DarkPacMan77Pacman77
Nov 19, 2009
-*- Please Read If you Want the Honest Truth -*- *** This is a long, accurate review, in my opinion*** *** Please read my "Overall" section for a summary*** I've played other COD games and wasn't into them. They were good pick-up fun but didn't keep me hooked like they seemed to do for others. I think that is because I played those games on the console systems as opposed to -*- Please Read If you Want the Honest Truth -*- *** This is a long, accurate review, in my opinion*** *** Please read my "Overall" section for a summary*** I've played other COD games and wasn't into them. They were good pick-up fun but didn't keep me hooked like they seemed to do for others. I think that is because I played those games on the console systems as opposed to the PC. This new COD MW2 keeps me hooked, and it keeps me hooked for most of the reasons that people hate this game. I'll explain. Big Issue Number One: The biggest gripe, and part of the reason for rating an 8 is that the game doesn't have dedicated servers. However, even if it did, I would still find myself playing the official ones hosted individually most of the time because people who moderate ded. servers are usually strung-out over caffeinated children that ban people for no good reason... like if they are killed too much by you. That gets old extremely fast, but I would definitely want the option to have them. Big Issue Number Two: There's no leaning or cover system, and guess what, I like it this way. This game is still a competition of multiplayer prowess and I find it hard to play, yet challenging, which is good. I can't imagine this game with people hiding behind stuff... never moving... and leaning with belt-fed machine guns. Sorry, I've played a lot of a game called War Rock and I've had enough of that jazz. Big Issue Number Three: 9 versus 9 limitation as opposed to 16v16, I believe, for the console versions. Gaming enthusiasts as well as the modern preteen out there are bringing up the fact that there aren't as many people per match and that this game suffers from a gameplay value because of this. I say, wrong. The console offerings have more players, yes, but they are also more chaotic. There are "too many" people in those "small" levels. That's how I look at it. Sure, the levels aren't "small", but compared to other shooter games, they can seem small. I mention this because every 1 in 5 deaths on the console is because you got spawned directly within 15 feet of an enemy and as soon as you began to run... they'd spot you and down you like the little campers that they are. They were able to do that so easily because of the fact that if you have even one DECENT team full of people, that side will DOMINATE the other team to the point where "mercy" doesn't even begin to apply. I think it's a good idea to curb lag on the PC by offering 9v9. I think it's quite fair and helps ensure that you aren't just dying for the sake of dying. You have more chances to walk 10 or more steps and fire a gun a few times than the console counterparts. From here, I'll rate the typical gameplay, sound, graphics, tilt, and overall score. * - Gameplay - * I don't play the single player - most people don't. There's a ton of people, especially through steam, that need to double their medication in this regard because there are people that have only heard that this game is short... and so they say the story is garbage and "over-played" and "no fun". It's short, yes, so are most shooting games. Longest I've seen in a long time is the newest Wolfenstein, oddly enough, but you don't see people raving how amazing the game is simply because it had a great single player mode, do you? Multiplayer is where it's at, and yes, while you sometimes have lag issues, that's expected on the PC platform. There are so many different types of networking equipment that differ from each and every single person playing that it doesn't matter what server, equipment, hardware or software you are using, the latency that you connect to whatever server/ host will ALWAYS be different for each and every player no matter what, even on PS3/ Xbox360 and yes, they lag there too... apparently people have forgotten this?... or at least choose to. * - Sound - * The sound effects could be better, but they aren't bad at all. The gun sounds are still pretty solid even though they could use a little more work. The biggest issue regarding sound is the amount of simultaneous noises going on at once. I have a sound card that can output 128 noises in CMSS3D technology and it's still kind of hard to find the enemy sometimes. You can take this as a pro or a con, however, since utilizing enough sounds on a battlefield to not be able to instantly find your opponents, even while using a superiors sound card, does tend to make you think that Infinity Ward put forward the effort to dilute many of the "dead give away" type moments which can help shield both the noob and the pro while still capturing that "in-the-moment" feeling that keeps you pumped up while playing the game. * - Graphics - * Can they be better? Yes. And that's all that should maybe be said, in short. Going into detail, it's easy to understand why they didn't completely super-power this title. It runs on the same game engine as the other COD games, which helps with frame rates, but if you're using a graphics card from about 2 years prior to this game's release date then you may not have the power, graphically speaking, to run the game at great resolutions with "appropriate eye candy" anyways. I personally