FPS - Task Force 141, led by Captain Price and Soap MacTavish, teams up with the U.S. Army Rangers to thwart Russian ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov's plan to spark World War III.

PROS:

++ Stellar campaign. Almost every campaign mission was a banger and I really enjoyed the diversity in setting and missions. From the snowy infiltration in "Cliffhanger", the close-combat in the favelas of "Hornet's Nest", reclaiming the destroyed suburbs of America in "Exodus", and rescuing Captain Price from "The Gulag". And though it was controversial, it's hard to argue that "No Russian" was anything but forgettable. Campaign is easily better than MW1's.

++ Engaging narrative. I found the narrative engaging because of the returning characters: Captain Price and Soap MacTavish. Makarov was a decent enough antagonist, but General Shepherd was definitely the more interesting antagonist of the two. I liked his motivation for his betrayal and it made for an unforgettable, but depressing, cutscene. Although I wished they were a little bit clearer in explaining his motivations, rather than leaving it for the player to piece together.

++ Smooth gameplay. There's not much innovation, but the gameplay feels much more refined compared to COD 4 and WaW. Smooth gunplay, solid enemy and team AI, new enemy types (Juggernauts and Riot Shields), and a larger pool of weapons. Had excellent technical performance too!

++ Spec-ops mode. Their answer to WaW's co-op zombie mode was a co-op Spec Ops mode. Although I like zombies more, I do appreciate the inclusion of this mode since it provides hours more of split-screen fun. The missions are varied and it's quite fun trying to three-star every mission.

++ Impressive presentation. Not much needs to be said, really. Great music, voice-acting, set-pieces, and sound design as usual.

++ Extensive weapon customization. Along with the vast pool of weapons, there are so many ways to personally customize your weapon of choice. The campaign did a fine job showcasing the diversity of weapon combinations. Tons of sights, option of adding suppressors, heartbeat sensors, grenade launcher and shotgun attachments, etc. Really enjoyed the selection of guns and ways to alter each one.

CONS:

-- Balance issues in multiplayer. Though I have limited experience with MW2's multiplayer, I do remember there being some annoying balance issues. "Noobtubing" was annoying, and I really didn't like the 25-kill killstreak that nuked the map and ended the match immediately. There were too many hackers that abused that killstreak.

-- Health regen speed. Minor issue but the health regen rate seemed much slower than past games. It felt like I was ducking behind cover way longer than I've been accustomed too in order to recover my health. The "jelly" that fills the screen when hit is also slightly annoying.

Played the PC version.

CoD: Modern Warfare 2 it's a good example of that second parts can be better than the first parts.

In this game you continue the events that were left in the previous game. You take control of several characters throughout the game. Including one from the first MW.

Story:

The story is focused on 2 groups. The task force 141 and the US Ranger , and doing this type of "ping pong" missions in which they tell the story of the Ranges and the next mission is about the 141 and how the Ranger mission may have affected the 141 mission, and so on. It has a couple more "sentimental moments" in relation to the first game. Because yuo know the characters, you spend 2 games with them, so in a certain way you empathize with them and use that to make critical things.

Gameplay:

It's really solid, just like the first one. You start each mission with 2 arms, frags and flashes. The controls are responsive, never had and issue with that. The AI of your teammates can be a little stupid sometimes, like they have an enemy next to them and they dont kill him so the enemy goes behind you and demolishes you, but nothing too crazy or infuriating.

Missions:

They go from mountais, snow, desert, city, even an oil plant on the ocean. Everything is well made, with a lot of details, some weather effects, destruction. They knew how to diversify each mission. Even the ones on the city take parts in different places so don't seem repetitives.

Music:

Lorne Balfe did a terrific job in this game. He capture really well each different moment, when someonde is in danger, when something sad happens.I would say that is superior than the first MW.

Overall:

I really recommend this series so far (I haven't play MW 3 yet), it has solid gameplay and missions, a good story, they are relative short (less than 10 hours each). If you are bad with FPS just play it in normal and enjoy a good game.

This COD entry is a landmark first-person shooter that delivered a cinematic, high-octane campaign and a groundbreaking multiplayer experience, the single-player story is intense and controversial, packed with set pieces and dramatic moments, though it's relatively short, taking no longer than 5 hours to beat. Multiplayer introduced addictive progression systems, customizable loadouts, and killstreaks that influenced shooters for years, at the time every new online shooter was trying to mimic what this game was doing because of now big it's success was, with an insanely high replayability to unlock everything this mode offers not to mention the prestige routes.

It also featured Spec Ops, a fun co-op mode with varied missions though way less popular than the other two modes. Despite some launch issues on PC (like lack of dedicated servers), MW2 remains a beloved classic for its fast-paced gameplay, memorable moments, and competitive depth. I remember pouring thousands of hours into this one with my buddies at the time, we played it using our PlayStation 3 consoles we had back then, a must-play for FPS fans, iconic despite its flaws.

Another major strength of this entry lies in its pacing and mission variety, from the snowmobile escape to the tense urban warfare in the streets, the campaign constantly shifts locations and gameplay styles to keep things fresh. Missions like “No Russian” sparked massive controversy at launch, but they also cemented the game’s reputation for pushing boundaries and delivering shock value rarely seen in mainstream shooters at the time. Love it or hate it, the campaign’s boldness made it unforgettable.

