I guess a person will only complain about a glitch or a bug when it affects them directly? I didn’t complain about the javelin glitch because most of the time I was able to shoot those morons from a safe distance. I didn’t complain about the infinite ammo glitch because I’ve only seen it a few times because of the mode I play. I didn’t complain about the retardly over powered 1887 akimbo shotgun that looks fucking ridiculous and makes the game absolutely clownish. But with that said, I’ve finally reached the breaking point with Infinity Ward and their fucking arrogance and incompetence. Currently hardcore headquarters mode (my favorite mode) is essentially broken. For whatever reason four maps are completely missing from the mode. Those maps are Terminal, Highrise, Invasion, and Skidrow. I suspect that these maps where taken down because these were popular javelin glitch maps. But unfortunately Infinity Ward never bothered to put the maps back up. Oh well, it’s not like you actually need the maps you fucking paid for. I guess we all get the pleasure of waiting until the first week of January when Infinity Ward comes back from their hundred million dollar x-mas vacations. Thanks Infinity Ward. I’ll remember that when Medal of Honor comes out. Hopefully EA won’t put out a broken bug filled piece of shit like you guys did.

Lately, Machombie has not been able to play any games with us because sadly, his PS3 went to video game system heaven and he is now in Florida on vacation for his birthday (everyone say happy birthday Machombie).

So The Niz and I have been playing the Modern Warfare 2: Special Ops.

After going through the first three sections on Veteran, I’ve realized how much detail Infinity Ward put into this game.

Not only did they create a campaign mode (that I thought lacked a little depth but nonetheless took plenty of time to develop) and created an amazing multiplayer mode that has many people all over the world staying up until 4 in the morning (trust me on this), but they also put this little section in it that allows you to play missions with one other player.

I like this compared to in the past where they just allowed you to play the campaign with multiple people. This new section allows you to play random side missions, that are very enjoyable, in the same areas that the campaign takes place.

These missions require not only patience, skill, and a whole lot of time, but they require you to defend every area you walk into, learn to use all weapons (like heartbeat sensors, sentry guns, and AC130’s), and coordinate the movements between the two people playing (because there is nothing more difficult than having to revive a teammate that went down across the map while playing on Veteran).

Most importantly you have to communicate. If you are unable to do this, then you have zero chance of finishing any mission. Even on regular difficulty it is nearly impossible to complete one. Don’t believe me, take a look for yourself at the things you have to do.

Still don’t believe me, watch this.

These are two of the missions we played that seemed to take forever. All in all it is a ton of fun and I have enjoyed playing it. So if you haven’t tried this great multiplayer section, then give yourself a break from team deathmatch and check it out. You will be glad you did.

In this post  http://fccomputing.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-is-hacker-full-not-hacker-free/

I discussed the rampant hacker problem with MW2. Here, let’s look at their other big problem, the deliberate choice to leave out any provision for dedicated servers.

 In this post http://www.infinityward.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=128182 Infinity Ward trumpets the benefits of the IWNET system. They claim:

• Matchmaking & Smoother Gameplay: “will automatically find you a game with the best performance, ping, and preferences . . . as well as matching you with players of your same SKILL. So you’re always guaranteed the best game performance for where you are and what connection you’re playing on as well as an equal game with other players of your same skill level, not rank, but skill level. It doesn’t mean you’ll just be thrown into a random game!”

Really? And just exactly how does it evaluate skill if not based on rank? Rank vs time played? If so, then why is this hidden metric hidden? Shouldn’t that be shown instead of rank? And I have to say that I think whatever measurement they’re using, it doesn’t work too well. The majority of the time, one team is getting owned by another, so obviously the matchmaking isn’t working.

•  Playlists and Private Matches: “Playlists are pre-set game modes . . . If you just want to jump into a public game . . . and you don’t care about fully customizing it”

As opposed to what? Making ONE mouse click and having the list of available games sorted by game type, like all of the games for the past 10 years have allowed? That’s customizing?

 Number 2 goes on to say (regarding private matches): “you have complete control . . . Once the rules are set, you can invite the other team in . . . This now allows you to play custom games out of the box without the need to install mods, find a modded server with the rules you like, or worry about not being in control of the match.” Huh? Infinity Ward obviously doesn’t understand what mods are. Some examples would be mods that alter the camouflage, sounds, weapons attachments, etc. – none of which can be done in their private matches. And the labor of installing mods, which they are saving us from, is a one-time thing, while they are making us set up any custom rules every game! Thanks for “saving” us all of that effort, there, Skippy.

•  Party System and Friendslist: “utilize the friendslist to see when your friends are online . . . A Party allows you to move from game to game as a group”.

Friendslist, blah. I don’t care. My friends will come into our Teamspeak server before joining the game, so I know where they are and what they’re doing without an annoying in-game announcement. Now the party system might be kind of useful but nothing to write home about. I’m unimpressed.

 Number 4, the massive failure to detect and ban hacking, I’ve already addressed.

 As a summary, IW says “All in all, IWNET adds a load of new features that the PC version of our games have never had before and allows us an infrastructure to continue to update and improve on the game post-launch.”

 No, it doesn’t. In reality, what you have is a LACK of features that have been standard on all other games for a decade. And exactly how does this infrastructure allow them to “update and improve” any better than, say, every other game which will download new patches the next time you log on?

I like MW2 as a visually well-done and exciting game. I played Call of Duty 4 and liked it. But I think IW made a very poor decision with the IW-only servers and I think they have killed the game by allowing the rampant hacking. If I worked at IW, my pride would have me working night and day to rectify these problems.

