Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
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Article written by djhsecondnature in Featured Stories, PS3 Reviews, XBox 360 Reviews, on Friday, November 13, 2009 at 15:00.
Stumbling forward, the peripherals of my vision starting to blur, panic began to run through my bones. They were gone, all gone. Every single one of them. So quickly, so young. I thought I could have saved at least a solitary soul. With sweat dripping down my forehead, my skin pale, my appearance dishevelled, I pushed towards base. Arriving on location, I spotted a rookie and asked about the mission. Having been directed to HQ I managed to collect the package. As time went on, my perception became more and more indistinct and the world started to slip away. The engagement was complete however and it was just a matter making it to the LZ. It was pouring with rain outside, not ideal conditions for a quick extraction. Struggling on, each step becoming increasingly difficult as my body became more tiresome, the LZ was in sight.
Time was not my ally though, transport was almost there and it wouldn’t wait around. So, with all the energy I had remaining, I picked up the pace. Soaked through, all senses slowly fading into a distant blur, I leapt onto the bus, with a copy of Modern Warfare 2 in my bag and set off home.
Sceptical. Probably the best way to describe my emotions towards possible the biggest entertainment release to date. Having never actually owned the Infinity Ward’s last Call of Duty, I knew there was going to be a lot that would surprise me, but also I wasn’t entirely sure what everyone was so excited for. Sure, the original was an interesting and new take on a market filled with past wars, with a solid single player campaign and supposedly addictive multiplayer, but what could they add to it? Many successful titles have seen their sequels, which were bigged up to become the worlds greatest game, just to become polished versions of the originals. Modern Warfare 2 is one of those games. That however, is by no means a bad thing.
From the off, campaign is a cinematic experience to better any first person shooter on the market. Whether it’s from an exquisite use of plot disposition to ensure that the stories climaxes are never too far away or one of the many adrenaline filled events, an epic tale is being told with plenty of exhilaration. There are countless missions that I have played several times over from sheer enjoyment, which does make Modern Warfare lose a bit of its suitability with the story as it becomes more of a highlights reel. Unfortunately, not everything is a highlight.
Without hanging onto a topic that really doesn’t warrant it for too long, the mission ‘No Russian’ has created quite a storm of controversy. Whilst being able to have as much of an indirect role to the events that occur, it is still rather harrowing and disturbingly misplaced. Even in a game filled with death and chaos, the difference between taking down a soldier and slaughtering innocent civilians is a line my moral compass refused to cross. If the scene was used for effect at building up plot tension then it severely failed and seemed to play no real baring on the outcome of the somewhat flimsy story.
Aside from this baffling inclusion, the level design is superb. The variety of locales, level structure and verticality all work brilliantly to combine into a delightfully solid experience. Perhaps with some of the best subconsciousness signposting I’ve experienced, having never once got lost, but also never felt as if someone was yelling “this way!” at every turn. There are some small frustrations with the general play though. Whilst I appreciate that getting shot should hinder my abilities in combat, splattering my screen with ‘blood’ just blinds me to a degree that makes windscreen wiper a sensible addition to my loadout. I’m not expecting realism, I mean my health magically regenerates, there were a variety of brilliantly used filters and effects used during those are-they-aren’t-they-cutscenes that would have worked so much more fluidly.
The variation of missions and locations is simply fantastic and possibly unrivalled. Whether it be a run and gun free for all in the suburbs of Rio, speeding on a snowmobile down the Tian Shan Range, stealthily eliminating enemies under the cover of sand or snow, tactically clearing out a building or sprinting Mirror’s Edge style through tight alleyways, it is always kept fresh. It is always exciting. The dénouement is as well played out as any other, with the final sequence producing a suitable climax.
With multiplayer that resembles a polished version of the successful version released two years ago, it’s certain to be a massive hit and has already sucked me into it. With its MMO-styled progression system towards rewards and upgrades, it will hook players in an instant. However, it’s the additional co-operative mode Spec Ops mode that is the main extra draw. Providing a healthy does of bitesized missions to engage with another player, creating arcade-style challenges, with incredibly well fuelled replayability with the use of a star system, time trials and leaderboards, it takes a unique twist on the traditional story based co-op scenarios.
Pros:
- Exhilarating from start to finish.
