Modern Warfare 2

[tpw 2315]

Hi all. The good thing about living on my side of the dateline is that November 10 happens a day earlier than for you guys in the US and Europe. So I got my preordered copy of MW2 today and have been playing it for several hours.

First up, let me say that I'm not a multiplayer person so I wasn't put off by the hoopla surrounding the lack of dedicated servers. And since the COD series are sold as games, not military simulations like Arma2, I'm not concerned about lack of lean, prone, or any other concession to realism actually. I can understand the viewpoint that Infinity Ward are selling short the large PC fanbase who probably did a lot to help put them where they are today, by "dumbing down" the game to match the console version. Someone else can comment on that.

What I will say is that the game has the highest degree of polish and cinematic presentation that I have seen in any video game ever. It's visually and sonically absolutely stunning. The voice acting and animations are top shelf, the level design fantastic. And it runs at 75fps all the time on my box.

You basically feel like you've been dropped into a big budget Hollywood war movie, complete with evil bad guys, implausible plot and near invincibility. Not much thinking needed, just dispatching of waves of baddies while you soak up near unlimited punishment. Huge fun!

As a Scottish mate of mine once remarked, you can't polish a turd. Well I reckon Infinity Ward just about have with MW2. It's essentially a straight corridor shooter but dressed up with such incredible finesse that it feels like a whole lot more.

To answer my own question, I think it's definitely lived up to the hype, but at the end of the day (literally, it will only take a day to get through) I'll put it away and go back to Arma2.

[Leopardi 0]

Hi all. The good thing about living on my side of the dateline is that November 10 happens a day earlier than for you guys in the US and Europe. So I got my preordered copy of MW2 today and have been playing it for several hours.

First up, let me say that I'm not a multiplayer person so I wasn't put off by the hoopla surrounding the lack of dedicated servers. And since the COD series are sold as games, not military simulations like Arma2, I'm not concerned about lack of lean, prone, or any other concession to realism actually. I can understand the viewpoint that Infinity Ward are selling short the large PC fanbase who probably did a lot to help put them where they are today, by "dumbing down" the game to match the console version. Someone else can comment on that.

What I will say is that the game has the highest degree of polish and cinematic presentation that I have seen in any video game ever. It's visually and sonically absolutely stunning. The voice acting and animations are top shelf, the level design fantastic. And it runs at 75fps all the time on my box.

You basically feel like you've been dropped into a big budget Hollywood war movie, complete with evil bad guys, implausible plot and near invincibility. Not much thinking needed, just dispatching of waves of baddies while you soak up near unlimited punishment. Huge fun!

As a Scottish mate of mine once remarked, you can't polish a turd. Well I reckon Infinity Ward just about have with MW2. It's essentially a straight corridor shooter but dressed up with such incredible finesse that it feels like a whole lot more.

To answer my own question, I think it's definitely lived up to the hype, but at the end of the day (literally, it will only take a day to get through) I'll put it away and go back to Arma2.

Too bad the multiplayer is more a tetris than a war game. It's all about getting points. One kill and you get bombed by medals "2 headshot... +7200 XP!" "1 shot... one kill +9000 XP!"

If I wanted point hunting, I would play tetris.

[Hitman 10]

First up, let me say that I'm not a multiplayer person so I wasn't put off by the hoopla surrounding the lack of dedicated servers.

Stopped reading there.

[jibemorel 10]

Damnit you must be rich, i mean 70usd (i don't know how much $aus) for six hours of gameplay since you don't play online, that's something i would not afford.

Anyway glad you enjoyed, but not really my type of gameplay.

[vilas 477]

but from time to time some rest from serious software (as Arma2) is needed

i love RTCW

[emperor117 10]

i doubt, the company infinty ward probably only cares about money so they can fund there other projects thats why theres a hype

slap call of duty on the cover and millions of stupid people will buy it its just like putting featuring action on the front cover

in belfast people were waiting outside game and gamestop when it was like -1 degres and raining at 10:30 until 12:00 when it hit midnight and it became legal

Edited November 10, 2009 by emperor117

[4 IN 1 0]

Agreed, yet the price is still high for my taste, imo it doesnt worth that much for a few hours of thrill, and there just too many "oscar mike" being said in this game, which downgrading this game even more

Edited November 10, 2009 by 4 IN 1

[sudayev 27]

Hype's too big, SP game is really average, scripted, short. Nevertheless MW2 is very spectacular with all these eye candy enchancers.

