Modern Warfare 2

[Moby Halcyon]

Since Alyeska asked so nicely.

Who's picked it up so far? Reactions? What change and immprovements are there from the last game? I'm wondering if it's worth waiting until Christmas to go pick this up.

[Edward Yee]

Well, I "caved" in the sense of not waiting for the PC version, gave the 360 single-player a try.

Initial impressions... UNHOLY HECK is Hardened difficulty harder than I thought, and aim assist is damned near necessary for me on 360 due to the freneticness of it all. I haven't really tested the supposed "end of infinite spawns," but it's quite difficult to 'run and gun,' and if you're prompted to "Get to Cover," do it.

In "S.S.D.D." I like the idea of using the M9 and USP .45 together in The Pit (the difficulty-recommending time trial); unlike "F.N.G." from CoD4 you'll have to avoid the "civilian" targets during the time trial. It turns out that at least in single-player, the knife reverse-gripped under your shooting wrist applies whenever you use the USP .45, which is an interesting way to give it a "unique" look.

"Cliffhanger": I have NO idea how to knife somebody without ever being noticed by that guy, but that's an Achievement here. Other than that, you saw the majority of this level at E3 2009.

As for the airport mission... I won't give advice on the first part for obvious reasons, but when it comes time to be shot back at... two pieces of weapon advice: keep the M4A1 Grenadier for as long as you have underbarrel grenades (unless you consistently headshot shield-wielders after overwhelming the shield with the M240 you'll need all the explosives), and get a Riot Shield as soon as you can, because the "FSB" actually = karmic retribution for being a jerkass. (Hint: toss a flash grenade as soon as the first line of shield-wielders emerge like gods of death from the smoke, and sprint right away to the nearest unshielded guy on the left; knifing him gets you a TAR-21 with "Mars Sight," a unique red dot sight.

Comparing the red dots, the "Holographic Sight" (EOTech) has much greater peripheral vision now, not that much different from the "Red Dot Sight" (IRL a Burris or Docter Optic), which is also my impression of the new ACOG, so it's not as disadvantaged in CQB.

[Darksider]

Spoiler

Why is it that everyone has to end their games on a cliffhanger note nowadays? Killzone 2 ended with a huge Helghast fleet just showing up out of nowhere, now this ends with Makarov still alive, and you going into hiding. Despite the original's dubious ending, at least there was a sense of finality to it. You didn't know for sure weather or not your squad was alive, but the crisis was over and the bad guys were beaten. Honestly, I can't stand obvious sequel hooks in games that aren't explicitly stated to be multi-part series. There's a better way to set up a sequel than just ending the game whenever the hell you feel like it.

[DPDarkPrimus]

"Cliffhanger": I have NO idea how to knife somebody without ever being noticed by that guy, but that's an Achievement here.

If you knife someone, you won't get an achievement. Once you go off by yourself you have to go plant the explosives without being spotted or hurting anyone. It's actually pretty easy, just look for a longer route.


I'm just renting MW2 as the multiplayer in the first one didn't hold me long enough for me to feel justified in purchasing it, so while I'm enjoying the campaign immensely I'm not one to ask if it's worth buying.

[weemadando]

Did anyone else find themselves dying a ridiculous amount in the favela levels compared to the others? Or was that just me displaying suckitude? I'd die maybe once or twice on most levels, but in the favela levels it was just constant death and reloading again at certain points.

[Darksider]

Did anyone else find themselves dying a ridiculous amount in the favela levels compared to the others? Or was that just me displaying suckitude? I'd die maybe once or twice on most levels, but in the favela levels it was just constant death and reloading again at certain points.

I died a lot the first time. With all the enemies swarming around, coming from all sides and the rooftops, it's damn near impossible to find a decent spot of cover and advance. You move forward thinking you've cleared an area, then suddenly the enemy rushes from behind or the sides. It's too damn confusing.

[Edward Yee]

Ghetto edit to what I said earlier: It appears that the USP .45 in the Campaign, both suppressed (as in "Cliffhanger") and unsuppressed, has the Tactical Knife 'attachment' from multiplayer (nominally faster melee attack), and this is not a unique feature of the USP .45 sidearm.