- This is how shooters should handle.
- Multiplayer will extend the longevity massively
Cons:
- I’ve been shot, so why am I blind?
- It really is just Modern Warfare 1.5
- There’s no ‘mute all’ button.
Ultimately, this blockbuster is just another version in the Modern Warfare franchise and whilst failing to live up to the unreachable hype that was developed prior to release, Infinity Ward have produced a very impressive title. One good enough to even convince this sceptic. 9/10
2nd Opinion: Watchful
MW2 has provided more evidence that Xbox Live Gold is worth the price of entry, hence, having bought the PS3 version I have only played the single-player so far. The game’s attempt at a plot is best just forgotten. It is awful. It is far less painful to think of MW2 as having you play through a set of unrelated missions. Fortunately the gameplay is everything I hoped my first CoD experience would be. IW’s work to minimise controller lag has paid off with the controls feeling tight and responsive. The firefights are intense with some great set pieces.
So far the stand out moment for me was when I realised that when an AI squad member shouts, “Two tangoes behind the black hatchback!”, there really are two tangoes behind the black hatchback. I suddenly stopped mentally blocking out the squad chatter and listening to it. I am used to shouts about grenades, etc., in other games but the situational awareness and detail in the calls from squad mates was a revelation. Graphically, for a multi-platform title, it is impressive with more detail than I expected. Having played it on a 360 too, the PS3 version compares reasonably well. Both platforms have their good and bad points but I would say the 360 still edges out the PS3. Very much looking forward to trying the co-op once it is working. 8/10
3rd Opinion: Nofi
Modern Warfare 2: really not worth queuing up in the freezing cold of a Glasgow morning for, that’s for sure. I really, really don’t like it – the storyline is all over the place (without any coherence), the ‘action’ little more than spasmodic set piece after set piece and it’s all so scripted it might as well just be a series of quick time button presses. The graphics don’t impress, the frame rate’s all over the place and the in-your-face shouting is so repetitive and banal it’s almost insulting. And the ‘famous’ No Russian chapter? Utterly pointless, serving little more than the opportunity to bag a few more column inches before release. Still, I hear multiplayer is rather good, it’s just that I can’t seem to ever get a connection. 4/10
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
C_S15 | 13/11/2009 15:06
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Think I pretty much agree with the majority of what you say here DJH. Good review mate =)
cc_star | 13/11/2009 15:08
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I’ve been really short on time recently and would liked to have contributed to the piece, but couldn’t
I will say this though
Single player seems to be a good example of the FPS genre which I personally don’t like, I found the plot to be all over the place, but I lack the skills to progress through the levels to see if it ends up making sense, cheesy Americanisms aside it has super-responsive controls helped by the rock solid frame rate of 60fps 6/10 (largely down to my dislike of the genre)
Special Ops – Absolutely awesome, loving the challenges, again my lack of FPS ability is preventing my from progressing too far, great fun – hopefully will get some online co-op done which is the real jewel in the crown, Kudos to IW for the local split screen multiplayer 9/10
Online multiplayer – Just awesome, absolutely perfection, loads of game modes, loads of maps all superbly designed with a great mixture of close corridor action and open spaces Again super responsive controls not found anywhere else helps. The customising of weapons, load outs, perks is akin to an in depth RPG especially if you customise your load-outs as part of a team, so as to compliment each other, (one shield carrier, one shotgun close quarter specialist, one distant elevated sniper specialist etc…) This online part of the game has single handedly changed my impression of the genre 11/10
Sevchenko | 14/11/2009 00:41
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dont review a game if you’re bias
hazelam | 14/11/2009 09:55
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but everybody has a bias don’t they.
is a review fair if you only get people who love the genre to review it?
you want people who live and breathe fps to review the game, but you also want somebody who’s not into fps games to give it a play as well.
if you’re being objective you can still say when a game is good even if it’s not your kind of game.
Sevchenko | 14/11/2009 23:07
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or you could review a game based entirely on its merits and failures based on the general quality of games in the genre out today. you dont have to like the genre to give an objective review
cc_star | 15/11/2009 00:44
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What you on about?
I’ve made a comment, in the comments section!
