Chilly mornings, pumpkin spice and autumn leaves bring a fuzzy feeling to all who know what comes next: “Call of Duty.”
Many were awaiting “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s arrival,” which grossed over $800 million on the Oct. 28 launch weekend. More players came online than ever before in the franchise’s history.
Like so many others on launch weekend, I was lost in my computer monitor. The patter of gunfire and the thunder of explosions blocked out the outside world. Between intense firefights, I took wild gulps of Mountain Dew and savage bites of pizza.
I was completely consumed by “Modern Warfare 2.”
After 15 years of iteration, “Modern Warfare 2” has set the industry standard for a first-person shooter. The game’s riveting gunplay glued me to my computer.
Weapons feel weighted, pulling the trigger feels punchy and the audio and visual effects are satisfactory. Submachine guns feel light and snappy, unloading assault rifles feel deadly and firing anything bigger feels like it would make your shoulder sore.
Whipping from target to target and portioning out ammunition to eliminate threats is incredibly satisfying. The time-to-kill is quick and the gameplay is unrelenting. The difference between winning and losing a gunfight can be a few well-placed shots.
However, compared to some previous “Call of Duty” titles, the movement has been slightly slowed. Instead of sliding and jumping around the map, players are more encouraged to remain grounded by mounting on walls and making use of flash bangs before clearing rooms.
“Modern Warfare 2″ also features the return of the Gunsmith, allowing you to meticulously transform your weapon through the addition of various attachments. An assault rifle can be modified to shoot farther and hit harder or filed down for close quarters.
Unlike previous titles, you must unlock weapons by using weapons within the same family. For example, to unlock the famous AK-74U, you must first use the larger caliber AK-47. This forces the player to bounce from weapon to weapon to progress, and each weapon has a unique feel that prevents the process from becoming too tedious.
Something that may be a little more tedious, though, is the process of unlocking these transformational attachments. Rather than becoming unlocked as you use the weapon, many of these attachments also require you to level up other weapons. This goose-chase for attachments can be a deflating experience.
The game’s visuals are simply unmatched in the genre. Maps feel true-to-life and are filled with detail, masking the reality of their simplicity. Gun smoke rises from weapons as operators make lifelike animations.
Faces of characters enter the uncanny valley as scenes from the campaign force me to stop and take a long look. If you’re looking for visual fidelity, ”Modern Warfare 2” has it.
“Modern Warfare 2” includes all the traditional game modes, as well as the 64-player Ground War mode. Ground War features tanks, helicopters, scenic vistas and chaos — a chaos that may drift a little too far from how the game has been tuned for its smaller, more popular game modes. A small group of enjoyable two-player cooperative missions are also available.
The high-budget, seven-hour campaign did little more than meet expectations — some missions bring shock and awe, while others bring boredom. The AI was unimpressive, and the narrative itself was underwhelming — those who bother to play the campaign may not remember the details for long.
Few games on release are without their bugs and glitches, and Modern Warfare 2 is not one of them. In my 40 hours playing multiplayer on PC, the game has crashed more than 10 times, and graphical bugs would streak across my screen on occasion.
I waited in matchmaking for long periods before realizing a restart was necessary. I also encountered a hacker — a player had “god mode” enabled.
“Call of Duty” has become a seasonal activity and this year’s installment is compelling enough to warrant its purchase. As more content is added, such as the release of “Warzone 2.0” Nov. 16, the title could prove definitive for the franchise.