Perhaps THE most anticipated gameof the year, COD:MW2 bursts onto the scene with more of the intense and highly refined gameplay that producer Infinity Ward’s series entries are famous for.  For those looking to continue the excellent experience of the first MW game, this one does not dissappoint.  It’s been a long time coming for this game, so lets do this!

GRAPHICS (9/10)

The graphics in this game are beautiful. The character models all look and move as they would in real life. Everything in this world is incredibly detailed. While the graphics are not the best on any console, you can’t help but to admire how seamless it all blends together to create the game’s immersive environments. Most of the time you’ll be caught up in a firefight, but the next time you’re just running around in this game, take a second to stop and admire the beauty of the graphics.

STORY (8/10)

Modern Warfare isn’t known for it’s storyline and this installment is no exception. The campaign is relatively short. I was able to plod through it on Veteran in just under a day’s time. Thankfully, Veteran difficulty has been toned down to “challenging” from “impossible” in previous installments.  As for the plotline, don’t try to figure it out as it will most likely just confuse you.   There are MAJOR plot twist, major characters are killed off along the way, and overall it doesn’t make much sense, even after completing the campaign. It is as if each plot point is just a reason to set up another incredible action set piece. Luckily, the action is just to satisfying and immersive that no one really gives a crap about what is going on with the plot. If anything, that is a testament to the excellent gameplay of this title.

GAMEPLAY (10/10)

I don’t really give 10′s out very often. However, I feel that this game definitely has it nailed in the gameplay department. They took their already excellent gameplay formula from MW and restructured it. Last year’s World at War seemed to mimic the MW formula very closely, providing some minimal tweaks. MW2 take the same formula and completely revamps everything, adding entirely new segments of gameplay and basically taking their already proven formula to the next level.   Big ups to them for taking the time to add more substance and depth to an already incredibly satisfying system. When you play this game, you will truly feel as if you are on a modern battlefield.   MW2 would’ve sold a billion copies even without these improvements, but it shows the level of pride that IW has in this project by how much more content they have put into this game. If only every game developer added this level of polish to their games also.

MULTIPLAYER (10/10)

The multiplayer portion is perhaps the best multiplayer game I have ever played.  When you start playing, it is instant chaos. Harrier Jets, Helicopters, Predator missiles, sentry guns, etc are all running rampant on any map you play. You really get the feeling of how mortal your character is when facing these mammoths of combat technology. the multiplayer is perfected to such an extent that the only cheap deaths are due to lag. Any other time that you die, chances are that you deserved to die.

The weapons and perks choices are just mindblowing. Endless combinations of weapons attachments combined with perk choices lead to endless customization of playing styles. Perhaps the biggest addition to MW2 is the kill streak set up. This game is all about the kill streaks as they can unlock anything from a simple UAV to a game ending NUKE. You can customize your killstreaks to unlock different rewards depending on how high your kill streak goes.  The custom options in this game are endless, and I haven’t even touched on the callsign/emblem options.

OVERALL (9/10)

I could go on and on about everything you can do in this game. The reality is- if you want this game then nothing I say will change your mind. I’m hard pressed to think of something negative to say about the game. The campaign is very short, but the overall game has the highest replay value of damn near any game I’ve played. The multiplayer is truly where this game shines. I picked this game up along with some of the other big holiday titles and I can honestly say that this is the only game that I have played every single day since its release. If you don’t have this yet, RUN out and buy a copy right away.