FRUIT0FDOOM | 13/11/2009 15:12
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Spec Ops is truly brilliant, definately best on Veteran too. Infact, I find the game much easier than the others, a shame because i was hoping it would offer the same challenge (perhaps without all the ‘nade dodging in WaW though). With dj on this, great action packed experience but really comes to life online with buddies, however it doesn’t escape a Modern Warfare 1.5 tag. Great review dude – now i’m going to take a look at the score you gave it
FRUIT0FDOOM | 13/11/2009 15:17
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Damn. What i meant to say was: 9/10? That’s stupid! The site gives Forza III a 10/10 and then only a 9 for this? Having played the demo i can quite honestly say this is a 400/10! A quick search on Wikipedia also says that 400/10 is the score everyone should give it ‘cos it rocks! The PS3 version is the bestest like ever, ‘cos itz on Blu Ray so the grafikz r betterer
Vandix | 13/11/2009 15:19
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LOL
Love this comment
Quinlank | 13/11/2009 18:12
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The persistent swipes by staff members of this site over people basing their opinion of a game on a demo(A perfectly valid thing to do) is getting quite tedious at this point.
God forbid anyone should dare criticise an Xbox exclusive in any way after playing a demo of it(Notice no complaints when people do the same for multi format and PS3 demos, as I have on a few occasions).
spooner_22 | 14/11/2009 09:10
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I take it Quinlank didn’t get the joke?
BIGAL-1992 | 13/11/2009 15:14
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In my view, I’d say that: Single player fun, but too short, Spec ops a nice touch, but you need two players, and Multiplayer brillant as usual. I’d give it a 8.5/10 to be honest.
JamboGT | 13/11/2009 15:15
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Single player was ok for me, some great set pieces with a random story that was created, I think, to get as many varied locations as possible. 7/10
Not really got into spec ops yet, just a few games but seems promising. On first impressions 9/10
Online this game shines, other than the obvious day 2 problems. Am really enjoying it, doesn’t matter that I suck a bit. Need to get with a group to party up and try some of the team based modes though. 10/10
3shirts | 13/11/2009 15:16
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Out of interest, is this all Xbox360 experience?
I have never had any connection issues, like nofi describes, on my PS3 version
cc_star | 13/11/2009 15:20
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I presume at the time of writing (during the online issues) nofi hadn’t had chance to get a game connected.
Erroneus | 13/11/2009 15:22
Wanted "Trophy Hunter" but was too late.
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“I’ve been shot, so why am I blind?”
Hahahah EXACTLY! That effect is so retarded and over the top.
Tuffcub | 13/11/2009 15:26
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It’s like someome has exploded a jar of Robinsons Raspberry Jam in a conservatory. It’s beyond awful.
Roynaldo | 13/11/2009 17:02
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Hooah!
FRUIT0FDOOM | 13/11/2009 15:35
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Well for a start i would be damn impressed if anyone could take a bullet and remain focused on his surroundings. How do you simulate taking a bullet and the disorientation that comes with it? Blur the screen and make it difficult to focus, RED signals danger, thus a red blurring effect is a “holy crap im shot and in danger, time to hit the deck and / or leg it”. Otherwise we’d all be walking around like terminators with no real concern about being shot.
Erroneus | 13/11/2009 15:47
Wanted "Trophy Hunter" but was too late.
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I don’t mind there are some form of disadvantage when being shot, there has to be, but the current red gel they fill up the screen with it just to much.
djdustb | 13/11/2009 16:27
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I like the blood effect, yes it looks like jam but I think it is better than just a red border to the screen which happens in too many games. What I don’t get is people complaining they are blind as a result of it, I can fight on with it, and it takes a few hits to really blind you, by which time to be honest you ought to have found cover!
bully1990 | 13/11/2009 15:27
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Great review and the plot twist at the end of 2nd paragraph was suberb – much better story than MW2!
colossalblue | 13/11/2009 15:28
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Nice review, I’ve just started it and played through the first few levels (just finished the airport level).
My first impressions are good but not great. It plays really well and it looks really good, as expected. Unfortunately the scriptiing seems like it was written by a 12 year old who was allowed to stay up late and watch Generation Kill. I get it Infinity Ward, the army uses callsigns and phonetics and they have a lot of slang. I know this. I also know they don’t all repeat the same callsign catchphrase a dozen times at the top of their voices.