It’s been just over a month now since the smash hit Modern Warfare 2 dropped into stores.  Millions of gamers worldwide have embraced the next chapter in the Infinity Ward/Activision powerhouse with open arms.  In just over a month, Xbox 360 owners have snatched up 4,200,000 copies of the game.  Over on the PS3, the tune isn’t quite so beautiful, but 1,870,000 ain’t bad either.  So with all this money pouring into the game developers & publishers, what’s to stop Modern Warfare 2 from holding it’s crown as multiplayer king in the months to come?  The answer can be found in the mirror: itself.

Glitches, lag, and exploits are killing the game’s wholesome experience first started having when it first launched.  Since launch, several gamers (who must have no lives whatsoever) have managed to find out how to use exploits on weapons such as the Javelin (using it as a giant bomb that detonates as soon as the player is killed, killing everyone within a country mile of the explosion).  While that exploit was patched recently, another glitch came about for “boosting”.  Using a still unknown method, gamers can switch their public Xbox Live match (or PS Network match) and make it a private match, allowing manipulation of the rules and pushing the game onto the small map known as Rust.  Having 18 players on such a small map with “free for all” settings allows those that are the quickest and get best position to have a field day with kills (free of time limits).  Personally, I’ve encountered people that have reached 200+ kills and only saw around 30 deaths.  How’s that for a boost to your K/D ratio?  Also, there’s a huge uproar in the community about the lack of dedicated servers.

Console gamers are starting to learn about how wonderful the world of PC gaming tends to be because of the use of dedicated servers.  They are basically game machines (servers/computers) set up to run the game and render all the action without supporting a local player.  The server’s internet connection broadcasts out to all the client players in the game and thus everyone has equal opportunity to have a solid connection (if their internet connection is in fact high speed).  While it is possible to see very good connections with the current setup, it’s rare.  <50ms ping games are what your machine will search for.  However, you’re probably getting more of a 75-100ms ping host when you find a decent game.  The problem?  100ms is a longer ping time than say the host’s “0″ms ping (a host has no lag since the game is being played from their machine) and thus the host sees everything that happens before you do.  For instance, a big problem is you running from a spray of bullets.  You duck around the corner just in time, only to still be killed when you thought you should have been safe.  On your console, you were.  On the host’s console, you weren’t.  The “killcam” reveals what actually happened and you’re left saying “that’s not what happened!”  It’s a common tune amongst gamers right now in MW2.

These problems create a lot of frustration and anger among the dedicated players.  Modern Warfare 2 is a great game, but Infinity Ward is taking their time getting updates rolled out.  The word is there are multiple patches coming, but when?  Also, it’s being rumored that IW/Activision already worked on map packs for the game but held them back from release to create greater profits when they roll out some downloadable content.  You may have noticed that there aren’t a lot of maps to choose from in MW2.  Thus the possibility of IW holding back as many as half a dozen (one rumor claimed ten) map packs would be maddening and in poor taste for such a treasured development company when we only have a small selection from the start.

This all plays against Modern Warfare 2.  Why?  Well you might get too frustrated to play the game after a while, but more importantly there are two competitors on their way for the first half of 2010 that may prove to be better in the end.  Who are these competitors?  Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is set to release in the earlier part of 2010.  It boasts gorgeous graphics (more gorgeous than Modern Warfare 2) with destructible environments in multiplayer.  The other competitor is the first Medal of Honor entry into the modern combat-style arena.  It, too, boasts great visuals and promising promising multiplayer experiences.  But, at this point, Bad Company 2 promises dedicated servers for the online multiplayer portion of their game, both on PC and console.  This is a big deal, as players will experience the best connections possible during their game play.  No word yet on MoH’s entry for dedicated servers, but it’s definitely possible.

Modern Warfare 2 has some rough competition coming.  If it wants to stay atop the charts with it’s impressive online population and fun factor, it needs some fixes and expandable content to find its way to gamers soon.  Otherwise, MW2’s lifespan may be cut short to other entries who get it right the first time around.

“Controversy Creates Cash”

- Eric Bischoff

—

So there’s a new game out called Modern Warfare 2. You may have heard about it.

It sold 4.7  million copies on the first day of release in the UK & US with a total sales revenue of $310 million. After five days it had made $550 million (over half a BILLION dollars!).

These figures make it not only a massive success financially but also the biggest entertainment launch in history, surpassing previous leader GTA IV, also a video game.

This is huge.

Again, this game, from a financial point of view, is more successful in it’s first week of release than any other entertainment related event in history (including movies). Funnily enough, both GTA IV and Modern Warfare 2 share three things in common:

• an 18 certificate,
• huge amounts of violence (with the option to kill/attack innocents) and, as a result;
• media controversy.

If you’re developer and want to create a game that would fly off the shelves then those three bullet points would be the first things on your ‘must have’ list. It seems in today’s market having those three things is the VIP pass into the exclusive  ‘2 Million+ Sales Club’.

In addition to the money, it’s also been met with critical acclaim for the most part and has it’s own TV ad campaign featuring many explosions, brick hard men performing feats of soldiering that are barely believable in their cinematic beauty and oh so shiny modern weapons to go a shootin’ Johnny Foreigner to bits with.

The original Call Of Duty games were based largely around well-known battles and locations from World War 2 and featured missions from many different fronts; occupied France (D-Day landings), Russia, Germany, Japan and Africa.

When, in 2007, Infinity Ward decided to bring their hugely successful franchise out of the 1940’s into the modern era it had gamers eagerly anticipating the result. That result was ‘Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’ and, apart from being one of the best-selling games of the year, it was universally praised by critics, handed one award after another and went down in gaming history as a classic.

To guarantee another cash bonanza, Modern Warfare 2 picks up where that cash cow left off (figuratively, not literally) and happily the ‘4′ has been dropped from the ‘Call Of Duty’ preface, lest it confuse gamers into thinking it’s a war-themed maths game rather than what it actually is (a game where you snipe people in the face for fun then collect their nipples as trophies to use as helmet decorations on your fat decadent western head).

It seems like these games are designed to inspire a specific ambivalence in the player. Namely; “War is hell” and “War is AWESOME!”