have a top of the line (IMO) gaming computer and I find that the game performs very well. I rarely find outright "flaws" in the game mechanics regarding graphics or sloppy textures unless I specifically go looking for them. I was also happily surprised to find that there are many, many more objects that cast shadows or can be blown away by bullets, explosions, or other debris. Throwing a grenade into an office building feels pretty appropriate. About the only thing that doesn't happen is the cubicle walls aren't hurt... but that's more about preserving fairness as well. Graphics are certainly not an issue that you should be concerned with. They are great, albeit revised from CODMW1, and help provide a more seamless gameplay. * - Tilt - * The game offers various different ways to level up your arsenal, which is fantastic for me. The traditional system of the other COD games of leveling up your perks was something that I found particularly interesting... but felt there was something missing. Now, with this game, perks themselves can be leveled up by themselves as well as your weapons and other equipment. This is viewed as tedious and negative by the nay-sayers, but I'll tell you why I think it's a good thing. It's a good thing, in my opinion, because you won't have one person excel at every particular aspect of the game just because their level is higher and they have more guns/ experience. The first game I was dropped into I did a respectable 11-5, not bad for my first time at all. The perks/ weapon setups are only overpowered in "certain ways", in the sense that many perks can stomp out others. Marathon, a perk which makes you able to run an unlimited amount and at a faster rate, is a good one to have against people that don't have the "Stopping Power" perk, whose weapons deal more damage, because it's harder for them to put enough effective shots down range to defeat you, and vice versa. And this is across the board for all of the perks no matter what level they are. Some are annoying, true... but that's war. * - Overall - * There are lots of things that make me a little bit mad about this game, but none really hurt the overall game to me TOO badly. If it does, I shut down the game, like any other ADULT would do, and find something actually worthwhile with my time than playing video games all day. It's not that bad to have a hacker kill you - it's on the PC - it's going to happen... sadly, but true. To think otherwise would be to lie to yourself. Also, the community, particularly the PC community, is whining for so many reasons and they don't realize how badly their ideas contradict one another. I find it funny that people complain about lag or constantly having to find new hosts for games... yet want more players in the game at once at the same time. Guess what? In the older COD games that these guys will say to play instead of this one, if the host leaves, the game entirely ends. At least the game doesn't just flipping END prematurely. In fact, it hasn't even ENTIRELY DROPPED for me on my cable connection one single time yet, so I don't know what all these people are talking about, although I could understand people outside the USA having ping-related mishaps until better servers are setup for people or better match-making is added in a patch. The biggest things people complain about with the PC CODMW2 is that it doesn't have dedicated servers, only has 9v9 players, doesn't have a "command" key (using the ` key to alter game options), and doesn't have additional "filters" for the PC version that make "less debris" or "less objects" on the screen. Well guess what? For all of those losers trying to gain a SLIGHT competitive edge just by deleting the floating stuff in the air or removing miscellaneous bricks on the ground and stuff... or by altering your viewing angle/ position to something someone at default doesn't have... for all of you guys, all I can say is "grow up and learn to play the game as it was intended to be played". It's pretty clear that this is more or less a direct port of a game made on the console, yes. But it's not a "bad game" at all just because of this. It is seriously hilarious how many people say "this game is washed out, over played, has nothing greatly new, uses the same old junkie game engine" etc. and so on... but then say, "Don't play this game, play the old one". I find that so hilarious, personally, because those people sit here and bash this game partly for being similar to the previous modern warfare and then they suggest to play that one instead... you know, the one that they can adjust their viewing angles, use dedicated servers with their buddies without anti-cheat protection to pretend that they are good at the game while kicking every good player off of the server... yeah, that game. The bottom line is that if you pick this up and like first person shooters, especially rushing combat and lots of customization options and leveling abilities, then this game is going to keep you entertained for a long time. At the end of the day, I buy games to have fun, and I'm having a lot of fun. I'd say this is money well-spent even despite not having the option for dedicated servers or larger game rooms, but overall, I'm personally glad that there aren't dedicated servers and larger game rooms by default. This game rocks. If you liked my review or want to discuss anything regarding questions or comments, please feel free to add me on AIM @ DarkPacMan77. Thanks for reading and happy fragging!… Expand
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