Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) (PS3)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

The explosive success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (CoD4) would naturally justify production of a sequel, eventually confirmed and revealed as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (CoD:MW2). While I was in high school back in 2009, this was actually the first Call of Duty (CoD) game where I couldn’t escape discussion about it thanks to the massive hype surrounding it (even a teacher would mention playing it one time during a class discussion). Apart from hearing endless discussion about the multiplayer, however, I was mostly aware of one Mission, “No Russian”, due to its controversial content, which for years was the only thing I knew about CoD’s storytelling and knowingly out of context. Now, with much more knowledge about CoD than I had before, my approach is more informed by not only playing CoD4, which has an incredible campaign on its own, but also the knowledge that this was the last time that Infinity Ward would develop a CoD game with original creators Jason West and Vince Zampella still involved, a story that I’ll save for another time. For now, however, we celebrate this blog’s fifteenth anniversary with CoD:MW2, which holds up surprisingly well in spite of some issues with the campaign.

In 2016, five years after the events of CoD4, the efforts of the USMC and SAS turned out to be in vain as the Ultranationalists have seized control of Russia and made Imran Zakhaev a martyr. Within that time, Vladimir Makarov, one of Zakhaev’s former lieutenants, has also committed acts of terrorism across Europe. In Afghanistan, U.S. Army Ranger PFC Joseph Allen assists the 75th Ranger Regiment in taking a city from local OpFor soldiers, which impresses Lieutenant General Shepherd that he’s recruited into a multinational counterterrorism unit called Task Force 141. Meanwhile, Task Force 141 members Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson and Captain John "Soap" MacTavish sneak into a Russian airbase to secure an Attack Characterization System (ACS) module from a downed American satellite. Unfortunately for Task Force 141 and the 75th Ranger Regiment, their troubles have only just begun.

Like CoD4, CoD:MW2 has an organic tutorial segment that teaches the basic controls while fulfilling a narrative purpose of introducing Joseph Allen and Sergeant Foley. Completing the tutorial course this time recommended me Regular difficulty on the first try, but I wasn’t sure if the course itself was easier or my experience with CoD4 helped me (I still played on Rookie for personal reasons). Either way, the game doesn’t introduce any significant gameplay changes apart from spelling out that grenades can roll down slopes and that Cross can help you stand from a crouching or prone position. However, you can noticeably tank more damage in this game and reloading from a checkpoint is significantly easier. There are also some small additions depending on the weapon like a heartbeat sensor. For some reason, I found it more difficult to find the Enemy Intel, which didn't appear to have additional effects this time.

As for the story, named “For the Record” in the main menu, I found myself getting invested in the characters and it was nice to see some return from CoD4 and presented in a new light, like how Soap obtained a higher rank and we now take orders from him. Some plot elements felt like a natural progression of CoD4 from a more realistic point of view, even if it meant that the main characters ultimately lost. Certain twists also shocked me and I felt the sting of betrayal in more ways than one. Although the U.S. Army are one of the factions we root for in the game’s conflict, the criticisms of the American military are more pronounced here than in CoD4, which also featured such criticisms, as many of the more negative events are still ultimately the fault or machinations of one of the Americans. I also liked how the slightly futuristic setting (at the time) was explored more with a hypothetical WWIII scenario, which included a Russian invasion of America and, subsequently, uniquely American environments as battlefields. Of the new characters, Ghost doesn’t have much character to him, but has an air of mystery about him thanks to his unique design befitting the grounded tone. I also like Sergeant Foley, who speaks with authority and in a matter-of-fact way while also caring about the Rangers he leads and making sure that they can keep fighting with cool heads.

We finally get to see what Soap looks like.

One criticism I had, however, was that the story felt more hellbent on one-upping CoD4, for better or worse. Don’t get me wrong, the setpieces are certainly spectacular and some shocking moments still felt effective in context. However, many of them attempt the same scale as the horrifying midgame nuclear bomb explosion in CoD4, even repeating it once, to the point that they don’t feel as special and start veering the game in a more “cinematic” direction than before. These also have an impact on the story, which doesn’t feel as tightly written as its predecessor. At the very least, some setpieces are more creative and try to take advantage of the medium, like witnessing a missile launch from a surprising perspective, in their presentation.

