Daimon's Lair

I'm addicted to Modern Warfare 2.

But, wait, didn't I just write a short novel about why Bungie is the be-all and end-all of FPS developers? Yes, but, as they say. . .  that's not the whole story.

 The first thing I have to say will soon become a video-game critic's cliche: No one can argue with the commercial success of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. That said, I find it hard to remember a blockbuster game having so many things to nitpick about. This isn't another article about the numerous exploits and glitches that have been exposed in the months since MW2's release, nor even the (slightly less numerous) patches IW has pushed out in an attempt to correct them.

Rather, these are my thoughts after having spent nearly an entire day online with MW2, comparing it to my other favorite adversarial multi-player shooter: Bungie's Halo 3. I don't have exact sales figures, but I believe the newer game has already outsold Halo 3--despite the games having been released two years apart. Yet there is something special about Halo 3 two-plus years later that IW has failed to capture with MW2 and its predecessor.

Just read this great article on Gamasutra that rips the single-player narrative to shreds:
Single-Player/Multi-Player Conundrum

In fact, the more I think about it, the more the author nails a lot of my thoughts on MW2. I found the multi-player fun, but I'm still not sold on exp progression based play. I'd much rather have Bungie's mostly excellent social AND ranked playlists that work so well for Halo 3.

But maybe it's just me. I simply don't feel like putting a bunch of time into a multi-player game right now. Instead, Dragon Age and Mass Effect (yes, I'm finishing up my second run through ME so I can use this character build for ME2 that just arrived) have me loving RPGs. Why play with a bunch of immature teenagers when I can have fun with well-designed characters and evocative worlds?

That's why I love Bioshock so much. It was an awesome FPS with a unique and quirky design and an unbelievably good story. If I was a designer, that would be the game I'd make. I love shooters, but I'd rather have one (or two) occasional standbys when I want a death-match. The other ten-plus games in my library might as well just be single-player.

Okay, so I'm far from the only person who's going to be commenting on this game (perhaps one of the biggest of all time) but doing it serves two purposes: (1) it satisfies my current all-consuming addiction to the game; (2) helps to resurrect a blog that I've sorely neglected.

Since release day delivery at 1 p.m. (for once Amazon's service came on time!), I've put in about two hours on campaign and probably close to eight on multiplayer. Where has that gotten me? I'll break my impressions into two parts:

First off, the campaign. We've all been warned that this game--like its predecessor--is a fairly short experience. Furthermore, its story is supposed to be less cohesive and a bit far-stretched. I just started Act II (of 3) but I can see these criticisms.

Still, though, what I was looking for was something supplied by the previous game: an action title that pushed the boundaries. Call of Duty 4 was a revolutionary title in many ways, but one of my favorite aspects was the novel aspects to its story. Beginning in "Charlie Don't Surf" you see a war against Islamic radicals. Then Kamarov introduces you to the "new" Russia. A nuclear blast goes off, killing one of the POV characters (!). All of this combines over the course of the (brief) campaign to create a dystopian view of the modern battlefield. Accurate--painfully accurate--to the realities of the present, but with a distinctly dark twist.

Modern Warfare 2 takes that dystopian vision and turns it up to "11".

*SPOILERS*
Early in the game you discover that the efforts to preserve Russia against the ultra-nationalists utterly failed (even though it was a military success). The terrorist Imran Zakhaev is now lionized as the hero of the new Russia (!).

The scope of global terror is greater, more destructive, and smarter. This will be a difficult war to win, one which demands sacrifices--something that MW2 provides early and often.

The campaign has taken me (so far) from Kasakhstan to Moscow, to Rio de Janeiro. But the way it begins is awesome: in Afghanistan. Unlike the "generic" Middle East setting of the first game, you start in an actual theater of the War on Terror. I can understand (some of) the controversy surrounding another developer's "Three Days in Fallujah", but it's refreshing to see a developer avoid PC and have an Islamic nemesis hailing from a real country. No white-washing here.

I can already see how far-fetched the story could become as the game progresses, but it's already given me what I loved from the first-game: a story that pushes the boundaries, but not through adult content (though, of course, this is far from a kid's game).

Multiplayer has so far been nothing short of addictive. I enjoy the gameplay of COD4 but I only recently got into it (as opposed to Halo 3), partly in preparation for MW2's release. I'm not good (at all) but I started to enjoy it. COD4 was my first introduction to class-based multiplayer and, quite frankly, it annoyed me. Weapon unlocks and the lack of skill-based matchmaking was something foreign to me after so long in the Halo-verse.

MW2 uses the same basic formula, but it's so much better. Weapon unlocks take about the same time, but there's more challenges to complete, and more exp bonuses. It seems like just about every match I get a bonus for something (like making a kill after dying three or more times, which happens a lot). The constant gratification of that, plus the addition of "accolades" (MW2's take on Halo 3's medals), makes it a more involving experience this time around--less an exp slog like COD4 was, for me.

My current favorite weapon is the tried and true M-4 that I fully unlocked in COD4. Once I get it mastered (all unlocks--and there are twice as many this time around), I'll explore some other classes. Right now I'm still having fun experimenting with different perk combinations (again, more of these) and learning maps.

Last night I had a few moments of rather good success, even being the MVP on a couple teams (during losing efforts, I have to add). Believe my current killstreak best is five. Not great but respectable. Which brings up something I love that they changed in MW2. Once you earn a killstreak reward, you own it--even if you die. It seemed like I would earn a UAV in COD4 and then immediately die. This time around, I can call it in after I respawn.

The basic formula remains the same, but the numerous tweaks and additions make it that much better. Dare I say, another aspect turned up to "11"?

And there's still a whole other aspect of the game I haven't even started on yet!