So like millions others I have been playing this game over the last few weeks, having played COD4 for many years. I was very excited to get this game and I'll deal with it bit by bit. The solo game came first for me. It looks great, plays great and the only real fault it has is how big the story is. By bringing in an invasion of the US that seems to happen rapidly and in force it does get quite overblown at times and indeed the levels that you play in suburban America, while cool in a novelty way, are probably the ones that work least in a narrative sense – even if it does give you the "wow" moment where you exit a bunker on one level to find you are below Washington and it is burning! Speaking of "wow" moments the game does have plenty of epic battles that feel massive but don't lose your character amongst hundreds others like what happened in COD5. Also the narrative twists and turns are engaging and even once made the hairs on my arms stand up as I got chills! OK it is short if you get good at it and I can understand why those who buy it for this story alone will be annoyed with that, but I was happy with it and loved the majority of the levels.
The co-op missions are a good addition. The ability to play most of them solo helps but the online link-up is very welcome and makes them a lot more fun and manageable. I have not yet done them all yet but I still enjoy going back and doing some that I find easier for the fun of it. Of course the main selling point of the game is the hope that Infinity Ward can repeat their winning formula for the multiplayer. This is where, unfortunately, I have my reservations across several aspects. On the plus side, the perks, weapons and classes are all good – OK some weapons are useless while some are a bit too strong but mostly I like them, while the perks and weapon add-ons allow you to tailor your class to suit your play really well. Sadly this is not the same with the maps, which are mostly weak.
Ignore the fact that some game modes will never give you many maps, the problem I have is the style of play that the maps support. On COD4 the maps mostly allowed for a range of styles, from the still and silent "long-range" player to the runner-gunner. Some maps favoured one over the other a bit but generally the balance was there. On MW2 the balance is overwhelmingly on those who prefer to stay in one or two places, watching and waiting. This is true of almost all the maps and, as a domination player, it is quite frustrating to play against a team happy to let you take the flags (and the win) in exchange for kills. Price said "watch your corners" and in COD4 it was good advice but on MW2 there are simply too many corners on every corner – moving in any given area requires you to check the rock, the three windows, two doorways, the top of the truck and the 3 rooftops; simply put there are too many places to be aware of which is why most players do the waiting game – which I sort of understand when the win is based on kills (death match) but not when it needs you to move (capture the flag, sabotage, HQ, domination etc etc). There are just too many places for people to be in every single corner or area and it means that only once or twice have I enjoyed the frantic, intense battles that used to be commonplace in COD4. Given that on COD4 the majority of people love shipment (small, frantic map) and hate creek (big open map), I'm not sure why MW2 has tended more towards the bigger, more open map.
I support making martyrdom a death perk rather than something to be used on every death, and I know people moan about grenades in COD4, but here they are useless – which makes it even harder to get people out of rooms once they are embedded in there. I guess IW did this to remove the frustration effect associated with explosives but then why did they introduce so many things falling from the sky. I find the AC130 and the many different air strikes and helicopters to be a lot more frustrating and harder to deal with that remembering to stay back from a kill in case he has martyrdom! The Tactical Nuke may be a cool nod to PC modders but to lose domination because of someone staying in a room when you have had all three flags for the majority of the game is cheap and unappreciated – it rewards campers who ignore the flags for kills and punishes those who move around the map taking flags for the win.
It is all still a very good game across the board but I'll be honest and say that, while COD4 ate my free time for years, MW2 is already something I'll do for an hour before easily putting it down and within two weeks I was starting to mix it in with frequent returns to COD4 multiplayer. Love the new game but some of the changes and new things have made it a lot less fun to play than the total COD4 experience.
