Now the Hype is gone: Modern Warfare 2 (part 2)

This Retrospective review of Modern Warfare 2 was originally going to be a comparison between itself and Black Ops 2. Both had the story about an invaded America and both had multiplayer that was considered by many in the community to be the best in series. However, I figured both have very different approaches when you get down to it, and never is it more apparent than their multiplayer design.

Modern Warfare 2 differs from most other entries by going all out with its now blockbuster level budget, and is definitely bigger than its immediate predecessor Call of Duty 4. There are more killstreaks, more weapons, more equipment, more modes, more of EVERYTHING…
But does that make it a better game?

Again, comparing to Black Ops 2, the single best word to describe Modern Warfare 2 in terms of multiplayer is ‘unrestrained’. Many elements that were toned down and refined to perfection in Black Ops 2 were let loose in this instalment, which leads to a gulf in enjoyment for the player. They can relish in the enjoyment of blowing up entire teams with grenades and shotguns, or they will be pummelled into the ground for half the match before they can get their feet and counterattack. This one element is enough to make it a love/hate game.

For starters, you are given approximately double the amount of available equipment from Call of Duty 4, and a lot of these, while misplaced, are all fun to use and offer a viable tactical advantage when used in the right way. The interesting thing about the weapons on offer is that despite having more, the balance isn't as all over the place as you might think, and all offer their own unique feel.  Modern Warfare 2 decided to add a decisively updated arsenal upon the CoD4 arsenal (which were relatively prevalent in modern times, but felt like the game took place in the 1990’s rather than present day). MW2 included the likes of the FAMAS, ACR, Intervention, UMP45 and TAR21 to feel like these were the weapons of now, and likely the near future. There are strong but slow automatics, fast firing but low damage hoses, semi auto powerhouses, burst fire precision rifles, and all act different to others in class. Its a well rounded class, and this works better than future instalments like Black Ops, which instead of offering variety, made clone weapons to balance. 

See anything you like?

Perks are reduced a bit from CoD4, in favour of adding pro perks as extra bonuses. Unnecessary perks from the predecessor, such as the ability to hold breath longer when sniping, work far better as extra pro variants for better perks in this game. With the exception of perhaps scrambler, all perks have their purpose and can be used to great effect, even if one or two perks feel better than others (more on that near the end).

And of course, killstreaks got increased from the base three from previous games to a whole host of reward options. AC130's, UAV's, Care Packages, Attach Helicopters and even a game winning nuclear strike can be earned through enough kills. This can be gamebreaking for many, as the rewards stack with kills and some are squashing to the enemy team. However, this really is a defining addition to Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer. The whole risk and reward element of picking higher rewards and then having it pay off is such a part of the strategy in this game that its hard to imagine it without rewards.

However, to play with great equipment and perk choices on poor maps would give MW2 a very bad rep. MW2 wins a lot of credit back in its map design and a lot of the community agree that this game has the best core maps of the recent series. The designers based maps around variety, some verticality and very well placed areas for combat. Rust for example is all Close quarters all the time while Afghan is made for domination with a fairly circular path leading to all three flags. The maps are also memorable in many ways because they all cater to different styles while also usually having some areas that can be effective for any class.

Highrise is a classic example of this. The map is suited for a general deathmatch, yet it contains a central elevated roof for snipers, two office buildings for close quarters, and tunnels for stealthy players. Even with that variety, there are areas inbetween, such as the long passages between the two office buildings that cater to a standard aggressive playstyle.

While Highrise may be the ultimate deathmatch map, by contrast Wasteland is built for Snipers with lots of grass and wide open spaces. Even here, the map has three trenches that lead to a chaotic bunker for those that want to play faster.

The gameplay is adapted to each map, and to succeed you must memorise the locations, know where the best spots to use your given class is, and if on an objective game mode, the fastest routes to the flag or bomb. Future games in the series have relied on a three lane system, which is good to play but eventually leads to having similar strategies for every match, and it becomes routine quicker.

We are looking at you Black Ops 2!

In this case, variety trumps philosophy, and Modern Warfare 2 is more varied. There are some three lane maps, such as Sub Base, but many maps are full of surprise routes and suitable cover to make for a lot more tactics to succeed.

While the game has a lot in its favour, the problem with the unrestrained MW2 is that it ultimately is unbalanced to this day. This boils down to many quirks that weren’t ironed out by release, and more so, weren’t patched after release. Many point to the West/Zampella exodus of Infinity Ward as the reason why many issues never got patched. The worst offender of balance issues that remains unresolved today is pairing the One Man Army or Scavenger perks with Danger Close and spamming grenades indefinitely. Other issues include the overly long Commando lunge, the Powerful Shotguns as secondary weapons, Tactical insertion in Free for all, party chat issues and broken suppressors on some weapons.

Despite this, the game did get a few patches early on, such as the Javelin patch, Model 1887 nerf and fast sprinting cut from holding a care package marker. If only this sort of repair happened for the duration of the games lifecycle, this would be the game that all can enjoy.

And now onto a truly subjective point, not one with much in the way of balancing the good and bad parts. Just a question; is this game more fun to play regardless of how it got to where it is?

And for me Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer is a tonne of fun. For all the balancing issues, killstreak problems and rich get richer gameplay, its hard not to admit that it is more rewarding to play when things go your way than other entries in the series. A lot of silly stuff is allowed to work here. Even if you hate things like quickscoping, tubing, shotgun rampages and dependence on equipment, you can still play very well with a solid all round class and show them who is boss. Others can be happy with their style, and you can be happy with yours, and there is a game mode for everyone.

Over time, this still is my favourite, and on its own merits it deserved the hype it got when it was released in 2009. The blockbuster budget nearly made it fly off the rails, but its still built on rock solid shooting and options. The graphics may not wow like they once did, but they work and have aged better than MW3's duller palette. If you never played a Call of Duty game, this may not be the best to start, but this is definitely the one if you want to find out why people love and hate the series.