[vilas 477]

in belfast people were waiting outside game and gamestop when it was like -1 degres and raining at 10:30 until 12:00 when it hit midnight and it became legal

poor people, addicted or what ?

just like watching hysteria about famous actor, singer or whoever :)

such behavior was always surprising me :]

poor people and reason to laugh at them :D

[emperor117 10]

there is only about 235,000 in belfast and there was about 1000 in the city center because of it

the police were even called in for crowd control

[vilas 477]

heh, sad

it looks like because of PC some young people are addicted

i cannot imagine myself waiting in the rain and cold just to buy something, what i can buy easily in next 2-3 days

the only one queue i was waiting was when Metallica came to sign record, but i resigned seeing over 500 people before me

[emperor117 10]

when gta 4 came out a man was stabbed over a console bundle with the limited edition and it took a hour just to enter the store probably because it was midnight because all the weirdos come out and make trouble because they have nothing to do

damm hoddies

[Zipper5 74]

Man, people seem to just completely write off games just because they're not realistic, or are too cinematic, or anything like that.

Well, thankfully, I'm not one of those people. I bought MW2 on the PC and PS3. I only have the PS3 version so far as the PC version won't be unlocked on Steam for me until Thursday. I've pre-loaded it, though.

And I'll tell you - the single player is the best campaign I have ever played. Full stop. It's literally incredible how awesome it is. And to top that off, you then have Special Ops mode where you play competitive maps with one other friend, in this case it was my brother. Man, these too are awesome.

I have yet to try MP as it got released yesterday, a day early, for me over here. Thus there was a total of 25 games. However, I have to see what the MP will be like in terms of latency for me due to my location before I can say if it's good or not despite the absence of dedicated servers. I can only hope that it's just as good as the SP, or better.

Yes, the game has lived up and surpassed the hype. Those of you too stubborn to "sell out" because of whatever reason it is, dedicated servers, arcade elements, etc., are missing out on a truly amazing title. I strongly recommend that you put aside those grievances and try it. Then again, if you don't have an open mind to these games, then I wouldn't recommend it.

[Pauldarrington 9]

when gta 4 came out a man was stabbed over a console bundle with the limited edition and it took a hour just to enter the store probably because it was midnight because all the weirdos come out and make trouble because they have nothing to do

damm hoddies

I was one of those sad buggers that waited till midnight and when i got out there were more hoddies waiting for trouble outside then there were people waiting for the game....

lucky enough my mate got a parking space right outside the shop so we quickly got in and drove off.

[joey_45 0]

Agreed, yet the price is still high for my taste, imo it doesnt worth that much for a few hours of thrill, and there just too many "oscar mike" being said in this game, which downgrading this game even more

Can someone tell me what 'Oscar Mike' means please... I know what 'Foxtrot Oscar' means...

Im gonna wait a biton this game to see what IW are gonna do.

And the Politics start here then does it....

Edited November 10, 2009 by Joey_45

[bangtail 0]

Man, people seem to just completely write off games just because they're not realistic, or are too cinematic, or anything like that.

Well, thankfully, I'm not one of those people. I bought MW2 on the PC and PS3. I only have the PS3 version so far as the PC version won't be unlocked on Steam for me until Thursday. I've pre-loaded it, though.

And I'll tell you - the single player is the best campaign I have ever played. Full stop. It's literally incredible how awesome it is. And to top that off, you then have Special Ops mode where you play competitive maps with one other friend, in this case it was my brother. Man, these too are awesome.

I have yet to try MP as it got released yesterday, a day early, for me over here. Thus there was a total of 25 games. However, I have to see what the MP will be like in terms of latency for me due to my location before I can say if it's good or not despite the absence of dedicated servers. I can only hope that it's just as good as the SP, or better.

Yes, the game has lived up and surpassed the hype. Those of you too stubborn to "sell out" because of whatever reason it is, dedicated servers, arcade elements, etc., are missing out on a truly amazing title. I strongly recommend that you put aside those grievances and try it. Then again, if you don't have an open mind to these games, then I wouldn't recommend it.

While I agree with most of what you said, I don't think it's a question of "selling out" on the part of your average PC gamer.

You have to admit that IW made some bad decisions vis a vis the PC version of MW2 and the community is rightly upset about it.

I played the game for a few hours last night at a friends and the SP is truly amazing but it's not worth $60.00+ IMHO. The MP is just not my cup of tea and because we cannot mod or run dedicated servers, there goes my incentive to buy the game.

I can't justify $60.00 for 4 hours of play. It's not the money, I just don't feel that the investment is equal to the enjoyment I'll get out of it.

If there were modding tools and a dedi, I would never have cancelled my preorder. If they are announced in the future (which I doubt they will be) I will purchase the game.

I'm in the same boat as you, it doesn't have to be the most ultra realistic game out there for me to enjoy it but the way IW have treated the PC demographic is inexcusable IMHO. If you've read the public chats the devs have had, the answers they were giving when asked about dedis etc were pathetic to the point of being insulting.

They made their decision and that decision was based purely on $ signs which is fair enough as it is business at the end of the day. But with that decision, they annoyed a lot of people. Sometimes, that's the "cost" of doing business.

Enjoy the game regardless :)

---------- Post added at 06:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:47 AM ----------

Can someone tell me what 'Oscar Mike' means please... I know what 'Foxtrot Oscar' means...