Admittedly, I also questioned Captain Price, particularly one very cold decision he makes at the beginning of Act III. On one hand, it worked out and gave the 75th Ranger Regiment time to turn the tide against the Russians. On the other hand, it could have just as easily taken out the Americans, who are still put in great danger anyway while dealing with the immediate fallout. Despite this decision, he was still a good ally in the endgame.

Having said that, a few of the eighteen Missions stood out to me. “Cliffhanger” is a sneaking Mission like “All Ghillied Up” but in a snowy Russian airbase, which adds some variety and a different style of tension. Plus, you get to interact with Soap in a new way and see how much faith he places in his teammate. Following a certain Mission, “Wolverines!” feels unique for not only showing a hypothetical Russian invasion of America, but also placing it in a civilian space and taking advantage of the environment for unique situations and dialogue. Later on, “Of Their Own Accord” shows more of the invasion in Washington D.C. and has you traveling between monuments as you fight back against seemingly insurmountable odds while showcasing breathtaking views that I wished I could have easily screencapped. A related mission, “Second Sun”, not only continues where “Of Their Own Accord” left off, but shows the 75th Ranger Regiment carefully making their way to the White House with no easy way to discern friend or foe, all while dealing with black rain and the aftermath of an EMP blast. I’m not sure what other game would consider such a situation, but I know I won’t forget it soon.

"Cliffhanger" stands out for the right reasons.

Now, I should mention that when you start CoD:MW2 for the first time, it will display a warning that one Mission contains content that some may consider disturbing or offensive and asks if you want to skip it. If you do, you will receive a reminder once that Mission starts and it will let you skip it. If you choose not to, it will play that Mission as normal, but give you the option to skip it at any time with no impact on game completion or earning Trophies. This Mission is “No Russian”, the fifth Mission in the entire game and one that had garnered enough controversy that it served as one of the main catalysts for me reviewing this game for this blog’s anniversary. As such, I chose not to skip it so that I could have the full experience that the developers originally intended. This section is also why I put in a spoiler warning.

In case you aren’t aware of what “No Russian” entails, the player character, acting as an American spy, must participate in a false flag terrorist attack on an airport in Moscow in an attempt to get closer to Makarov. The first part of the mission felt genuinely disturbing to play through, as Makarov and his men mow down innocent civilians. You can get through this without firing a single shot yourself (I chose not to), but even then, you can’t do anything except witness a horrific loss of life while innocents either helplessly bleed out or hopelessly try to escape. Even when I had some idea of what was coming, nothing could prepare me for how I felt going through it firsthand and it made me consider how, as an interactive medium, this level seamlessly blended the role of active participant and active observer while making me aware that I was completely powerless to stop the massacre unless I backed out of the Mission entirely. This feeling did go away, however, once I got to the second part, where Makarov and his men shoot their way through armed forces with riot shields outside the terminal. At this point, I still tried to get through the Mission without firing a shot until I realized that shooting was the only way to advance the Mission, since Makarov’s men won’t passively kill the enemies for you. No matter what you do, however, you are still killed by Makarov, who knew from the start that you were a spy and used you as a scapegoat to make himself look better to his people, kickstarting World War III.

Although one could argue that Infinity Ward included “No Russian” for the sake of shock value, I thought that it worked effectively for the narrative. Instead of just being told that Makarov shot up an airport, you get to witness it firsthand, so the player really understands just how evil he is and the depths to which he’ll sink to further his agenda. Others may view the Mission as clunky in its execution, though Spec Ops: The Line would revisit the concept more organically in a level where the player can scatter a civilian lynch mob by either shooting at them or scaring them off with warning shots. Nowadays, the concept of “No Russian” also doesn’t seem as farfetched as it might have back in 2009 in our modern geopolitical climate. Regardless, I don’t think I’ll forget how I felt when finally playing this Mission and, for that, I think it has a place in a game like this as long as it’s handled with strong narrative intent.

On a technical level, the graphics impressed me more in this game, as each Mission has a lot more going on and even the tutorial feels more “alive” than CoD4. Even when rendering black rain, the framerate didn’t noticeably suffer too much, which is a huge achievement for the hardware at the time. The regenerating health is also pushed a bit with bloody screen effects, which makes sense realistically but also obscures your vision more and can sometimes feel more punishing than the previous game, especially if you’re looking for cover. There’s also a new, sleeker menu UI that’s easy to navigate, with new music for each gameplay mode, but still stylized enough that it’s not too jarring from the previous game. While the voice acting is as good as ever, and it was neat hearing Soap voiced for the first time, I particularly liked Keith David as Sergeant Foley and Lance Henriksen as Lieutenant General Shepherd.

