Infinity Ward

Activision

Flying bullets, gorgeous explosions and a military technology geek's wet dream come true. These will characterize your experience with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Boasting a new campaign, a cooperative spec ops mode and the legendary multiplayer, Modern Warfare 2 delivers a package that gives the best bang for your buck.

Modern Warfare 2 presents a storyline that is only hindered by its delivery through loading screens, which does not provide a complete immersion into the story, making it difficult for the player to connect to the game characters. The explosive plot is set in 2016 and involves an international task force, ultranationalist terrorists, an invasion of USA and betrayals.

Spoiler Alert: During the course of the game, one particularly controversial level was presented. While it certainly delivered the horrors of terrorism, it was done in bad taste. However, note that at no point is one forced to open fire on civilians.

The ending of the campaign was rather anticlimactic. After experiencing an intense action sequence, the ending will disappoint players. This is not the ending that this game deserves.

Players beware; you will fall in love with the graphics and sound. The moment the game begins, it will inspire an almost reverent awe. While it cannot stand up to Drake's Fortune graphics, it certainly delivers the raw brutality of warfare. From vivid arterial blood sprays to distortions caused by bullet rounds to the roar of cannons, the game certainly conveys the chaos of war. With enough explosions to give Michael Bay an orgasm, the game certainly gives Hollywood blockbusters a run for their money.

Nevertheless, there is a problem. In this iteration of the series, the red screen, which previously warned players of impeding death, has been replaced with, what frankly looks like someone has thrown bright, red jam in your face. It looks ridiculous. Additionally, that face that the grenades leave a clear white trail when thrown is, indeed, laughable.

Sheer adrenaline infused gameplay; this is what Modern Warfare 2 is. From the moment the campaign begins to the chaos of multiplayer matches, players will find themselves dodging and trading bullets with a wide array of enemies.

Modern Warfare 2's gameplay has been refined from its predecessor. Aiming down the scope is still paramount to survival; flashbangs still blind, and enemies still have the annoying ability to throw your grenades back at you.

Instead of relying on grenade spamming and superior numbers, the AI prefers to use more refined tactics. Within the campaign and spec ops mode, the enemy AI often utilized a combination of distracting the player, while another enemy soldier sneaks in for the kill. Additionally the AI often utilized flashbangs in order to disorient us, before riddling us with bullets.

AI “friendly” oldiers provided covering fire, threw grenades and will save the protagonist on more than one occasion. The close quarters combat moves they pulled, are immensely entertaining and would seem at home in a wrestling ring.

You will get the opportunity to use a dizzying array of weaponry from every conceivable corner of the world. You will fire assault rifles, submachine guns, rocket launchers and sniper rifles just to name a few. Your enemies, allies and you will use a wide array of military technology in order to deliver the maximum firepower available.

The standard control scheme is very intuitive and easy to learn. However in contrast to the PC version of the game, the Xbox 360 edition did not give the option the lean out, which would have been very helpful in the game's almost constant high-octane moments. This however is countered by the extremely generous auto-lock feature, which saved us more than we care to count.

With further refinements multiplayer is still as addicting as ever.

You still have the option to create a custom class. You still have the perks from Modern Warfare. Yes, the grenade launcher still kills you in one hit. With new kill streak rewards that include an airstrike, ammo drops and a nuclear bomb, we found that these rewards made the matches more unpredictable and consequently more fun.

The new weapons and attachments added a new dimension to the gameplay as different players utilized different combinations to ensure their survival. Some of these combinations were effective and others wereownright confusing.

For those who are uninitiated into the first person multiplayer matches, Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer will present a challenge. You will be playing against players who have been dedicated to the series since its inception and will know how to play the game effectively. With no known way to match players of similar calibre with each other, new players will face a steep learning curve.

Spec ops mode was surprisingly addicting. The combination of having a wide array of weapons available, new enemies, new objectives and a coop mode, will provide an endless source of entertainment. Words fail to convey how much one will enjoy this mode.

With the option to play multiplayer (especially spec ops mode) using a split screen with two players, one doesn't need an internet connection to enjoy the game.

Modern Warfare delivers an epic single player campaign that takes 10 hours to complete (on the medium-hard difficulty), an addicting cooperative spec ops mode and a superb online multiplayer package that wraps up the product.