On the move

Edited November 10, 2009 by BangTail

[kavoven 4]

After I read about the level where you have to shoot civilians, my opinion of the game sank rapidly towards zero.

[vilas 477]

Politics are really going to stop you from liking a game?

Well, I feel sorry for you. I'm not saying you shouldn't have a political opinion. It's just a shame that it's stopping you from playing such a good game.

heh

anyone remembers Under Ash ? (Arabians made game when you shoot Israeli troops, DOS but 3D, like Wolfenstein3D or Doom2 but better graphically and sounds and etc.)

@emperor117 - thats why Arma /OFP are so great, you can take addon and play other side

most of games are made as : US mercenary spec-ops fight bad asian-arabic drug-terrorists in desert-jungle-big plant

it is boring, when 9 of 10 games are "the same", only name is little different and menu looks little different

it is boring to have on and on and on the same (if not saying about politics)

concerning brain wash by politics using movies, games, songs and etc . i wrote on other topic and i don't want mess here

simply - if many many people will be singing "man in red shirt kills children, lalalalala" (because someone wrote such song) some people will believe (after 100 hearing to song/movie/game) that guys in blue t-shirt are good and in red - evil, propaganda

but emperor117 - thats why you have BIS games and addons, you can play any side, any army you wish

america is big market for gamers, so many companies make "another the same game", because it will be bought

if Poland would be country which takes for example 50% world sales, all games would be using Polish soldier and GROM special unit (kids love "special units" as fetish, word "super hiper specops operators" makes high download rate of addon, nevermind time/effort spent on it, heh, on one forum when YAC (PKW) shown PKW GROM addon w.i.p. he was asked for US digi camo version - it means, kids not care, Polish soldier ? why not in digicam, you called addon Special-Forces ? wooow)

if Norway would be main client/customer, than all games would be about Norwegian special forces...

so as many kids from US buy games, most developers do "US special forces" (including Arma)

while OFP was "about usual soldier from 1985" and before BIS was world-known, they were making for us here in central europe market

it is simply due to market needs (demand ? in economic language ?)

thats why after playing few "the same games" i turned to OFP and stayed here

AVP, Max Payne are little different , but rest is only about one country soldiers

After I read about the level where you have to shoot civilians, my opinion of the game sank rapidly towards zero.

unarmed ? or was this opfor guerillas ?

cause it would be stupid for game to shoot to unarmed (the same as using "godmode + allweapons + notarget" cheats)

Edited November 10, 2009 by vilas

[Zipper5 74]

After I read about the level where you have to shoot civilians, my opinion of the game sank rapidly towards zero.

That's a shame. That part was one of many extremely gut-wrenching points in the campaign. Even more so than the Aftermath level from COD4. Absolutely incredible way of telling the story.

In my opinion.

[Deadfast 43]

I'm sure MW2 is a fun game, but $10 per 1 hour of entertainment is far too expensive for my taste.

[Leopardi 0]

I'm sure MW2 is a fun game, but $10 per 1 hour of entertainment is far too expensive for my taste.

More like $20 per hour

[smeg head 10]

After I read about the level where you have to shoot civilians, my opinion of the game sank rapidly towards zero.

I totally agree. I even thought COD4 was a bit disturbing when you had to shoot those sleeping sailors and the way your buddies went 'yippi-yah-yee-haw' every time you got a kill... stil I could put up with it

But that level just looks... disgusting

[cjsoques 0]

Pretty much what I expected, thanks for the first-hand review...

Might get it on 360 after Christmas once the price drops a little to the sheer fact that it is the only game that all my friends have in common.

Anyone who dropped $60US for the PC version of this game is pretty much shooting themselves in the foot and telling the market that it is worth $60...when it really isn't. Then all future PC games will be $60 just like on consoles.

When you consider that ARMA2 was $50 and I've pretty much barely taped what it is capable of and considering that fact that they just recently had ARMA2 for 50% off, BIS is really selling this for a bargain. Sorry to bring ARMA2 into this but I would easily throw down $50-$100 a year if BIS kicked up their ARMA2 product because it is chock full of goodness but also chock full of bugs too. If more money will solve that I'm all for it. I've only personally purchased 2 games this year (not counting gifts). Due to the economy me, like most gamers, have to think very hard and do their research before throwing down $40-$60 per game that could be used to pay bills.

In essence, I will probably get the game...eventually. I hope the price increase doesn't stick for the PC market, and I am quickly realizing how much of a bargain ARMA2 is.

[Hitman 10]

Yeah and once Kju releases more of his PROPER addons, us fast paced action fans will like ArmA2 even more! More than 6vs6 with mouse support.

[vilas 477]

o my go... in my country it is twice expensive as Arma2 , seems "name, mark" is reason why you can rise price how you want , heh

:couch:

kids will love it, there is version with tshirt, album with renders, somehow NV-goggles hehe :]

i wonder what freak will make parents to give half of salary to had quasi-NV-gogle with CoD symbols

Edited November 10, 2009 by vilas