Modern Warfare 2
Posted: 06 Apr 2010, 19:14
I don't usually plug the games I pay for. Heck, I don't play a lot of new games, other than Flash stuff- too busy to invest giant hours in a title, and I hate wasting money.
But I heard that Modern Warfare 2 was worth seeing, and I plunked down $60 on Steam for it.
It was the best $60 I've invested in a game, bar none, I've ever spent.
This game is so good, I may even have to beat it again on harder than "average", just to see it all again, which is the highest praise I can give a FPS. It's an unbelievably good, hardcore shooter.
While you're definitely on rails, and are being pushed through a cattle chute, you won't care, because the game offers just enough freedom to keep you from feeling like you don't have any choices. For example, while you're stuck with whatever guns you start with, you can pick things up freely from the bad guys, who come with a cornucopia of modern weapons- there's nothing quite like storming a favela in Brazil with a pair of fully-automatic Glock 18s to make you feel like you're having a John Woo moment- something a lot of games aim for, and game reviewers frequently try to tell you you'll feel, but most games never deliver. And the levels are just big enough to let you make tactical choices, and play hardcore if you want. While it seems like the enemy's endless, in actuality, you really can kill 'em all- if the spooky-smart AI doesn't kill you first.
And to top it all off... whenever you might possibly be getting bored of being a well-trained, tactical badass blowing your way through superbly designed levels and dozens of bad guys, they give you a mini-game to play that is actually cool. There's nothing like climbing an ice wall, hand-over-hand, or driving through a sea of dead aircraft whilst gunning down the Men In Black to convince you that yes, you're doing something straight out of a movie.
The enemy AI really deserves a lot of extra mention here. I've never seen a FPS AI that was so wickedly good at finding and using cover, shooting around and through the smallest gaps, etc., and moving around a level. While some of it's level-specific stuff and key points, it rarely feels like it. Seek cover and aim around a corner in a gutted parking lot full of wrecked cars, and you will watch the AI carefully picking its way through the cars, shooting through the windows, ducking behind the wreckage, and attempting to flank you. Moving through crowded terrain is a total nightmare, because the AI is always there, trying to find you, surround you, and kill you.
The cutest touch is how they balanced your invincible buddies in the single-player campaign. They're there, and they're invincible, because they're plot objects- and while they shoot and talk a lot (in a useful way!) and generally perfectly blend into the experience, they can't hit enemies farther than a fairly short distance away. They'll save your neck in a close ambush, but in the longer fights, you're on your own. The only effective buddies are the non-invincible ones... and they die pretty fast.
Lastly, the music works. I almost always shut the music off, in any game I play, because most of the time, it annoys me because it's interfering with the experience. I left it on, while playing this title, because it reinforced the Action Movie Hero feel and the action sensor was good enough that it sometimes serves as a warning signal that you're about to get swarmed.
I haven't played it online, I can't invest that kind of time in it and Urban Terror fits that fix, for when I'm burnt out on working on Spring stuff and work and I just want to achieve Zen. That said, I'll probably try it just to see it. If the gameplay online is basically like single-player, then it's probably awesome stuff. Just watch out for the guys with M14s and thermal scopes, because they're probably going to shoot your eyeballs out.
Oh, and lastly... did I mention that this game delivers all this amazing package, yet works on Windows XP and DirectX 9c? That's how smart Infinity Ward was, folks. Play it.
But I heard that Modern Warfare 2 was worth seeing, and I plunked down $60 on Steam for it.
It was the best $60 I've invested in a game, bar none, I've ever spent.
This game is so good, I may even have to beat it again on harder than "average", just to see it all again, which is the highest praise I can give a FPS. It's an unbelievably good, hardcore shooter.
While you're definitely on rails, and are being pushed through a cattle chute, you won't care, because the game offers just enough freedom to keep you from feeling like you don't have any choices. For example, while you're stuck with whatever guns you start with, you can pick things up freely from the bad guys, who come with a cornucopia of modern weapons- there's nothing quite like storming a favela in Brazil with a pair of fully-automatic Glock 18s to make you feel like you're having a John Woo moment- something a lot of games aim for, and game reviewers frequently try to tell you you'll feel, but most games never deliver. And the levels are just big enough to let you make tactical choices, and play hardcore if you want. While it seems like the enemy's endless, in actuality, you really can kill 'em all- if the spooky-smart AI doesn't kill you first.
And to top it all off... whenever you might possibly be getting bored of being a well-trained, tactical badass blowing your way through superbly designed levels and dozens of bad guys, they give you a mini-game to play that is actually cool. There's nothing like climbing an ice wall, hand-over-hand, or driving through a sea of dead aircraft whilst gunning down the Men In Black to convince you that yes, you're doing something straight out of a movie.
The enemy AI really deserves a lot of extra mention here. I've never seen a FPS AI that was so wickedly good at finding and using cover, shooting around and through the smallest gaps, etc., and moving around a level. While some of it's level-specific stuff and key points, it rarely feels like it. Seek cover and aim around a corner in a gutted parking lot full of wrecked cars, and you will watch the AI carefully picking its way through the cars, shooting through the windows, ducking behind the wreckage, and attempting to flank you. Moving through crowded terrain is a total nightmare, because the AI is always there, trying to find you, surround you, and kill you.
The cutest touch is how they balanced your invincible buddies in the single-player campaign. They're there, and they're invincible, because they're plot objects- and while they shoot and talk a lot (in a useful way!) and generally perfectly blend into the experience, they can't hit enemies farther than a fairly short distance away. They'll save your neck in a close ambush, but in the longer fights, you're on your own. The only effective buddies are the non-invincible ones... and they die pretty fast.
Lastly, the music works. I almost always shut the music off, in any game I play, because most of the time, it annoys me because it's interfering with the experience. I left it on, while playing this title, because it reinforced the Action Movie Hero feel and the action sensor was good enough that it sometimes serves as a warning signal that you're about to get swarmed.
I haven't played it online, I can't invest that kind of time in it and Urban Terror fits that fix, for when I'm burnt out on working on Spring stuff and work and I just want to achieve Zen. That said, I'll probably try it just to see it. If the gameplay online is basically like single-player, then it's probably awesome stuff. Just watch out for the guys with M14s and thermal scopes, because they're probably going to shoot your eyeballs out.
Oh, and lastly... did I mention that this game delivers all this amazing package, yet works on Windows XP and DirectX 9c? That's how smart Infinity Ward was, folks. Play it.
Not on anything but BA atm though 
