Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

After the release of the original Modern Warfare in 2007, the Call of Duty series returned to its roots by re-visiting the Second World War in 2008's World at War. The game was generally very well-received, with particular praise levelled at the intense single-player campaign, the multiplayer, graphics, and the introduction of the popular Nazi Zombies mode.

Now, I didn't play the zombies mode in World at War. I was aware of it, and I'd seen footage of it, but it just seemed somewhat...silly. Maybe I'll give it a chance one of these days, but at the time I was more interested in the campaign.

Still, while fans enjoyed World at War, they were still clamouring for Modern Warfare 2.

Developing the Sequel to a Fan Favourite

Activision announced Modern Warfare 2 on February 11, 2009 which was very exciting for the fans. Development started back in 2008, and the team at Infinity Ward evidently worked long and hard to get the game released on time. Modern Warfare 2 was released in November of 2009 and was a massive commercial critical and commercial success.

During the development of the game, Infinity Ward put together a multiplayer mode that was very popular. Likewise, the Spec-Ops mode was also well-received.

Following the game's release, there were several DLC packs released and the game received multiple awards. The game has been a fan favorite in the series and was remastered in 2020.

A Great Story

5 years after the events of the previous game, special team, Task Force 141, is put together to locate and capture a terrorist named Makarov. To that end, Private First Class Joseph Allen is sent undercover to keep the task force in the loop. Unfortunately, however, Makarov seems to be one step ahead. He leads a massacre at a Russian airport and then murders Allen, leaving his body behind for the authorities to find, essentially turning the USA into his scapegoat.

Russia subsequently invades the US and it's up to a unit of Army Rangers to keep their homeland safe while Task Force 141 tracks Makarov.

Where does Modern Warfare 2 Shine?

Modern Warfare 2 has a great storyline and the action movie references are just great. It's well-written and flows very nicely. The voice performances are amazing, you can tell the actors put everything they had into their roles.

The gunplay is absolutely fantastic, each gun sounds good and is easy to work with. I'd say it's an improvement on the gunplay of the previous games.

Visually, the game is gorgeous! The graphics have definitely seen an improvement since the last game in the series (although, World at War was definitely nicely animated).

Where does Modern Warfare 2 Stumble?

I didn't have many problems with the game, but if I had to nitpick I'd say that the campaign feels VERY rushed in places. It also feels much shorter than other campaigns I've played.

The only other problem I had was with the character of Makarov. He has very little in the way of a presence. You see him in one mission (No Russian), after that it's limited to a few phone calls. There's more focus on the character of General Shepherd, which makes sense in the story's frame work. Sadly, Makarov himself doesn't have anything meaningful to do apart from the No Russian mission and to give us some intel later on.

Other than that, I don't think there was much that caused me any trouble...actually...well, the No Russian mission made me a little uncomfortable.

Oh boy, I suppose I'll have to talk about that before I end the review. Okay, here goes.

The 'No Russian' Controversy

The No Russian mission sees you, as the undercover Joseph Allen, walking through a Russian airport with Makarov and his lackeys gunning down civilians. The level is...rough, the sounds of terrified screaming and the moans of pain are hard to listen to. That said, the level is entirely skippable and you aren't penalized for skipping it.

Still, the level was met with major backlash with many criticizing it as being in poor taste - especially in the wake of a mass shooting at the military base at Fort Hood, Texas.

I'm not easily offended, and haven't got any problem playing the level most of the time, but it does get uncomfortable at times. In fact, on my most recent play-through I made the decision to only shoot when shot at - meaning I'd only hit legitimate targets. Did that make it easier? Sort of, I play that level purely for complete context so that the mission that follows it actually makes sense to me.

Now, this is probably going to sound really insensitive, but while I understand why people took issue with it, I can't help finding the whole thing to be, frankly, childish. Why? Well, one of the main concerns that was raised about the level was that kids were going to play the game. Of course they will, IF they're allowed to play the game in the first place! Parental controls are there for a reason, if you don't want your kids playing a game you press a few buttons and put the controls in place.

Steam has been around since 2003, it was already six years old at the time of the original Modern Warfare 2's release. Surely, parents would've learned the ins and outs by now...is that insensitive? Am I just out of touch? Maybe, but those are my thoughts on that subject.

Final Verdict: Is Modern Warfare 2 Worth Playing?

So, at the end of the day, is Modern Warfare 2 worth your time? Well, yeah, I think it is. Considering that it's a good 15 years old (man, I feel old), the game still holds up well. The great music and storyline are put together so that you're constantly hyped to play the next mission.

As far as which version you should play, the 2009 original or the 2022 remake, that's up to you. I haven't played any of the Modern Warfare remakes, I also have no real interest in playing them so commenting on which is better is going to be nigh-impossible to do fairly.

If you really don't know which to choose, play both and draw your own conclusions. As for me, I'm sticking with the original trilogy.

Thanks for reading guys and gals! It's been an absolute pleasure, let me know what you think of this game in the comments.