It also all seems a bit jingoistic so far, I expect that when I’m done playing the game I have to drape it in a US flag and post it back to Activision for a respectful burial? Oh, and the first level was a complete mess.
Those gripes aside (and they are only gripes because I’m not the mid-teen target they want to hit with this) it seems to play really well, probably the best FPS I’ve played in a very long time (maybe since CoD4!).
C_S15 | 13/11/2009 15:39
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Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike! Oscar Mike!
colossalblue | 13/11/2009 15:43
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exactly
Tuffcub | 13/11/2009 15:47
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God that pee’d me off. FFS just say “We’re leaving now” stop pretending your so effing butch. God thast reminded me how much i hate dthat I want o punch someone now.
Erroneus | 13/11/2009 15:48
Wanted "Trophy Hunter" but was too late.
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MS Military Simulator 2010
colossalblue | 13/11/2009 15:49
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That’s Tuffcub Actual Oscar Mike to Tango One with a punch in cargo.
Tuffcub | 13/11/2009 16:10
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TAOMTA ?
rht992 | 13/11/2009 15:49
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i like “generation kill” its the perfect follow up to True Blood on a wednesday night but the Afghan level just looked like that if the people behind die hard had made it
colossalblue | 13/11/2009 17:09
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the opening Afghan level is a scene from Generation Kill. Not sure where you are in the series of GK but keep an eye out for it, you’ll know it when you see it
P.S. Generation Kill was awesome and True Blood was alright too.
rht992 | 13/11/2009 21:46
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your right! but in generation kill it isn’t followed by mowing down a whole town with a mini gun
seedaripper1973 | 14/11/2009 11:46
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ooohh…never heard of this ‘generation kill’ malarky? i assume its on SKY?
ah well i’ll have to find a stream of it somewhere..but cheers for the heads up!
CaptainMurdo | 13/11/2009 15:29
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Pictures 3 and 4 are from MW1. Just thought you should know.
Great review though.
DR-DAVROS | 13/11/2009 15:30
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Single player I started on hardened and im actually glad the trophies didn’t work from the off as restarted on Veteran upon the 1.02 patch. I have not got that far as only played it on the 11th when the 3rd party servers had issues or was it the presense server or something?
SP – 8.5
I played Spec ops on the 10th after finally figuring out a quick fix for the party invite and again on the 12th. I have to say I really enjoyed it. Would liked to have an option to have more than 2 players but maybe that would be a little hard to implement.
SO – 9.5
Multiplayer well only played team deathmatch and a few private games of free for all. So far im liking it a lot. Im sure my gun has rubber bullets though
maybe I just need to create a class that suits me.
MM – 9.5
For a game I was not going to get depending on friends playing and price I have too say Im glad I made the purchase and at £24.97 it was a bargain.
(Can anyone confirm that the friend invites are fixed now since the presence server issue has been resolved?
minerwilly | 13/11/2009 17:21
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Im with you there Davros I am pretty happy with it but i think that is mainly because i only paid 25.99 in Morrisons . Had I payed 44.99 I think i would be feeling a tad disappointed . Couldn’t stand the stupid story and all those comments from people like Donald Rumsfeld like as if he was some kind of Napoleon, Monty, Drake , Eisenhower character (eeek) . I really am impressed with the Special Ops and of course the online but it does feel like just a CoD 4.5 .
It was way overhyped and I dont understand how they could justify charging more than normal . Id also give it about an 8.5 but if I had paid 44.99 i would probably say 7.5 .
CaptainMurdo | 13/11/2009 15:32
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Pictures 3 and 4 are from MW1. Just thought you should know. Great review though.
waddo_89 | 13/11/2009 15:43
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Haha yeah. Crossfire and Wet Work respectively.
djhsecondnature | 13/11/2009 18:15
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I have no idea what you’re talking about….
CaptainMurdo | 13/11/2009 23:29
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… Cheat.
jimmy-google | 13/11/2009 15:36
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I agree with Nofi’s comments. The single player feels like Haze with better graphics but worse story.
