Monday

My problem with Modern Warfare 2

Filed under Gaming in general

Call of Duty 4 was spectacular in all sorts of ways. The single player experience unfolded like a big budget action movie, with plot twists, unexpected events and characters that weren’t just props used to explain the plot, but real people fighting by your side. The multiplayer aspect was compelling too. The maps were really well thought out, and the level progression, unlocks and perk system really kept you coming back for more. I haven’t been as addicted to a multiplayer FPS title since the old Counterstrike days, and that’s saying something. Given all that you’d think it’s sequel, Modern Warfare 2 would be an insta-buy on day one, only it’s not. See, it’s like this…

The single player experience in CoD4 was like a good action movie I got to star in, and here comes the sequel. Now how many less-than-good movie sequels have you seen? The Matrix was good, the sequels not so much. With that sort of thing in mind, I recognize that loving CoD4 does not automatically mean I’m going to enjoy the sequel. In fact high expectations may help lead to a let down so I’m waiting for some reviews first just to be sure it’s my cuppa-joe. That puts me off day one right there, then there’s the multiplayer.

By sheer definition of not-fucking-it-up the multiplayer aspect of MW2 has to be more of the same. They absolutely can’t change the experience too much or people will explode with furious nerd-rage so that means we’ll get new maps, some new unlocks and some new perks. The thing with that is, I’ve played CoD4 multiplayer to death and if I wasn’t so fixated on reaching level 55 (for the second time) I think I might have burned out on it already. New maps, unlocks and perks might be alright but then there’s the damned price. Continue…