For every harrowing beach landing or nuclear disaster you witness there’s high adventure, rescue missions, killing evil types and performing stunts to counteract it. You can almost hear the game whispering in your ear:

“You know you could’ve joined the SAS if you wanted, but they’re a load of pansies and you’d be too hard for them handle”.

So, instead of ’serving your country proudly’ by eliminating anyone with vaguely dissimilar ways of life at the behest of a clueless government more concerned about who’s going to win the X Factor, you do the very same thing in the comfort of your own home, albeit vicariously with control pad (or keyboard & mouse) in hand.

Now, as this thing I’m writing is quite long and discusses the violence in modern games I think I should reveal on which side of the fence I stand.

Put simply; I’m pro-gaming and, more specifically, I’m pro-violence in games.

I love and play most of the games that contain obscene violence & controversy and have hugely enjoyed the Grand Theft Auto franchise and Manhunt (to name but two games that have attracted the media’s attention). I also love and play most of the games that have been huge hits and family friendly such as the (never-ending) Super Mario franchise, Tetris and the Guitar Hero.

I view games as I think they are intended to be viewed – escapist fun and not to be taken seriously.

To date I have killed and tortured many hundreds of people in Manhunt, I’ve murdered countless more cops and innocents in Grand Theft Auto for no other reason than wanton destruction and mayhem. In fact, killing as many police, blowing up as many police cars and downing as many police helicopters as possible before being taken down by armed response units, the military and tanks is a great way to spend your afternoon in Liberty City.

And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

Sadly for the media and the so-called ‘concerned parents’ of the world who look to place the blame for anything they don’t like as far away from their own doorstep as possible, when I’ve become bored of the violence and mayhem I haven’t decided to see if it’s just as much fun to go out & kill cops for fun in the real world. Nor have I used it as inspiration to go out & commit armed robbery, hijack people’s cars, join a drug cartel or run people over just for fun.

No, I’ve quit the game and gone about my day without giving the chaos I wreaked in-game a second thought. Hmm… Just like almost 100% of everyone else who’s ever played a game then.

Like many other people born in the 70’s I’ve pretty much grown up playing video games. I got my first taste at the age of 7 when my parents bought me a Mattel Vectrex console for Christmas 1985.

**DIGRESSION!!!**

Well, when I say my parents bought it me, I obviously believed at the time that Santa delivered it by ‘24 hour Guaranteed Overnight Sleigh’ direct from the North Pole and if Santa himself is delivering video games for Christmas they must be morally ok. Santa wouldn’t be a part of anything that was bad, would he?

Are we likely to see Santa on the front cover of HEAT magazine with a caption underneath saying: Santa’s True Story: “My drug & mulled wine hell”? Nope. He’s got one hell of a stressful job though but unlike Kerry Katona he can handle a bit of pressure without taking most of Columbia’s GDP up the left nostril.

Not likely to see him in an Iceland advert either. Even though that would actually be the most appropriate food advert for Santa to do.

Anyway, back to the heady days of 1985’s Christmas when I got my first taste of video games…

/DIGRESSION

Much playing of ‘Mine Storm’ & ‘Clean Sweep’ (rip offs of arcade classics ‘Asteroids’ & ‘Pac Man’ respectively) laid the ground work for the next 30 years. Since then I’ve been mostly a Nintendo-based gamer, having owned a NES, Gameboy, SNES, N64, Gamecube and Wii at various times, in addition to the original Playstation, PS2 and more recently the X-box 360. I also spent inordinate amounts of time in arcades as a youth and still do now when I can.

I love the smell of them, and the sounds. One thing sorely missing nowadays is the distinctive sound of a Space Invaders machine being played in the background, or the Wonderboy music playing as someone goes for the high score. Arcades depress me a little these days with how much they’ve changed.

**DIGRESSION!!!**

When I were a lad the balance of fruit machines and video games was roughly around 50/50 in the 80’s & 90’s. In the last 10 years though it’s shifted to more like 90/10 in favour of fruit machines.

Good news for gamblers, bad news for gamers.

It’s due in no small part to the home video gaming market rapidly growing & outclassing the arcade hardware which means less gamers inserting coins and made fruit machines far more profitable per square foot of space.

/DIGRESSION

These days my gaming is done mostly on PC; a ridiculously flexible platform and, in my opinion, the best way to experience games. The console control pad method just doesn’t work as well in a lot of games as the keyboard & mouse combo offered by the PC. That said, there are some games that are absolutely suited to consoles. The aforementioned Guitar Hero being a great example, but there are many, many more.

Furthermore, almost every single one of the games I grew up playing, either in the arcades at rainy seaside resorts or in the comfort of my own teenage, messy, purple and yellow walled bedroom, are available to play on the PC through a wide variety of emulators. For free.

But anyway, once again, I digress…

I’ve not played Modern Warfare 2 yet (but I will, just as soon as Batman Arkham Asylum releases the stranglehold on my gaming time) but there’s a  level where your character (an undercover CIA agent in Russia) teams up with a couple of Russian Terrorist types who are tooled up with machine guns and flak jackets.

After being instructed not to speak any Russian (so Russia believes the attack to be perpetrated by the Americans) the head honcho terrorist (Vladimir Makarov) instructs you and the others to open fire on an airport full of innocent civilians. The article discussing the mission is here and is the main inspiration for the writing of this whole thing.

Now, committing acts of terrorism against unarmed civilians in a public place (while certainly topical) reeks of bad taste and opportunistic exploitation, especially with recent history and current world politics being how they are.

I can see this one from the point of view of both sides though.

Before any amount of outrage or alleged ‘copycat’ attempts can be laid at it’s door, Modern Warfare 2 is just a game. Remember that.

Just. A. Game.

Yes, the content is morally wrong but still, it’s just a game.

