Right about now you fall into one of four groups:
- Waiting for midnight or at least tomorrow morning for Modern Combat 2.
- Already have the game from Gamestop or another store and loving it.
- Don’t care about Call of Duty at all and NOT getting the game.
- Never heard of the game and you enjoy collecting stamps.
Ok, the last was a reach. But you get the idea.
I’ve been playing games for the longest (Atari 2600 long, and I can remember playing Pong) and I’ve seen a lot of games hyped up either by the fanbase or the media or retailers. But Modern Combat 2 (or MC2) is taking the cake. We have ALL media outlets covering it one way or another, then there are the controversies, the early releases; it’s been a bit of a nuthouse as of late.
And it’s worth it all.
Starting with Call of Duty 2 on the Xbox 360, I’ve been a solid supporter/fan of the series. The game has becomes Activision’s big cash cow, having both Infinity Ward and Treyarch taking turns releasing games each year. Infinty Ward are the orginals with the franchise, however Treyarch as done a great job as well. Most people will swear up and down with Infinty Ward’s work, but Treyarch did a epic job with World at War and the Map Pack DLC. The game seemed to be stuck in a World War II loop, with the first three* Call of Duty games set in WW2. Infinty Ward created two great titles with Call of Duty 1 & 2. And then Trayarch followed up with Call of Duty 3, even though Infinty Ward had issue with the number three being used. Then came Modern Combat.
This game was the prefect way to blend the pacing of your favorite action movie with tons of great gameplay. The single player was a joy to play and the multiplayer action is still among the favorites with gamers online. You cared about your AI teammates and often gave imaginary fist bumps when a plan came together, cursed AI that seemed to tag you like a Bronx subway train, and cheered when you got him and his homeboy too. Most of my Xbox Live friends know I’m not a HUGE MP player, but it’s rare you play a game that feels “fair.” Unless you play with people who do nothing not but play that game, I never logged in and thought, “Yeah, I’m going to get lit up….” You get a good game in and hours can feel like minutes.
In short, Modern Combat was damn near a “perfect game.”
When Treyarch and Activision announced Call of Duty: World at War AND it was returning to WW2, many scoffed at the idea. However the game was very solid and you have to give Treyarch credit for the Map Pack DLC for multiplayer play. But many, me included, were spoiled with Modern Combat. It’s set in a modern (duh) time period and something that could happen now. They managed to tap into something with players and it showed with the scores and awards won. By May 2009 (the game released on November 6th, 2007), Modern Combat sold over 13 million copies.
So now we are facing Modern Combat 2, or Call of Duty 4 depending on who you talk to, and frankly the last week have been pretty crazy. We had footage of a scene in the game when you witness/take part in a terrorist attack, a pretty lame viral ad that only served to stereotype gamers and show a lack of maturity in videogame related advertisements, and an early release by Gamestop of all companies. Yipes. And within all that is a game that WILL make you talk for all the RIGHT reasons.
First we have the “terrorist simulator.” And I know this a very touch subject, so I will go light on this. I’ve seen a ton of movies that damn near played out like this part of the game (and as someone who actually owns the game, I speak from first hand experience) and it’s not that much different in this part. You do feel bad shooting these people and rightfully so, at least if you have any morals that is. I suppose you could go thru not shooting anyone, but once you get to the police, you might want to change your mind. This isn’t a John Wayne flick, this game has many shades of gray and you will explore them. If this was a movie or a novel, no one would bat an eyelash. A game and people are up in arms. Again, I understand given what world we live in now how this can be off putting, especially given recent events, but without giving out HUGE SPOILERS, you have to experience the whole and not just look at the small parts.
Then the viral ad came, which I won’t spend much time with just on principle. It was pretty lame, if their intent was to use F.A.G.S. as an acronym, and they could have made the point about the grenades without having to go to Lowest Common Denominator “humor.” And what makes it worst is that often on this game and other online games, you get this sort of thing or worst. Way to go on that one!!!
And then we had the Gamestop launch, early launch. I’ve owned the game since Saturday afternoon and frankly I’m cool with it. I was prepared to get the game Tuesday after work, but I’m not going to complain. Many of my friends have owned a WIDE range of games early for years. I never got bent out of shape over it and can’t believe that many are this upset over others getting the game early. What I do find amazing is that it’s Gamestop of all places breaking the ship date. But again, I’m not really complaining. Having worked at Gamestop, I know how they stress NOT breaking the dates, so it will be interesting to see how it’s handled.
Quick mini-impression of this game: This **** is way too intense. Maybe I’ve been caught off guard because of the pacing of Borderlands. But man, this crazy as hell! There is NO safe place. There is no cover. There is nothing but a wall of bullets coming at you.
You WILL experience fear. You WILL learn (or relearn) how to properly conduct yourself in a firefight. You WILL curse countless jerkoffs that light you up. You WILL cheer when you finally tag that sucker who has been lighting up you. You will smile even after you have been taken out 10 times because you KNOW the 11th time you WILL **** him up.
So now I’m looking at a Steelers/Broncos game and thinking of playing Modern Combat 2. As much as I love football, I really feel like I NEED to play. That’s the strength of this game. You actually feel the intensity in the action, something I wasn’t ready for at first to be frank. Without giving a half-ass review without really sinking my teeth in the game (no MP played yet and I’ve only scratched the surface of Spec Ops Mode), I’ll say Call of Duty: Modern Combat 2 IS that good of a game. No dumb ads needed, no gimmicks are called for, just straight with any chaser great game. What I really think will shine is the game itself. Yeah, I think I’ll pop in some rounds in a few….
