The First Person Shooter is a densely saturated market. Enter any high street game store that still exists today or any online distribution site like steam and some form of advertisement for a FPS variation will be seen in storefront; usually in the form of a banner or a cardboard display unit. The military based shooters particularly have a dye in the wool fan base and a large mass appeal for its multiplayer content.  A meal ticket for such enduring series as Halo, Wolfenstein, Medal of Honour and even Battlefield to mass produce what is arguably the same game experience, with slight improvements to the formula.

I mainly keep these games at arm’s length primarily because of how frequently this genre is comfortable at selling a weak or simply serviceable single player experience bare-faced, knowing that their multiplayer content  is primarily where the larger interest will lie. As well as the future-proofing each game series through simply rehashed sequels due to  high demand, needing do little to innovate their franchise to maintain interest.  Creativity does not seem to be a main driving force for these titles’s development and while the gameplay maybe polished due to a larger budget than most game developers, there is little in terms of unique or industrious design to go against the grain.

However on numerous occasions I have been pointed to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Series that apparently serve as the exception to the rule. The series’ first game in particular is noted to have a strong storyline, and action set pieces that sets themselves apart from the typical shooters.

The original Call of Duty games took place in World War II and simulate infantry based warfare using AI controlled allies as fellow infantry men to accompany the player. The gameplay also attempted to work within the actual events of the war, while also working with its own continuity. However the modern warfare series is an attempt to deviate from this formula and base its own continuity on a reality close to the current modern era.

The original is considered the strongest of the three however I wanted to see how my experience would fare by playing the second game and wanted to concentrate on the single player campaign to  how well it stands alone from the series and if it is able to maintain the same enduring quality as the first game.

The first twenty minutes did not begin well, as General Shepard narrates the situation of the current affairs in a pretty cliqued and somewhat roundabout fashion. Instead of simply giving us a succinct overview of previous events, he delivers a stream of very awkward Hollywood platitudes and aphorisms. It’s the typical hard-boiled veteran spiel and is plentiful with such splendours as “the more things change the more things stay the same”, “History is written by the victor” and “same shit different day”. However after a convoluted  introductory cut scene the gameplay slowly starts to build momentum, beginning with a slightly by the numbers scenario involving a terrorist occupied city, with some well executed set pieces becoming a saving grace.

 One of the key strengths of the game is the variety on offer as well as the cinematic presentation to the gameplay that adds to the immersion, attempting to create an experienced likened to an interactive movie. This includes a down to the wire escape from a local militia,  surviving  the epicentre of an air strike while watching surrounding buildings collapse and burst into flames by enemy barrage,  as well as a frenetic snowmobile chase making up a few of the more memorable moments.

The Variety of level designs also make full use of their set locations, such navigating the confined alleyways of the shanty towns (Favela)  in Rio de Janerio  to avoid the local militia, escaping a police dragnet in Zakhaev International Airport, and infiltrating an enemy base in the cold snowy plains of Kazakhstan. Each setting seems to emulate action set pieces which are commonly  seen in action  movies; almost to the point of being a pastiche. The action on screen never becomes tedious and the pacing is kept constant and interesting by giving the player a diverse range of objectives that have sense of urgency to finish, and hold weight to them in a manner that feels satisfying to complete. The resulting aftermath after one of the big pivotal moments in the game is conveyed with severity where the Task Force and U.S. Army have to repel the onslaught of Russian troops, who take the war to the east coast of the USA; taking over monuments, momentous buildings and landmarks. The player can really feel the tension and sense of disarray as the Russians seem to successfully occupy strategic locations and causing large sections of the east coast to become completely levelled. Atmosphere is one of the key things that convey the plight of the US army well, where the player is placed in the epicentre of some very sticky situations.

However while these sections are entertaining,  there was little gravitas in the overarching  narrative that ties each mission together, making it hard to feel invested or attached to the occurrences on screen.   There was barely any coherency to why events were unravelling and resulted in each mission feeling very isolated from each other, leading to the narrative becoming disjointed. There were no clear objectives or motivations  given the terrorist leader Vladamir, serving as a bit of a faceless antagonist, other than being a ultra-nationalist and “mad dog killer”; even though he goes to some very extreme measures to achieve his goals.  

 This plot as well as the sequences causing the war with Russia is vaguely touched upon as well as the outlining plot delivered by cut scenes giving little in terms of exposition. In addition to this the protagonists on screen are simply there to just to follow orders  and serve as  blank slates for the player to vicariously insert themselves into.  The accompanying NPCs also do little besides relaying orders and hollering “go go go” “move move move” ad nauseum.

The exception to this are in the characters  John “SOAP” Mactavish and John Price who are  SAS  operatives from the previous modern warfare. However their motivations in the later missions are explored a little too late in the narratives development to become better established or expanded upon. There are also a few twists that occur in the last four missions of the game with a turncoat villain revealed.  However there is little explanation to the motives for the aforementioned twists and why they occur.

Each mission can be assessed on the merit of being good isolated scenarios and in the sum of their parts are entertaining little set pieces in and of themselves, but do not work quite as well when trying to create an overarching plot intertwining them. It feels that the designers Infinity Ward concentrated on making memorable level design a primary focus and plot to connect them a distant second;  where the riveting action on screen is there  as a means to compensate for a meandering storyline. There are also some moments where suspension of disbelief is tested, and more so as the game goes on, such as surviving a helicopter crash while being trapped inside its metal frame which is something that doesn’t seem very plausible.

The game engine mechanically is fairly solid with little noticeable glitches or problems. There are also some well implemented features included such  the iron sight aiming feature of your weapon which will automatically align the sight on your enemy if the gun is pointed near the target. The mechanic where you can throw back enemy grenades can be awkward  as they can  land in way that seems easier by reaction to simply run away, and can be disorientating to react to while swept up in the action.

You also get a variety of weapons with have its situational use and are showcased decently in the game.  You have the riot shield primarily used in the Gulag level which helps players press forward against opponents trying to bottleneck you in narrow corridors, the M4A1 with grenade launcher attachment which can be good crowd control against a group of enemies, and also the predator drone missiles, where you can control an air to ground missile fitted with a camera to guide it to hapless targets. 

The accompanying NPCs are also pretty efficient and for the most part are able assist the player greatly; which can at times be to the games detriment. There were times where I found myself being carried by the NPCs where my contribution seemed insignificant at times. You may find that on the regular difficulties you can complete the game with minimum effort most of the time, as the fellow NPCs are able to plough through opposition without much effort on the player’s side.

The game does includes obligatory multiplayer and challenge options that are in the same vein as other military shooter titles, which will probably give the game a longer lifespan. It’s a shame that while the main single player experience is enjoyable it still feels like a subsidiary component of the multiplayer content.  

 Overall Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is still enjoyable and fresh in its variety and gameplay to captivate the player from beginning to end, at the cost of being a slightly shallow experience.  A fun title to play as a weekend rental but not one the player will keep returning to.

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