline run-and-gun starts to wane, the chances are the emphasis will switch completely. Sometimes you might be tasked with holding a defensive position for a set period, while others might require that you creep silently through woodland, either sniping patrols or avoiding them altogether.
"But I thought it was YOUR turn to paddle."
Elsewhere, the game goes straight for the jugular, reverting to standard on-rails action, manning a chopper emplacement or a machine on the back of a speeding jeep, or chase sequences down an icy mountainside, with improbable carnage left in your wake. Sometimes it’s merely the gadgets at your disposal that vary the mechanics and tempo: occasional forays into hostage rescue employ slow-motion sequences after you breach a doorway, while on other occasions the ability to call in missile strikes give you the ability to manually steer targets via an aerial map to their destination.
Just as significant is the new Special Ops mode. Essentially building on the bonus ‘Mile High Club’ mission tagged onto the end of Modern Warfare, each of these mini challenges tasks players with performing specific gameplay tasks within a time limit. So, for example, you might need to get from A to B in a stealth mission within 1 minute 30 seconds, or takedown 30 enemies within three minutes, and so on. With the option of three different skill levels, you can earn up to three stars by completing the task on the hardest setting, with additional stars eventually unlocking further tiers, each with up to five more scenarios to engage in.
Satoru Iwata Video Interview - the late Nintendo president spoke with Kikizo in 2004 as 'Nintendo Revolution' loomed.
Kaz Hirai Video Interview - the first of Kikizo's interviews with the man who went on to become global head of Sony.
Ed Fries Video Interview - one of Xbox's founders discusses an epic journey from Excel to Xbox.
Yu Suzuki, the Kikizo Interview - we spend time with one of gaming's most revered creators.
Tetris - The Making of an Icon: Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers reveal the fascinating story behind Tetris
Rare founders, Chris and Tim Stamper - their only interview? Genuinely 'rare' sit down with founders of the legendary studio.
The History of First-Person Shooters - a retrospective, from Maze War to Modern Warfare
finally a review with a sensible score.
sensible? mw2 is easily at least a 9.5 horrible read/review.
Haha mitchell doesn’t sound like a fan boy… have you even picked up the game? if not then you are just a fan boy and not really helping anything.
Note: Lower scores do not equal smarter reviews.
If you low-ball a score, it does not mean you’re the smart guy who didn’t give in to the hype. If a game is deserving of a 10/10, give it one. It a game is just shy of being perfect, then it’s a 10/10, and NOT a 9/10, because it’s CLOSER to a 10/10. It’s called rounding.
Halo 3 was by no means a perfect game, but reviewers were so quick to slap it with 8/10 scores just to proudly and arrogantly say “overhyped.”
If Modern Warfare 2 was a new IP and had a different name but was the exact same game, people would revere it instead of try to battle the hype like an arrogant douchebag.
mitchell sounds like he’s had his throat filled with knobs on multiple occasions.
How about play the game for yourself? I own the game and I hate it when people go around saying its “overhyped” and “won’t be good” when THEY haven’t even played it. Once you do, you’ll realize that the review score here IS low, and should be closer to a 10/10, because the game is ridiculous…
And once you ALL understand that review scores are based on an individual’s OPINIONS, and that there is not a single test that can quantify with any kind of mathematical precision how awesome or crappy the game is, you’ll realize that reviews scores can be anything they want and you won’t like the game any more nor any less.
Now now, don’t you come in here touting your frivolous “broader perspective” at us fetid bean-counters.
In case he’s right and it makes you think?
I wholly agree with the review on 99% of the points raised. Being a PC gamer, I’d have given the game a 10/10 if it wasn’t for the dumbing-down of MPlayer options usually available to the unwashed PC gaming masses. Even still, hits a 9/10 for me.