First things first: the graphics. Unbelievable. I know the xbox 360 and PS3 have the best graphics right now, which is almost obvious with them being the next-gen consoles. But this game seriously brings out the best in the graphics engine. You can see the dirt splatter onto your vision when a grenade goes off to close, if you sit and stare at a pool of blood after you kill someone, the blood spreads. The level of detail in this game is just fantastic. Here's a screen off google to just prove what I mean:
You can practically see the grout on the tile, the fabric of the pants on the guy by the window. Hell maybe even the sweat on the closest guy's neck, if you looked hard enough. Again, unbelievable.
Gameplay is also top of the line. Your character's movements are so fluid, you may as well be in the war yourself (I wouldn't recommend this. As much as you kick ass in COD: MW2, you probably suck really bad in reality. 'Course, I could be wrong..). Again, the level of detail in the gameplay is just as amazing as the graphics. Every time you shoot you can feel the vibration which just serves to feed the action of your character slightly rocking back in reaction to firing your gun. It's just something that can only be properly recognized when you play the game, I can only explain it so much. But here's a video off YouTube to give you a small semblance of the experience:
Alright, so it's not breathtaking.. but he does rock back a little bit. You can see a lot of the detail here too on just how fluid he moves and how easy it is to maneuver him around, where I know a few previous FPS's like this were just awkward and it was easy to get stuck.
Story: Now the story, I can't speak much for yet because I haven't finished. But, what I've paid attention to so far, is pretty good for a war-based game. Just to give fair warning, I am going to spoil the beginning within this paragraph, so if you don't want to know, don't read this part..
- In the beginning when Marakov shoots your first character, Allen (last name), I actually found myself yelling outloud, "You bitch!" Yeah, I was a bit into it. Already. By now, I've actually gotten to the point where if the leader of the party (be it either Foley or MacTavish) falls, I turn around just to make sure he's ok. Maybe that's the female side of me and I find MacTavish to be rather dashing, but.. my point is that you're drawn in. Now, obviously, it's not going to be as deep of a story as a 10-rated RPG; say like Final Fantasy XIII. That's a major point from the get-go that I'm sure everyone understands. But as far as FPS's go, this one is right up there with the Halo series in deep storylines with plenty of twists. Enough to keep you going through story mode than just buying the game for the awesome multiplayer value.
Edit 8/26/10: So I've finished single player, and let me just say, what a story. That initial hook I received at the beginning just dug deeper and deeper into me the further I got into the game. The uh... "controversial" mission, I personally think, is worth including in your story if only because it really creates background emotion for the final encounter of the game. Without it, you're just thinking hey, he's a bad man. With it, however, it really instills that burn of hatred. For those who have played the game 100% you understand what I mean, I'm sure. Safe to say, the story rating is still the same as before I finished the game.
Multiplayer: Alright, the multiplayer aspect of COD:MW2 is the BEST. The top of line, and I don't normally give a game that high of an opinion rating. I seriously almost bought this game just for the multiplayer (did you catch that earlier..?) but I figured I'd give the story a go first. While the story is, as mentioned above, good.. it's definitely not the multiplayer. If you throw on a headset, grab three friends and just have at each other for a night, it's seriously just as good as going out on the city. Now that may be the nerdy side of me talking, but in games like these, running around and trying to blow each other's heads off, is the best part. Edit: the ONLY thing I don't like about the multiplayer aspect, is there is no co-op campaign mode, for one. It was removed to introduce the Spec Ops co-op missions. Personally, I would've much preferred co-op campaign. Second, you can only play online with one person. I think it would've been a lot nicer if they had included the option to play against each other online with others. Not everyone can dish out money for a PS3 just to play with friends online. Here's a video from YouTube showcasing the awesome-ness that exudes from multiplayer still though, despite those two drawbacks:
'nuff said, I think.
Overall: Alright, so this is what it boils down to. Is this, or is this not, a game worth your $60 bucks (or if you're cheap like me and buy it used of a family member or friend for $30..)? Absolutely. Not only is this game the most realistic warfare game I've ever played, but the sheer magnitude of it is definitely enough. The levels are just as detailed as the story, the sounds in the background of someone behind you shooting past you, the small things no one would notice... everything about this game is just spectacular. Feel like sitting around, wasting a few hours on multiplayer with some friends? Done. Feel like exploring the storyline and getting to know what happened after COD:MW? Done. I can't even begin to explain how great this game is, for so many reasons. Just.. go buy it. Play it. You'll understand, I promise.
OVERALL SCORE: 10/10
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