The graphics are rather impressive for the time.

Upon completing the campaign, you unlock the Museum, a unique Mission where there’s no real objective, but there are multiple rooms with dioramas of each of the game’s Missions, as well as racks of every gun in the game (plus two unique ones) that you can freely fire. It’s fun to see everything presented this way, especially since it’s presented as an art exhibition titled “An Evening with Infinity Ward”. You can also shoot the NPCs in the dioramas, which seems out of place until you notice a suspicious red button with orders not to press it.

Before you can access the Museum, however, the game guides you to Special Ops, a new Co-Op mode that you can play with a friend locally or online, though there’s also a Solo mode for those who want to go it alone (you will not receive an AI-controlled partner). In this mode, there are five Ops that you can clear (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo) with the goal of collecting Stars for meeting certain criteria within each of the Op’s Missions. There are 69 Stars in total, with each Mission giving you up to three, and obtaining a certain number of Stars will unlock another Op (think like a mobile game that uses Stars as an indicator of level completion). Not everyone will be interested in this mode, but there’s enough variety in the Missions to provide some good replay value for those uninterested in online multiplayer or if they just want to test their skills under different circumstances. If you play with a friend, know that if one player gets downed, the other player can revive them if they get close and hold Square.

The option that many players will flock to is, of course, the Multiplayer, which once again features online, local split screen and LAN Party options. Curiously, I noticed that this version of the Multiplayer had a completion percentage, but then I realized that it was due to just how much stuff you can unlock. You can customize your Callsign, which includes your favored Title, Emblem or Clan Tag, as well as your Killstreak rewards. Killstreaks have been expanded and now includes rewards going from Care Packages and Sentry Guns all the way up to a Tactical Nuke that immediately ends the game. However, just like last time, you can only access certain features by leveling up. New to this game are also Deathstreaks, which grant rewards for dying a certain number of times in a row, including the ability to copy the Class (chosen out of five) and loadout of the player who killed you and even a Last Stand.

Like the Single Player campaign, the Multiplayer feels more ambitious outside of customization options. The six main game modes from CoD4 (Free-for-all, Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, Sabotage, Domination and Headquarters) return alongside two brand-new modes: Capture the Flag (Grab the enemy team’s flag and bring it to your base, then capture it by touching your flag while it’s at your base) and Demolition (Teams alternating attacking and defending two bomb sites, with the attacking team equipped with bombs). There’s also a much larger map rotation, with the option to purchase additional map packs from the PlayStation Store, and 19 Online Playlists, including variations, with some locked behind leveling up. I at least dipped my toe into the Online just to have a taste of it for this review and found the servers more active than CoD4, as I had no trouble finding a Team Deathmatch lobby. Since my first game ended almost immediately, I waited in another lobby, thought it didn’t take me too long to get into another match. In this game, I found myself amongst a number of veteran players who had maxed out their levels and saw enough lag that players looked like they teleported, which threw off my shots at least once. However, I felt like I had more fun than my attempt at playing CoD4 online, since the larger variety in map sizes didn’t mean instant death as soon as I spawned and I actually got a few kills in. Plus, the indication that you’ve leveled up mid-match is pretty satisfying and provides a sense of gratification that I could easily see getting addicted to if I wasn’t trying to write this review in a timely fashion. No wonder high schoolers were obsessed with it.

I did, however, get to sample the main game modes through the Split Screen, which required a Sign In for the first time, so we created a couple in-game profiles. Interestingly, you can still earn XP and level up in Split Screen, though what you unlock in local play may not carry over to Online play. Still, I ended up having more fun with local CoD:MW2 split screen than CoD4 Split Screen, although we still ran into the issue where if you only have two players, one can easily steamroll the other under the right circumstances.

Playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 now, it’s easy to see its appeal, as well as why the “No Russian” mission left an impact, even if it doesn't have quite the same magic as its predecessor. Still, I would recommend playing it for the unique scenarios and thrilling multiplayer that you won’t find anywhere else.