Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) review

Modern Warfare 2 is set five years after the conclusion of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Despite the efforts of Marine Force Recon and the SAS, the Ultranationalists ultimately seize control of Russia and declare Imran Zakhaev a hero and martyr, erecting a statue of him in the heart of Red Square. Meanwhile, Vladimir Makarov, one of Zakhaev's former lieutenants, begins a campaign against Europe by committing numerous acts of terrorism.

The game begins in Afghanistan, where U.S. Army Ranger Private First Class Joseph Allen helps in the taking of a city from insurgents. Impressed by Allen's combat abilities, Lieutenant General Shepherd recruits him into Task Force 141, an elite, multi-national counter-terrorism unit under Shepherd's command. Meanwhile, two other members of Task Force 141, Captain John "Soap" MacTavish and Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson, scale a mountain of the Tian Shan to infiltrate an airbase in Kazakhstan to recover a lost ACS module from a downed satellite. Allen is later sent on an undercover mission in Russia for the CIA under the alias of "Alexei Borodin." Allen joins Makarov in a massacre of civilians at the Zakhaev International Airport in Moscow. It is soon revealed at the conclusion of the attack that Makarov is aware of Allen's true identity and before leaving, kills him to expose his identity as an American, leading the Russian police to believe that America was responsible for the attack.

The singleplayer campaign starts with a few cool missions. I like the mission "Cliffhanger", which is the third mission, where you infiltrate a Russian mountain base with Captain MacTavish to recover a downed ACS module. The level begins as your character, Gary "Roach" Sanderson, and "Soap" MacTavish is on a ledge on the side of a mountain. You and Soap start climbing a wall of ice with ice picks, the mountains starts to shake because a MiG-29 flies over you, and nearly dislodging Soap from his position on the cliff. Once at the top you and Soap jump a small gap, you barley doesn't make it and nearly fall to your death when Soap grabs your hand at the last moment, saving your life. Soap brings you up, and you climb up the rest of the mountain. Climbing up the mountain is really cool and dramatic, because you can fall down to your death if you don't press the correct button.

The next mission is called "No Russian", which has become very controversial, because you kill civilians in a Russian airport. You will get the option to skip this mission if you like, you won't lose anything. I didn't want to skip this mission, I wanted to see it for myself and what all the fuzz was about. It's very provocative, but not more than any other video game or movie I've seen.

I think the best missions come in Act III. I like the mission when you're in Washington D.C. and you watch how the entire city is falling apart, it's a sight to see. And when you kill terrorist inside the White House, in the Oval Office, is also very cool. But I like the infiltration missions best, it reminds me of the Chernobyl mission in Call of Duty 4, which is my favorite mission in that game. There are some exciting missions that you want to play again and again, but I think Call of Duty 4 had a better singleplayer campaign. It's also too short, like the previous game, you can finish the singleplayer campaign in only 5 hours. I hope they will make the third game last longer.

I think most people will play Modern Warfare 2 for the awesome online multiplayer mode, and it's the games strongest side. It takes everything that was good about the first game and has made it better. This games online mode has a better reward system, with higher XP points so it won't take forever to gain a level. Modern Warfare 2 has more fun rewards like revenge, payback and comeback that will give you a high number of XP points.

This game also introduces a deathstreak which gives some advantage to people who are new, having a bad day, or just plain suck. Perks can also be leveled up, and there are lot of unlockable titles and icons you can tie to your profile. Managing your upgrades, perks, and killstreaks is a major part of the game, and it’s all incredibly well balanced. If you kill 25 people without dying you will get a cool advantage called Tactical Nuclear Strike, the whole sky will turn into a bright light and kill everyone on the other team. You can also put out turrets that will kill anyone from the other team if it spots them.

Modern Warfare 2 has a very smooth online framerate, no lag or bullet delay, what I've seen thus far. This game also has great graphics, both in the singleplayer campaign and online mode. What I've always liked about the Call of Duty video games is the awesome and flawless game controls. It has a great smoothness in the analog sticks that is very responsive, especially when you zoom aim and also hip firing. It's easy to learn and get good at, like it should be. The more you play the better you become at aiming with the analog sticks, training makes practice, like every video game. All you need to do is play the game and your brain will do the rest, it will gradually make you better.

Overall: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is an awesome video game, with a decent singleplayer campaign that is way too short but a brilliant online multiplayer game, that takes everything that was good about Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and made it a hundred times better and even more awesome. This video game is a must have, if you like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and first person shooters, you're going to love Modern Warfare 2.

Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) XXXX [4/5].