But, the content and the actions taken by characters (yours included) is morally wrong. You, by clicking your mouse or joypad decided to murder an innocent civilian for no reason and in so doing did something that is, by definition, ‘wrong’ (albeit ‘wrong’ within a completely fake arena of reality).

The game represents as realistically as possible the scenario you are in and the decisions you make. And, at the end of it all it is YOU making the decision to kill indescriminently.

Ok, your character on-screen is actually doing the killing, but it’s at your command, entirely under your control.

Again,  it’s just a game.

It’s no more ‘real’ than a dream, is it?

To be continued… Part 2 – up soon!

Click to view review
Having never really played it back when it was released, I wasn’t sure what to expect, from experience however I was aware that remakes not only make the game a little more HD friendly but sometimes a little more controller helpful too.

As always Call of Duty follows the stories during the World War, this installment focuses on the World War II and around D-Day and we see the British, American and Russian sides of the war throughout the game.

As you guys know… Modern Warfare 2 broke the one day-record sales in entertainment. The anticipated game grossed  $310 million in 24 hours in both North America and the U.K. Should we believe the hype? YES! This game is incredible!! All my friends have been playing non-stop and won’t stop raving about it!!! As usual, the graphics are precise and well done.  For a full review, check out IGN’s site: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/104/1043366p1.html

I love this game, and playing multi-player online!!! This year, MW2 went home with a bunch of awards from the Video Game Awards this year: Best Multi-Player Game and Best Shooter. I’m surprised they didn’t win Best Game of the Year! Did any of you guys watch the Video Game Awards 2009 on Spike TV? The Bravery performed, as well as Snoop Dogg. I didn’t get a chance to attend, but my friend Sarah did…check out her inside scoop at Sarahdope.com

Also, for a whole list of winners check out: http://www.chiff.com/recreation/video-game-awards.htm

here are some of the trailers that premiered during thr VGAs! Check them out!

Batman Arkham Asylum 2

Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands

Halo Reach

TRON: Evolution

Army of Two: The 40th Day

Intro

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is a first person shooter that was recently released worldwide on November 10, 2009. This title is the sixth installment of the Call of Duty franchise but Infinity Wards first work since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare which was universally praised and basically put Infinity Ward on the map of top tier developers. In traditional Call of Duty fashion you assume the role of multiple characters as you progress through the single player campaign. This installment picks up five years after Call of Duty 4 and ventures to many different settings like Afghanistan, Siberia, Washington D.C. and Rio de Janeiro while trying to counter a new Russian ultranationalist terrorist organization set to invade the United States.

Can this new title build on the success of Infinity Ward’s previous title or are we set up for a disappointment? Continue reading to find out.

Single Player

In the eyes of most gamers not much needed to be done in order for Modern Warfare 2 to be successful and it appears Infinity Ward as followed that model. Most of the change was done by way of small yet effective revisions. The core aspects you would expect from a Call of Duty title are all intact and return. For instance the controls which have now become the default controls for most first person shooters make them feel natural and just as effective and fluid as before. The graphics remain top notch presenting you with the same immersion into the environment as you have in the past. The attention to detail put forth in making every environment appear tangible was done with great success. The overall classic Call of Duty mission structure remains the same as well. You progress through the story from multiple points of view and complete various on screen objectives to fulfill that particular mission.

While some of the revisions did obviously positively affect the game others seemed to highlight some negative consequences. For example the enemy and friendly artificial intelligence, or AI, has been vastly improved but still is not perfect. On a positive note the friendly AI actually seems to help you progress through some sections instead of being completely useless as it was in the past. However when a lot of enemies were on screen the majority of the enemies found it necessary to shoot at your character rather than your team mate who may have been an easier target. Another welcomed revision was the exclusion of endless enemy re-spawns but even with that I still had trouble determining if I was to advance or sit back and fight. The game at times had to artificially tell you what to do instead of you gathering that information through gameplay. In my eyes none of these are fatal flaws just something I noticed, especially after playing such a brilliantly crafted single player experience like Uncharted 2.

The sound and voice acting while not a stand out also didn’t seem to hinder the game in any way either. The overall difficulty did seem to be refined by the exclusion of invisible barriers and endless enemy re-spawns however all it took was one level, Rio de Janeiro, to change that. Although that level was the exception and not the rule the utter confusion and frustration that level caused forces me to include that here. The checkpoints while overall were non issues again in that particular mission were thought provoking as they were in awkward areas with enemies still attacking. Therefore if you die, which I did often in that level, restarting at that position made it difficult to progress. As if that wasn’t enough the blood effects when shot made it difficult to see and even more difficult to determine which direction you were being shot from thus adding to my confusion.

The story was intense I will give it that but at times it felt as if Infinity Ward was doing things to simply out do themselves and provide shocking moments. Let’s take the ‘No Russian’ level as an example, while I appreciate the fact they are willing to tackle that type of thought provoking content it had little effect on me. This was due to the fact that because the story progresses the way it does you have no emotional attachment with your character and are often times confused who you are actually playing.

The story may be cliché and over the top and at times confusing to follow with the abrupt plot twist amplified by the lack of a back story and immediately being thrown into the next mission. But none of the Call of Duty games have been about story but simply the full immersion of the gun fights, frantic pace and constant struggle to survive and push forward; in this aspect Modern Warfare 2 excels.

Multiplayer

The reason most, including myself, will decide to purchase this title is the fast paced addicting multiplayer feature. Infinity Ward made what most would say is the de facto multiplayer in Call of Duty 4. If that’s the case then nothing has changed in my eyes. Infinity Ward once again stepped up to the plate and delivered an impressively strategic and intense multiplayer along with being expansive and detailed. Like the Single Player the fundamentals of the multiplayer have not changed, the controls, overall feel and leveling aspect all return but have been tweaked to perfection.

