Single Player Review
Submitted by Los

There are some things in this world that cannot be easily described. The way a strange noise in the middle of the night makes your heart jump so fast it sends an instant cold sweat up your neck. The feeling of being followed on a deserted dark street only to find there is no one there. The way dreams can be so realistic, so detailed, that you wake up gasping for air or have the sensation of falling. So many easy scientific explanations, but the feelings you experience. Those emotions and gut wrenching chills that send electricity through your body. You never would’ve thought you could get that from a video game.

Now, I may be over exaggerating a bit, but as far as my gaming experiences go, I have never played something that made me feel the way Modern Warfare 2 made me feel.

I’ve commanded a ship in space and saved the universe from an ancient alien race. I’ve tracked down the lost fleet of Marco Polo and found a treasure that was thought to be a myth. I’ve battled against hoards and hoards of flesh eating zombies. I’ve even seen the world after nuclear fallout, traveled its wastelands and survived its monsters. Even that could not have prepared me for what I experienced with Modern Warfare 2.

This will not be a detailed review of the game. I’m not going to say anything of what happens. I’m just going to share the way the story is beyond what I was expecting.

It is true, the story lasts about 4-5 hours. I thought that was really short for a story. But when you buy this game, you’re not really buying it for the story; you’re buying it for the multiplayer. And although the story is 4-5 hours, in a way, it is more than enough. The only thing I will say that was in the game is before you start it, you are asked if you’d like to see/play the very graphic parts, or skip them. I, like everyone else I’m sure, said how bad can it be? I’m an adult, I know the difference between a game and reality, I can handle it. Well I learned about a quarter of the way through that this game will mess you up. It will catch you off guard and toy with your mind. The controversial chapter that everyone is talking about is really when it starts. When everything, as far as being subtle, and elementary, go right out the window. From there you are on a roller coaster ride that takes your head and forces you watch as things unfold that you wish would never come true.

And that’s where I’m so… traumatized, for lack of a better term. I’ve said it before, Infinity Ward has some set of balls. They’ve pushed the envelope as far as story and set pieces go. So much in fact I couldn’t wait for one chapter to be over just because I couldn’t stomach the realism of it. And I’m not talking about the controversial chapter, which alone, when you think about it, is something that can happen, and you wish that that scene is not one that the crazy people out there are going to try and mimic. Watching the story unfold and watching the things that were going on on screen, coupled with a crazy score by Hans Zimmer that brings the emotion, the apprehension, distress, and overall, pins and needles feel of the world you’re in to a totally different level. I’ve played war shooters before, and even the original Modern Warfare doesn’t grasp your attention the way this does. And it’s for the simple fact that (this is not a spoiler, it’s in trailers that we’ve all seen that’ve been out for months now) the fight has come to our soil. Images portrayed and played out with the level of depth and intensity that Infinity Ward brings puts you in the front row of a destruction filled land that we call home. When you see it, you’ll see the difference between it, and say, fighting in another country or another planet. You’ll feel the tension and fear to see what the game shows you. And blindsidedly, it will hit you like a bat across the head to think that this can happen. And that’s where this game has an edge that cuts like a sword.

There’s so much to say, but I feel I’ve said enough. The young at heart or the easily daunted really should think twice about going through the story. Hell, it makes me think twice about playing multiplayer to tell you the truth. One of the many things this game does so well is make you feel like it’s more than just a game. Make you feel like it’s stuff that can happen. And if you let it get to you, it will eat you alive. If you’re cool with it and dig destruction, have fun. Either way, be ready because it’s going to rock you. And when you go through it let me know what you think. Maybe I’m just a wuss.

Ok, who am I kidding, I’m going to play the hell out of multiplayer.

Score:
5 Water Bottles Full of Pee, out of 5
(even though it’s only long enough for 1, maybe 2 bathroom breaks, I have to stay true to form)
 

Tags: Modern Warfare 2