Resident CoD junkie PowerMacAttack muses about the upcoming potential for greatness that is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. His view is not ... objective.
"Come on you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?"
-Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly, 4 June 1918.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the follow up to the game of the year and the return of Infinity Ward as the Commander and Chief of development for the Call of Duty franchise, is kinda going to be big. When the clock strikes midnight on November 10th, 2009, we may all be witness to the highest grossing video game of all-time. So stock up on energy drinks, call in sick and say goodbye to the family because you're about to be drafted.
The story picks up right after the first Modern Warfare, so if you haven’t played it yet or maybe you just didn’t finish it…stop reading and do it now soldier! Anyway, Russia is yet again in trouble and needs help from the rest of the world. A Russian terrorist is trying to destabilize the region and take control of Russia's weapons stockpile (sounds familiar doesn’t it). At the head of this organization is a man named Makarov who was a close associate of Zakhaev, the man who was responsible for the nuclear attack in the previous game and whom you killed in the last act. Makarov uses the death of Zakhaev to drum-up support for his crazed plans and sets the story in motion. And so it begins.
Opposing Makarov is an international anti-terrorist agency called Task Force 141, as well as the US Army Rangers and, yes, 50 Cent is doing voice work for IW (I just hope he doesn’t start rapping during a fire fight). TF141 is led by an old friend, John "Soap" McTavish (voiced by Kevin McKidd), now a Captain and the OIC of the Task Force. You play the FNG, Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson.
This installment spans the globe and takes you to new locales, such as Afghanistan, and Brazil. You will also do battle in suburban areas filled with civilians and race through snow-filled mountains on a snowmobile. And maybe you caught the scene of you and your team being pulled up on the inside of a castle tower on a rope attached to a chopper? Yeah, it is freaking awesome! The speed at which you rocket upwards is crazy and the explosion that is chasing you; well let’s just say it is as good as any action film this summer!
As far as multi-player, can you say new weapons? Bushmaster ACR, TAR-21, FAMAS-F1, F2000, SCAR-H, KRISS Super-V, PP-2000, Walther WA 2000, Glock 18, HK MG4, Armsel Striker, AA-12, Semtex, AT4, Riot Shields... and they even threw in a Winchester 1887. Add to these a plethora of new add-ons such as thermal sights, EOTech sights, heartbeat sensors and laser modules; you can see we are at a whole new level of cool. Now, just because they have these new goodies doesn’t mean you are going to be without your trusty RPD, AK or M16 … they are all back along with the standard add-ons.
The perk and kill streak system has been completely redone and is now customizable. You can choose to forego minor kill streak rewards, like UAV and artillery, to save up for bigger and better bonuses. Just what those are have been kept under wraps and I am sure we will see more as the release date approaches. Another major addition is perk upgrading, which allows you to boost your base perk to a higher version with additional features. Again, we're waiting on the specifics (though they are starting to leak out).
Think of all the possibilities for making, not only new class load-outs based on weapons, but also perks for every situation and/or game type. When asked about a level cap, Robert Bowling aka 402 dodged it by saying that players will “constantly be receiving new rewards” as they level-up and that hard numbers for caps, perks and weapons would be kept under wraps for now. IW is famous for leaking info, so don’t be surprised if we have all of the details by November!
Could all of these changes disrupt the delicate balance in MP… Maybe. But I have to hope that IW is aware and working on keeping everything balanced. From what I have seen, MW2 looks to not only deliver a cinematic adventure equal to the first game, but blow it away! You heard me. This game is going to set a new standard by which all FPSs are measured and it's my opinion none will come close.
So get your M4 out, dust off your Kevlar and get ready to report for duty … 'cause when this title drops you will be on the frontlines of the best game eve. Let me hear a Hoo-Ah!
Game on!
images belong to Joystiq.com