However those small tweaks pay out huge dividends; for instance you know have the ability to customize your kill streaks which can range from something as simple as calling in a counter UAV or a harrier strike to something more complex like controlling an AC130 or calling in a tactical nuke and ending the game. Along with various new weapons like the ACR, SCAR-H and TAR to name a few you also have new ways of outfitting your weapon and or load out. For instance all of the perks and attachments have been reworked adding new perks like commando and cold blooded and resorting some of the less popular perks like martyrdom to a death streak instead. Also some of the older perks like Deep Impact are no longer perks at all and are instead an attachment, full metal jacket, yet have the same effect. The level of customization is unprecedented as you even have the ability to customize your call sign and emblem which will be shown after you kill an enemy or successfully complete the multitude of challenges presented to you. While the learning curve may seem steep its actually quite friendly to newcomers as even the preset classes are useful and include features that aren’t unlocked until higher levels which presents an even playing field for all of the players.

If the vast competitive multiplayer isn’t your thing then don’t worry, your covered. Infinity Ward as also included a cooperative multiplayer feature called “Spec-Ops”. These brief missions which borrow scenarios from the single player have varying objectives ranging from silently sniping incoming enemies to providing cover fire from an AC130 to help your partner reach an extraction point all of which present different challenges. As you complete these missions on 1 of 3 difficulty settings you gain stars which are then used to unlock more missions. There are a total of 23 missions each ranging in pace, objectives and gameplay. These missions can be completed either locally via split screen or online with a friend. While most can be completed solo the real fun and enjoyment come when you are playing and communicating with a friend. In my eyes “Spec-Ops’ is a great break and change of pace from the regular multiplayer grind the gameplay never seems stale or repetitive yet still contains that classic Call of Duty feel.

I have already and will continue to sink a lot of time into this multiplayer, the competitive multiplayer is challenging yet fun and very addicting. The “Spec-Ops” mode lets you play bite sized segments that remain intense throughout the mission and are satisfying to play with a friend. This gives Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 in my eyes one of the most expansive and full featured multiplayers to date and definitely not a mode to be taken lightly or ignored.

Overall

Overall the single player campaign was a good exhausting 6-8 hour tutorial for the multiplayer. The enemy AI and Friendly AI was much improved actually helping you progress through certain sections. The gameplay and graphics are on par with what you would expect from a Call of Duty game with major set pieces coming to a rest with such a dramatic twist it will always keep you guessing. While the actual plot may be difficult to follow and progressing through the missions can cause some confusion the single player campaign was delicately crafted and ultimately fun to play.

However the true reason this title shines is obviously the multiplayer. While the revisions may be small if looking from the outside the effects are significant. The ability to customize almost every aspect is a welcomed change along with the opportunity to be rewarded with almost everything you do. The multiplayer is a perfect blend of ease ability and accessibility for the new comers but has all of the components for the hardcore players as well. Both options serve different purposes and are addictive and fun which is the ultimate goal. Infinity Ward took what was an already great multiplayer experience and refined it to make it better in almost every aspect.

By now we all know the answer to the question presented above, at least from Infinity Wards point of view. Modern Warfare 2 was one of the biggest entertainment releases in history and easily shattered the previous game release record. The game has sold a ton and will only sell more as the holiday shopping ensues. Therefore if you are one of the eight individuals who haven’t gotten your copy then by all means do whatever it takes and go pick yourself up a copy. Modern Warfare 2 undoubtedly will be on many game of the year list and one you don’t want to pass up. I can easily say that this title is worth a pick up even if you are not a huge fan of the genre. I can not stress enough – go get it.

To read about our stance on the review process click here for more answers. Find all of other reviews here; better yet bookmark that section so you won’t miss any of our future reviews as well. If you would like other information to be included in the reviews give us some feedback and let us know, or if you would like us to review a specific title drop us a line we welcome and encourage your feedback. Enjoy!

Now I love Modern Warfare 2 – it’s by far my multiplayer game of choice right now. If I ever feel like pwning teh newbz over the Interweb, Modern Warfare 2 is the game that i’ll do it in. However, i’m noticing a lot of things lately that, if enough people exploit it, can and will completely ruin the game for me.

First problem is the Stinger, which I spoke about in my video review for the game. I suppose that the Javelin can be part of this issue as well, but I find that the Stinger is the main culprit to the lack of fun here. The issue? The Stinger pretty much ruins the point of any kind of killstreak (With the exception of airstrikes – expect the Harrier). All the user of the Stinger has to do is aim, fire, and bam. That helicopter you worked hard on getting? Yeah, it got blown to bits about 5 seconds after you called it in.

The problem for me is that the Killstreaks are what make Modern Warfare 2 so bloody fun. The perks and weapon customisation options are nice, but it’s a pretty awesome feeling when you’re the guy who calls in a Pavelow to help your team out. Said awesomeness is diminished when someone just effortlessly takes it out instantly. It leads to an unrewarding and unfulfilled gameplay experience. Take it from somone who whores the Stinger – taking Killstreaks out with it is easy.

The second problem is the bloody party chat block. Although this block doesn’t apply for all playlists, it’s still a royal pain in the arse when it effects you. After a day of work the last thing I want to hear is some arsehole from the other side of the planet playing music in to his headset, or having a tantrum every time he gets killed. It just means that I have to mute everyone when starting a game, when i’d much rather be talking to a friend.

The third problem with the game, and this is more of an issue with the players of the game rather than the developers, but some times you just can’t help but think that certain maps are designed in a way to promote camping. You could walk past a bin, and when you walk past it, you get knifed in the back, because someone’s just sitting behind it. You can even tell when someone’s camping, because they’re just crouching there doing nothing, and when you appear on screen, they suddenly burst in to motion.