I'll second Darksider, weemadando. It's not you sucking, it's the fact that there's no safe place because the shooters really seem to take advantage of two things: the sheer amount of firing locations (exploiting both verticality and windows) and the mixing with unarmed civilians. If it helps, the current Call of Duty wiki claims that Meat and Royce's going down is inevitable, so you don't have to feel obligated to run with/protect them (although you may feel bad about essentially abandoning them). Personally I abandoned the starting M1014 for the M9 dropped by the saps at the beginning of "Takedown." Anyone have a clue who they were supposed to be?

As for Darksider's complaint...Spoiler

I figure that it's from Makarov becoming a secondary antagonist, whereas Sheppard becomes primary antagonist at least as far as Soap and Price are concerned.

[[R_H]]

So...is it worthwhile getting? I just ask because it's not cheap here, and it won't go down in price for quite a while.

[weemadando]

Thus far (only 2 hours in) the SP alone has been worth it (78 AUD that I paid) for some of the setpieces.

It's an IW game. It may only be a 7 hour campaign, but it's 7 hours polished to a very, very lustrous sheen.

[tim31]

Where did you get it for $78?

[The Vortex Empire]

I beat the singleplayer in just 5 hours, but it's definitely worth getting. Some of the environments, like Washington DC later in the game, are incredible.

I also found Favela to be the hardest place to stay alive. The sheer numbers of militia in superior locations constantly chew away at your health.

Plus the endless fun of CoD multiplayer.

[Sea Skimmer]

Unless you love 18 player multiplayer which can in fact be killed by the host quitting, host migration does not work reliably on the 360 at least, its not worth buying for that single player. You could rent it and beat it ten times over in two days instead. Its even shorter then Call of Duty 4 was.

[weemadando]

JB Hi-Fi has it for 78 or 79 for PC and 82 for 360.

[Sarevok]

Have they turned off infinite respawn and infinite grenade spam aimed at the player as previews claim ? How does the game feel with out endless waves of troops rushing at you ?

[The Vortex Empire]

They don't throw grenades at you very often, and I don't think they respawn as quickly as they did. It doesn't really feel any different.

[Pulp Hero]

Yes the infinite respawning is gone (except perhaps on the favela level), but there are a fuckton of badguys in most spots. This actually makes sniping before moving into an area worthwhile.

About the plot, its batshit crazy. If I were to make a comparison, the first game is The Unit and this game is The A-Team. Its good just very jarring to change modes of thought.

Grenade spam in multiplayer is gone due to the hugely reduced throwing range (its a good thing). The helicopter train-rape is gone too (surprisingly, since there are so many air support options in this game) by the inclusion of effective counter measures like AT-4 (which acts nothing like a real AT-4, but its balanced gameplay wise) to take down choppers and by perks like 'cold blooded' which makes you invisible to predator missiles.

[Edward Yee]

Yes the infinite respawning is gone (except perhaps on the favela level), but there are a fuckton of badguys in most spots. This actually makes sniping before moving into an area worthwhile.

I'd say that you don't have infinite respawning in the favela, it just feels that way to me because there's SO FUCKTON MANY SHOOTERS GODDAMN. I think it took me an hour to get through "Takedown" on Regular. But simply running to 'clear' the spawn points as in CoD4 doesn't work anymore.

Grenade spam in multiplayer is gone due to the hugely reduced throwing range (its a good thing). The helicopter train-rape is gone too (surprisingly, since there are so many air support options in this game) by the inclusion of effective counter measures like AT-4 (which acts nothing like a real AT-4, but its balanced gameplay wise) to take down choppers and by perks like 'cold blooded' which makes you invisible to predator missiles.

That alone is definitely an improvement over the last game. I also gave split-screen Spec Ops a try, which was interesting.

Anyone needing help with the first US-invaded level (with retrieving Raptor)... the M-5 Sentry Gun is your friend, bring it with you. When you're done overwatching the highway with it and have to 'defend' the other direction, point the sentry gun at the general direction of the ladder and the entry hole on the roof. Heck, bring it along for building assaults!

[Ford Prefect]

So...is it worthwhile getting? I just ask because it's not cheap here, and it won't go down in price for quite a while.

I've played through it, start to finish, and it's easily the best Call of Duty game (unless you care about multiplayer I guess, which I don't). Modern Warfare 2 is everything that COD4 was, only more. It's tighter, more intense, more engaging. There's a huge variety of setpieces that lay the action on thick and fast: once you get out of the tutorial, which won't be long, you're literally thrust into the middle of a firefight and the game doesn't let up until the end. Even the lulls in the action are surprisingly tense, because they tend to be stuff like moving quietly through enemy infested territory. The plot really works on the player's expectations to great effect, so its surprises feel even more effective than the nuking in COD4.

