'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' game review

Developer: Infinity Ward (Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare)
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Available On: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Reviewed On: Xbox 360

Two years ago, "BioShock," "Halo 3" and "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" permanently raised the bar for first person shooters. Nowhere was this more true, especially in the latter's case, than online, where "Warfare'"s leveling up system has become standard issue for all competitive multiplayer games.

But while this sequel isn't as much of a revolution or revelation, its small but significant tweeks to its still fresh formula help this to be both the best shooter, and the best game overall, of the year.

For the story mode, the game picks up five years after the original "Warfare," with you as an elite soldier, once again tasked with taking down a Russian ultra-nationalist terrorist. Here, the game feels familiar, with the same flawlessly fluid controls, beautiful graphics, enveloping sound design, frantic firefights, intelligent enemies and action movie-like events that made the original "Warfare" such a classic.

"Modern Warfare 2" does have some occasional new tricks to offer. You now get to pilot predator drones, have to breach and clear rooms before the terrorists inside kill their hostages and man the machine gun turret on an attack helicopter. It also, thankfully, has a much more even keel when it comes to its difficulty; none of the missions are as noticeably harder than the rest like the frakkin' difficult Chernobyl ferris wheel shootout was in the original "Warfare."

Where it really pulls out all the stops, though, is where the story goes and the places you face those enemies in those firefights. The mission in which you infiltrate and then escape a snowy mountain top base, right when a blizzard begins, is especially invigorating, while other equally engrossing ones really bring the horror of war home.

Then there's the mission—which we will not reveal—that will have people talking, one that has you doing something so unsavory that it has the potential to be divisive and even upsetting. And while the developers have built in an option to skip it, don't. Yes, it's unpleasant, but taken in context, it makes everything that follows so much more impactful and ultimately compelling.

Of course, the "Duty" games are as much about their online modes as they are their story ones, and it is here that "Warfare 2" truly shines. The game comes with a dozen maps, and has 14 different modes, including such new ones as “Demolition,” where teams take turns arming and disarming a pair of stationary bombs. Regardless of which you play, though, these modes, like the “Story” one, also still play like the original "Warfare," with points you accrue from killing enemies, completing objectives (where applicable) and winning matches unlocking new weapons and special abilities.

Now you also get bonus points for doing such things as killing someone who just killed you, or getting a head shot or taking out someone who's killed a lot of your teammates. They've also added a number of new bonuses for killing a bunch of people in a row without dying (supply drops, harrier jets, a game-ending nuke), as well as more times to employ them, and the option to customize, within reason, which bonus you get when. All of which, if you can believe it, makes the online game that much more exciting.

Finally, "Warfare 2" has a new co-op mode called “Special Ops” in which you and a friend (or you and your bravery) play a series of challenges based on events from the game's “Story” mode (and a couple that were going to be part of the “Story” but got cut). While some are simple snowmobile races or obstacle courses, others are more complex, such as one where you man the guns of an attack plane so you can protect your friend on the ground. But the best are the ones that ape the gameplay of "Gears of War"'s “Horde” mode or “Firefight” in "Halo 3: ODST" by making you and a friend work together to survive waves upon waves of attacking enemies.

Bottom Line: On their own, this game's “Story,” “Special Ops” or competitive multiplayer modes would make this a must own. Together, they're unstoppable.