Certain maps are really bad for this. Terminal in particular is a haven for campers – there are a lot of  little nooks that players can hide away in. It’s not like those spots appear by accident – there’s a 3D modeller out there somewhere who obviously decided that these spaces would be a good idea, but I beg to differ. There’s nothing more frustrating than being killed by someone who’s just sitting there doing nothing.

Finally, the Model 1887 shotguns ruin the game for me, especially when someone is using the Akimbo perk with them (Which allows you to use two at once). I’m not quite at a high enough level to get this weapon yet, but i’ve been on the receiving end of dual 1887’s far too many times. I even picked some up once and quickly saw why so many people use them – they’re grossly overpowered. I managed to kill someone at medium range with dual 1887’s once with a single shot – and that’s no exaggeration. Infinity Ward should either remove the ability to use these weapons with the Akimbo perk, or just remove them all together. I can’t understand why they’re in a game about modern day combat anyway, seeing that the gun was discontinued in 1920.

Like I said, I love Modern Warfare 2, and it’s easily my favourite multiplayer game out there so far, but it’s these issues that might kill my love for the game at some point in the future.

Two vids. One by me, one by another dude. Both amusing. Enjoy!

MW2:

Star Wars:

Great vid I found via joystiq on MW2 myths. Check it out:

Infinity Ward is back, bringing PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 gamers all their fix with the follow up to the wildly popular Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare 2.  The story picks up five years after the conclusion to CoD4, with SOAP MacTavish being a major player in a new special operations team, named Task Force 141.  The previous S.A.S. officer, Captain Price, is unmentioned and unseen as the game opens up.  Many questions will fill your mind as you begin to unfold the next chapter in the global terrorism plot because of those five years passing.  But what is important is the manhunt for a high-priority target named Makarov.

Your experience in Modern Warfare 2 will easily trump its predecessor in most areas.  The campaign is a little more diverse and carries a strong storyline (although some are calling it not as strong as CoD4’s story), but where this game takes its steps forward is through multiplayer.  A new section of the game comes in the form of Special Ops.  This is where you’ll be able to play through special instances with either one or two players.  Unique objectives with either time limits, score goals, or just straight up survival objectives all come together to form a five-stage progression in which each stage is unlocked by obtaining a set number of “stars”.  More stars are awarded for completing a Special Ops mission at a higher difficulty (difficulty ranges from normal to veteran-styles and awards between one and three stars).  Many of the instances here reflect upon the campaign levels, but many also vary as to what goals need to be met.

Of course, this game boasts a solid multiplayer experience.  Infinity Ward carved out an even deeper multiplayer experience, offering new perks (and creating different levels of perks that are unlocked by using them in gameplay), larger maps, and new gametypes.  The basic experience is still very much the same as CoD4.  Modern Warfare 2 offers customizations left and right, allowing you to not only customize your weapons but also your killstreak bonuses (UAV, Airstrike, Helicopters, Stealth Bomber, Gunships, and the very awesome “Care Package” drop which offers a specific killstreak bonus).  IW also added deathstreak bonuses that kick in when you die repeatedly without nabbing a kill to help balance out the less-experienced players with the more experienced ones.  Things like bonus health, martyrdom, class steals, etc. all come in to play and help you get back on the offensive.

All in all, Modern Warfare 2 comes off strong on all fronts.  The only complaint that one could make deals with the campaign’s length.  On Hardened we were able to complete the campaign in under seven hours.  A little disappointing, but then again there is lots of great moments in the campaign.  So while it is short, it is sweet.    These days, however, gamers are expecting bigger, better, and longer experiences with the story.  Infinity Ward would benefit from pushing a longer, more fleshed out story in a third game, which is expected and hinted at through the campaign.  Still, with all that Modern Warfare 2 packages in, there is nothing here that will let any gamer down.  Modern Warfare 2 will hit the top of the charts for online population (MW2 boasted around 1 million+ players online simultaneously during its first week, rivaling the unofficial record set by Halo 3 of approximately 1.2 million) and will stay there for quite some time.  The folks over at Bungie better have great things to come in their Reach title planned for next year if they want to claim the throne over this goliath.  Modern Warfare 2 simply rocks.

Grade: 95 (A)

New stuff i picked up last month. Expect next months to be loaded with goodies!

Picked up a Nikon D5000, Great camera, lots of advanced settings but eventually I’ll get a hang of it. Got the tripod as well to assist in video recording/dark photos.

Afrika was an impulse purchase.. and lets just say i played it for an hour before it was on eBay.

Modern Warfare 2, nothing else can compare right now. This game is great; but it looks like EA knows it’s great, because Medal of Honor looks just like it!

Borderlands is great whenever my friends are on and playing it, but most of the time everyone is playing Modern Warfare 2. current status: collecting dust.

The ticket was to a Celtics @ Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. Great game, KG hit a buzzer beater, found some actual footage on Youtube, check it out:

Video games have come a long way since I was a little girl, even more so in the past ten years. The visual quality of games has taken a huge leap since the days when Call of Duty was first released by Activision in 2003, and you can truly see how far the Call of Duty series has come over the years especially battling other popular war titles at the time like Medal of Honour, makes the rise of the CoD series even more astounding.

Call of Duty Classic is well as it says on the tin, a classic. This game shows you the very foundations of the series where the great features and dramatics started so to speak. Visually it looks basic with no textures or in fact soldier shadows pointed out by my friend really does take you back to a time where quality of game play really mattered. Over the past ten years game have developed at an incredibly speed visually, look at Modern Warfare 2 now with all of its details like dust, explosions and textures and take a look at early PS2 games and Original Xbox games, even the difference between those and our modern day console titles is quite incredible when you get the chance to take a step back with a port like this.

As I started playing my brother said “That’s your CoD face” I was truly consumed in this original, all of the greatest parts of the CoD series originate with this title and you can experience it right now in 2009. Controls are the same as our modern CoD’s, this is where the standard 1^st person shooter button layout came from, I play so many 360 first person shooters that have this button layout it’s interesting to see where it came from. You get the exact same feel playing it, all the excitement is still there but in a more simple form which is just as enjoyable and fierce and intense fighting that we experience now.