It has excellent direction and staging, tight gameplay and a blistering pace.

[[R_H]]

So...is it worthwhile getting? I just ask because it's not cheap here, and it won't go down in price for quite a while.

I've played through it, start to finish, and it's easily the best Call of Duty game (unless you care about multiplayer I guess, which I don't). Modern Warfare 2 is everything that COD4 was, only more. It's tighter, more intense, more engaging. There's a huge variety of setpieces that lay the action on thick and fast: once you get out of the tutorial, which won't be long, you're literally thrust into the middle of a firefight and the game doesn't let up until the end. Even the lulls in the action are surprisingly tense, because they tend to be stuff like moving quietly through enemy infested territory. The plot really works on the player's expectations to great effect, so its surprises feel even more effective than the nuking in COD4.

It has excellent direction and staging, tight gameplay and a blistering pace.

Ok. What about replay value? Are there any levels like the SAS ones in CoD4 (I didn't really like them compared to the USMC campaign)?

[DPDarkPrimus]

It was very amusing to me that my first grenade fired from my launcher netted me an achievement. Same with my first Predator missile.

[Ford Prefect]

Ok. What about replay value? Are there any levels like the SAS ones in CoD4 (I didn't really like them compared to the USMC campaign)?

Have you ever played a COD campaign more than once? Like the games before it, MW2 does rely on clever staging and scripting to achieve its 'experience', so if the initial wow factor of COD4 only held your interest for one playthrough then MW2 is not likely to. I guess it depends on what you like. I think that enough the combat is intense and engaging enough that you could legitimately play them multiple times, like the chase through the Favela, though other sequences like the oil rig infiltration rely much more on 'novelty', so they would be less engaging on second playthroughs.

[Jordie]

The helicopter train-rape is gone too

Yeah, now it's Cobra, Harrier, Pave-Low and Apache train-rape. And each team can have multiple of the same type in the air at once. The first game I was able to get into was with the team I was on full of people who just got the game (on the official release date) at rank 1 and the other team one party of Americans who had played the game for a day ahead of us and were rank 15+. The multiplayer doesn't feel anything like MW, a rank 1 player with the default setups and starting guns isn't on a level playing field with later ranked people.

The matchmaking system sucks ass. I was only able to connect to an Aussie match the first time I tried, I didn't get to play because of an error. After that it was US hosted matches one after another.

[tim31]

Modern Warfare 3 announced

[Pulp Hero]

The helicopter train-rape is gone too

Yeah, now it's Cobra, Harrier, Pave-Low and Apache train-rape. And each team can have multiple of the same type in the air at once. The first game I was able to get into was with the team I was on full of people who just got the game (on the official release date) at rank 1 and the other team one party of Americans who had played the game for a day ahead of us and were rank 15+. The multiplayer doesn't feel anything like MW, a rank 1 player with the default setups and starting guns isn't on a level playing field with later ranked people.

Once you learn how to avoid helicopter attacks and use counter measures they are not nearly as bad as COD4 because you can actually fight back effectively. The only thing that sucks is when you get targeted by a predator missile and you're outside with no nearby overhead cover, but once you get Cold Blooded you don't have to worry about that either.

[weemadando]

The helicopter train-rape is gone too

Yeah, now it's Cobra, Harrier, Pave-Low and Apache train-rape. And each team can have multiple of the same type in the air at once. The first game I was able to get into was with the team I was on full of people who just got the game (on the official release date) at rank 1 and the other team one party of Americans who had played the game for a day ahead of us and were rank 15+. The multiplayer doesn't feel anything like MW, a rank 1 player with the default setups and starting guns isn't on a level playing field with later ranked people.

Really? Play the support class. I was fucking helicopters and UAVs left right and centre. It was actually pretty simple to down them - especially compared to MW1.

The matchmaking system sucks ass. I was only able to connect to an Aussie match the first time I tried, I didn't get to play because of an error. After that it was US hosted matches one after another.

I've had one match which had awful lag, the rest have been playable. Though I really do hope that after they get their xmas bonuses that they'll release teh PC patch with dedicated servers.