Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

2024-06-19
Oh man I wish I had played this when it came out. It's exactly what you'd expect from the sequel to Modern Warfare. More, more, more. Mechanically it's the same shit. A couple new guns and things like the riot shield, a gun with a little knife that attacks fast, and enemies dropping different variants of guns with scopes and stuff--all, very nice. But in terms of the campaign holy shit it was so fucking over the top and action packed it's actually a bit obscene. I think it's right away in the game that after a stealth section in a base you then are in a high speed chase on a fucking snowmobile. There wasn't a single vehicle in Modern Warfare and now you not only have a snowmobile but a snowmobile chase that ends in you jumping over a ravine. And there are so many insane moments. Nukes being launched, a Russian invasion of a suburb, pulling a knife out of yourself and throwing it into another guy's head. The hits are just nonstop.

I will say plotwise--and I realize how preposterous it is starting a sentence like that in a review of a Call of Duty game in 2024 when looking at all the ones that have come since we can see how batshit they've become--it's a bit of a stretch at best. I mean there's the famous level, No Russian, that I remember being all over the media where you mow down a bunch of civilians in an airport in Russia. It turns out you're an undercover CIA guy and after taking part you get murdered by The Bad Guy. Somehow, even though the character you played was found dead and supposedly undercover, Russia surprise invades the US because of this? Really? One potentially rogue operative, who you couldn't even really ID as sent by America, and was a part of a group of 4, is reason enough to start World War III? It's garbage. But it's melodramatic and it's fun. Genuinely the pathos at the end with Captain Price's monologues about justice and your final encounter with the big bad and having to literally pull a knife out of your chest to save the day is incredible.

And I am utterly skipping the joy of multiplayer. Oh man the nuke is still one of the best things ever. What a blast. Tremendous game.