You have the story mode to complete consisting of three different sides, Russian, British, and American, the story mode is pretty awesome. You also have Leaderboards to explore and Achievements to hunt, but best of all you have multiplayer. Multiplayer is great fun and you have a decent amount of modes to choose from, it’s such a selling point for this XBLA title as it so much fun, it’s like CoD but made all dinky and small almost compared to our modern CoD multiplayer.

If you enjoy CoD even if you’ve only played the 360 CoD titles you will enjoy this game. The feel you get is purely original even in the multiplayer it shines through, this isn’t a title to miss as you get a great insight into the CoD series and history but you also get so much fun and enjoyment from playing it on your own or with your friends.

Gamer Rating: 8.9/10

Buy or Pass: Buy

Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward

With the release of Infinity Wards’ newest game, Modern Warfare 2, MadCatz was granted permission to make a controller for it. They came out with one for both the Xbox 360 and the Play Station 3. Too bad it’s one of the worst controllers I think I have ever used. When looking at it, you would think it’s perfect, but it really isn’t. The controller feels like it’s made for either a little kid or someone with very small hands. I was quite disappointed when I got it and began to play. Although the “Combat Buttons” was a very good idea,I wonder if they had consumers test it to find the right position . With its cool neon lights under each joy stick, authentic gun grips on the sides and braided cord, this controller makes  a good collector’s item. I do not advise getting this controller however unless it’s for a person with small hands or you are a collector.

Got any Ideas for future posts? Email me.

Wow.  Infinity Ward nailed it with this one.  I just recently played through and beat the game on the Hardened setting.  I’ll give Veteran a shot after I complete all of the Special Ops side missions.  This is truly a great game.  The story line picks up where Modern Warfare left off and leaves you hangin’ for the third installment.  The difficulty of the game is great.  Hardened is just hard enough to be fun but not too easy.  Veteran is obviously for the more experienced players but not completely impossible.  The Special Ops missions are really fun but are definitely more difficult than the actual game itself.  Multiplayer is obviously great and online play is even better than the first.  The only problem I have is that you cannot play online with other people on a local xbox.  If you want your friends to enjoy MW2 you can only play versus or Special Ops, no online with guests.  MW2 also has quite the M. Night Shyamalan twist within the story line.  I would highly recommend purchasing or at least renting Modern Warfare 2.  This is an excellent game.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/105/1052841p1.html

December 7, 2009 – A new patch is in certification process for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and should be arriving shortly, Infinity Ward’s Community Manager Robert Bowling says.

The new update is said to fix several bugs and glitches, primarily within the game’s multiplayer.

• Javelin glitch fix
• Unlimited Care Package glitch fix
• Geography glitch fix that allowed players to appear in the environment, such as the rocks in Afghan.

Bowling said recently the new update would be a “big one,” so we should probably expect more fixes to be announced.

Microsoft announced it would begin to ban players temporarily if they used the Javelin glitch exploit, allowing players to create a mass explosion upon death with the rocket launcher.

Sony confirmed it would not be banning players using exploits on PSN, however.

Microsoft once again is handing out Xbox live bans for cheating!!  Being that it be, i have felt the force of the Ban-hammer before. The same night that Halo ODST was to be released Microsoft went and banded me for 3 days for improper content in my profile. Now my improper content wasn’t really improper, but once the hammer has been swung there is no rebuttal. This time its a little different. With the new release of COD5 Modern Warfare 2 there is some glitches as with any new game… But this time there are banning people for exploiting Infinity Wards screw up.  Almost every online game, within it first few months have experienced glitches in there online play. There is only so much testing that can the developers can do and with release dates being pushed up to get the games to market there is limited time. So why are we the people that pay the 6o bucks being punished for discovering this glitch??? Infinity Ward will release a patch to fix the glitch. I just don’t see the issue here with banning people for a mistake that the makers have created… If this were a bunch of hackers screwing up the game for other i see the issue, but as of right now i feel as though they should hand out awards for people that discover these glitches instead of taking away something that they enjoy and possible losing a future costumer… More info

MULTIPLAYER! Seriously, this is why everyone bought the game. The leveling system in the first game for whatever reason seemed to stumble upon revolution, and now every game either wants to directly copy it outright, or will openly scold it and ignore it for the sake of trying to stand out from the pack.

As of this writing though, I still have some issues with the way shit’s going down with multiplayer though.

The first issue, is obviously the Javelin exploit. I haven’t run into it too much, but the lack of a fix is getting really annoying.

Second, akimbo Model 1887’s are fucking bullshit. It’s an obviously overpowered combination, and it needs to be toned the fuck down. There’s much larger ratio of risk versus reward with other shotguns. However, with model 1887’s, you’re perfect no matter what, there’s never a situation where you are at a disadvantage.

However! I will let knife gun pass. I don’t know what people like to call the combo, but it basically entails using a pistol with a tactical knife, while sporting marathon and lightweight as perks, thus letting you run all over the damn place. My roommate uses Ninja as the third perk for her version, I prefer Commando. Either way, to me, knife, plus gun, equals knife gun, so that’s what I call it. That may be one of the more annoying combos to run across, but it works well, and demonstrates class diversity with perks and weapon load outs, so I let it slide, because it’s clever, and awesome.

Akimbo 1887’s though? Fuck that. There’s no reason a gun that’s over a hundred years old should be the most powerful weapon in a game called MODERN Warfare.

Most of what I have to say about the game at this point is mostly just my own weird rantings, I don’t think there’s any insight I can really offer beyond “every fucking person in the universe will be playing this online for a couple of years.”