As I’m not much of an online gamer this will be heading to ebay or a trade in fairly soon.
rht992 | 13/11/2009 15:50
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your a brave man to compare Cod with Haze
jimmy-google | 13/11/2009 16:03
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There’s a lot of similarities (poor single player but decent online, feels liek we’ve seen it all before etc….). One received over the top praise and one received over the top criticism.
dirtyhabit | 13/11/2009 16:42
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I’m with Nofi on this one. Although he should give the MP a bash.
(I’d say the MP bumps it up to a 7/10)
MF6465 | 13/11/2009 15:36
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I’d give it 7/10, its above average, but nothing special.
It just feels like i have played it before, and as for the multiplayer, the killstreak perks just encourage camping. I’m sick of it already, now back to the MAG beta. 6 vs 6 what a joke.
rht992 | 13/11/2009 15:36
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No russian is a pretty tense mission and i felt very guilty and ashamed of my actions in the mission only to have them vanish when the game went “its fine to kill all these guys though because their russian soldiers” i mean in the next mission you kill hundreds of gang members and your ment to show no sign of remorse. And i hate the patriotic american story line.
As for the rest of the game i have pretty much the same feelings as the review.
Great intro however. i thought i’d missed a mission to begin with
The special ops are great and i haven’t tried multiplayer yet since my brother been stuck to his screen since launch
colossalblue | 13/11/2009 15:47
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about the airport stuff: I really can’t see where the “controversy” comes from (actually I can, it comes from Activision or IW’s PR departments). Yes, I trudged slowly through the airport, feeling a bit like robocop, shooting down civilians but it’s a video game, it’s hardly going to keep me awake.
Unless Bobby Kotick is tracking stats and executing people based on the figures reached then it’s really no different from shooting gang members or opposition soldiers or aliens or head crabs or Skag-fecking-zilla. People seem determined to forget that it’s a video game.
rht992 | 13/11/2009 15:59
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you just reminded me of how slowly you character moved. it really really annoyed me
I don’t mind that its there, i think its good developers are taking bolder steps with story telling, but its just so american it puts me off. Its like the games trying to justify a “war on terror”. I just don’t like it when killing someone is fine but killing the person next to him is wrong. Surely lives should be measured equally. Grrrrr its hard to put this into writing.
jimmy-google | 13/11/2009 16:11
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At the end of “No Russian” I felt like “was that it”? Had it just been a cut scene I wonder if anyone would even have mentioned it. I’d expected a higher level of gore of something shocking. I felt more uneasy stamping on corpses in Dead Space than playing through this.
Erroneus | 13/11/2009 16:22
Wanted "Trophy Hunter" but was too late.
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Yeah, needs more baby blending. Looking forward to Dante’s Inferno
rht992 | 13/11/2009 21:48
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Of all the comments about this controversial scene i didn’t think i’d ever hear “needs more baby blending” Lol
Watchful | 13/11/2009 15:59
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After quickly realising that there seemed to be no immediate repercussions to not shooting the civilians, I joined in with the terrorists to see what repercussions that might have for later in the game. That was when I was still expecting plot development…
rht992 | 13/11/2009 16:01
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i was hoping for some kind of moral back lash but it doesn’t really matter what you do in such a scripted game. its always going to finish the same way
Watchful | 13/11/2009 16:06
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I was expecting some urging on (or threats) from the terrorists if you didn’t shoot and some sort of moral consequence if you did. When I got neither I realised just how pointless that level was. Might as well have been a cut scene.
minerwilly | 13/11/2009 17:31
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RHT992 I completely agree you about the stupid story and the way you felt it was like propaganda to justify the war on terror . I cringed right at the beginning at the training camp where I’m supposed to tell Afghan Soldiers how to aim down the sights to be more accurate .
Really patronising especially considering these people grow up with AK-47’s and decades upon decades of wars and bloodshed . Some snotty american soldier telling them how to fire a gun , yea right .
I found the whole story really bloody stupid and I felt a little embarrassed that Soap Mactavish and our boys where in the game too .
Incidentally I fully support our troops in Afghanistan and wherever else they are posted and I wish them well but this story line was just way over the top and I hate to think of all the little American kids playing it , total claptrap .
PS – Love the Spec Ops and multiplayer though of course !!
rht992 | 13/11/2009 21:50
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the thing that really gets me is the heart breaking music when the russians invade and the Dick Chainy quotes