I’ve already prestige’d once, and I’m likely going to do it again, but I’m slowing myself down a little this time around. I guess I want to savor the experience a bit more. I can’t say that me hitting the max level in about two weeks time speaks to the game being dumbed down this time around, so much as I completely fucking overdosed on the game. The first night I had the game, I hit up multiplayer for fourteen straight hours. NON-STOP… okay, I stopped once in awhile to eat and piss, but beyond that, I didn’t move from my seat.

In the previous Modern Warfare, and in World at War, I was a little strict about classes. I basically had two main styles of play, and used all my class slots to create slight variants on those two types. I still have a primary play style this time, (FAMAS, Bling’d with Heartbeat sensor and red dot, Hardline, and Commando) but I notice I tend to switch things up way more often too. I still avoid sniper rifles like the plague, but I will put focus on maybe adding a thermal scope to a regular assault rifle for long range support, and I use heavy weapons and SMG’s far more often as well. I’m also a very big fan of shotguns, but do NOT use the model 1887’s. Because if I used 1887’s, then I’d be a douche.

I tend to enjoy being a bit of a support fighter, mostly because it allows me to be helpful despite my lack of skill. I’ll hang in the back with a stinger, so that I’m out of harm’s way, but can take out air support, (Fuck UAVs) and using Hardline lets me throw down care packages for everyone quickly.

Speaking of kill streaks, what’s happened to them is pretty damn drastic now, but I still feel they’re pretty well handled. Anyone that bitches about a Harrier or what not floating in the sky, needs to yell at their team to use stingers, or use them their self. The only kill streak that gives me shit now is the AC-130, because it takes a crap ton of shots thrown its way before it runs out of Chaff. Chopper gunner or Harrier though? Not a problem. Also, UAVs, any time I see those fuckers go airborne, I WILL shoot them down. I have some unknown strange hatred boiling within me that demands I destroy UAVs.

With it being so easy to down heavy support, like the Pavelow, I find that there’s a greater focus on trying to get a lot of bang for the buck on lesser kill streak rewards. The nuke is obviously the pièce de résistance, but things like predator missiles and air strikes are suddenly far more critical to keeping a streak going. With stuff like emergency care package drops and counter UAVs, it’s also possible to play a support role with kill streaks now as well, putting the focus on stuff that helps your team, rather than kills more enemies.

Care packages may be a bit of an odd and random addition, but considering kills from them don’t count towards your streak, and both teams have access to them, it still feels fair enough. It’s always interesting when I call one in though, as I sit in the corner hoping no enemies see me, wondering what joy my mystery box will contain.

In regards to the maps, I feel all but one are pretty good. Wasteland is a holdover from the very first Call of Duty game, and it’s awful. It may have worked well with the first call of duty, but with so few places to duck into, it’s too open, which means the entire map is constantly under the control of air support and snipers. The only decent indoor spot to fight over is in the middle of the map, which means the flow of the map is constantly flipping between grenade spam in the bunker, and ducking sniper fire. It just doesn’t work.

What’s odd about its inclusion, is the rest of the maps are the exact opposite of Wasteland. In fact, it’s harder to pin down where a firefight will occur in this game, as opposed to the original, where fighting always seemed to take place in designated spots. There’s just a lot of buildings to skulk in and out of this time, which makes a lot of the fighting feel more frantic. You need decent support to take a direct route, and you have to be careful with a lot of the spots you’ll take to weave in and out of some spots quickly. The only other map with a lot of open spots is Derail, and I like that one better than Wasteland, mostly because the wide open spots are on the side of the map, and there’s still a lot of cover straight down the middle to use.

Maybe nostalgia is making me think CoD4 still had better maps, but even still, I’ve quickly warmed up to all the maps in this one. Except Wasteland, fuck that map. I’ll veto it every fucking time.

Perks seem a lot more well rounded now too, mostly because you can unlock an additional rank with them. It may kind of suck starting out, or going prestige and having to get the pro rank back for all your perks, but it hasn’t bothered me that much so far. I like the approach of evolving perks rather than just shitting more into the game as well, which was kind of a problem with World at War. Perks that counteract other perks are still stupid though, and the Ninja perk isn’t really that useful until you unlock pro with it. But still, I like the way things work now, because now that perks can do multiple things, it adds an interesting dynamic to creating a class.

Death streaks also take the spot of perks that were considering overpowered in the first game, or outright annoying. Stuff like Juggernaut and Martyrdom now only work as perks that only work when you die a set number of times. Juggernaut is now painkiller, a temporary boost in health when you respawn, and Last Stand as a death streak version called Final Stand, in which you can use any of your guns or equipment, and if you survive the bleed out, you get back up and don’t die at all. Considering you only get to use these perks when you suck real bad, I feel it does a good job of giving a boost to anyone acting as dead weight on your team. Mostly because that person is usually me.

Still, there is a LOT of insanity happening in the game now, and it’s hard to deny that the series has moved away from any remote semblance of being tactical, and is now completely batshit insane. I don’t mind that though, it’s very much a different taste than something like Halo, but still doesn’t go full on Tom Clancy. It is just a refinement on the old formula, but I don’t have a problem with that.

In regards to the Spec Ops mode? It’s awesome, but I wish there was more there. Some of the throwback stuff to the first Modern Warfare is cool, especially with two people. That said, a lot of the missions are really short, and after getting a crap ton of stars in it, I can’t really drag myself to repeat the same five minute chunks of stuff over and over in a row, so it’s kind of an interesting thing to go back to once in awhile, but it just doesn’t feel like there’s enough meat to it. I’d love to see a DLC pack come out that has nothing but new Spec Ops missions in it though, that’d be great.

So yeah, in closing, Modern Warfare 2 is pretty rad. Not ultra super omega rad like it was hyped up to be, but I was already hooked on the formula, so it’s an easy sell to me.

Also, fuck UAVs. Fuck them to hell.