As for the multiplayer, balance was often chaotic, with overpowered weapons, infamous dual shotguns, and game-breaking strategies becoming part of the meta. Yet, that imbalance somehow contributed to the fun, matches felt unpredictable and explosive, and every unlock felt meaningful. A lot of maps from this entry became instant classics, serving as battlegrounds for countless late-night sessions. Even years later, this title stands as a defining title of its generation, a game that shaped online console and PC gaming culture in a way few others ever have.

And remember... No Russian...

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was a mixed bag for me. It was enjoyable enough in terms of story, but lacked any real innovation in my opinion. Like I mentioned before, it was the start of my personal dislike for the rest of the games.

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, you continue the story from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. You take, once again, control of Captain Soap MacTavish on their hunt for Vladimir Makarov, the leader of the Russian Ultranationalist party, 5 years after the events of the previous game. Before this however, you play as Private James Ramirez and Sergeant Gary Sanderson in the earlier missions.

Despite your efforts in Call of Duty, 4 to prevent the rise of the Russian Ultranationalist party, Russia has been seizes by their leader, Vladimir Makarov and nuclear war is posing a real threat to humanity. In multiple campaigns and missions, you, Captain Price and the rest of your squad, try to find and lure out Makarov in a lot of different attempts. These attempts and missions include Infiltrating his terrorist cell, using bait to lure him out, launching assaults in Brazil, Kazakhstan, and defending satellites, and the main shore of the United States, against surprise assaults from Makarov himself.

Even betrayal in the own ranks of your squad is a factor and General Shepherd was secretly working with Makarov to start a war with Russia and become a war hero. He is stopped and killed by Soap and Price (yes, he is still alive) in a dramatic open ending, in which Soap and the surviving members are evacuated and the game ends.

This is the first game in which it becomes “clear”, that it was made for Multiplayer, like the rest of the series nowadays. Although the story was still very enjoyable, the campaign was very short. This marked the beginning of a trend in the rest of the series. There was effort to make the campaign interesting and fun, but the length was just too short for a game with this kind of price tag.

In terms of graphics, there is a slight improvement over the other games, but not all that special. It still runs on the same engine and, unlike the previous game, Call of Duty: World at War, the dismemberment and carnage has been removed again, which is a shame.

In the sound department, not much has changed. It is still alright and the gunfire sounds fine. The rest of the effects, like getting hit by a flash bang or the ring in your ears after a grenade explosion is still identical from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The voice acting remains superb though.

Of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is (in)famous for the mission “No Russian”, in which you shoot hundreds of Russian civilians. I too had mixed feelings about this mission. The inclusion of this mission showed a weird perspective that made me question some moral choices.

In the end, I think that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is still a good game, but just not as great as the previous installments. This is mainly based on my personal experience and nostalgia.

Would still recommend it though, as a classic.

Modern Warfare 2 is one of my favorite shooter campaigns of all time and, in my opinion, completely out does any CoD campaign that came before or after it. So of course, I had to pick up the remaster as soon as it was announced. After playing through it twice over the course of 3 days, I can safely say that this is one of the finest remasters for one of the greatest games of all time.

I'm really glad that this was a 'remaster' too, and not a 'remake'. Level designs are largely unchanged and the visual style is kept with a stunning amount of accuracy despite the new textures and effects. I wouldn't say it looks as incredible as something like Half Life: Alyx, But it still looks incredibly clean and feels incredibly good to play. Thankfully, we now have an FoV slider (although there is no numerical value for it 🤔), and some new animations for actions that originally didn't have any. For example, we know get a nice animation when planting c4 on key locations. We also now have updated gun animations and weapon inspections (!!!) which make guns feel better and hit harder. Environments look great too, especially the segments in DC which are still some of the best shooter levels of all time in my opinion. The incredible set pieces are back as well and they look SO fucking good, The EMP and snowmobile segments being some personal favorites of mine.

We also get some REALLY good character animations during certain key moments, and the camera rarely gets locked in these situations, which is soooo freeing after every single other CoD campaign in recent memory has made sure to lock your screen during any sort of story moment. Gun sounds have been updated and to my surprise I actually prefer the new ones to the old ones. Obviously some old favorites are missing (kinda miss the old Intervention sound), but overall guns sound way better than their 2009 counter-parts. The original voice lines were still used which is so nice because old Price VO is ABSOLUTELY way cooler and more badass than the Price VO we got for Modern Warfare 2019. Hans Zimmer's incredible soundtrack also makes a return and still SLAPS. Although, there is a catch. For some reason, this game doesn't have built in volume sliders for each audio track, and the default volume for the music is far too quiet in my opinion. You can hear it fine during the more quiet moments, but any time real action is going on you can't really hear it over the cacophony.

As for overall design, the game is still largely the same which is completely fine in my opinion. Grenade spam has been toned down slightly and it feels like you have a bit more health on the higher difficulties, but it still feels like the MW2 of old. All the levels are here and are unchanged which was completely welcomed by me. I honestly never would've expected No Russian to be released again by a AAA studio, but we actually got it again unfiltered and uncut which was super nice to see. We also got CHEATS AGAIN!!!! Collecting Intel gives you some super fun cheats and the museum still gets unlocked after you beat the campaign to fuck around in. If you are a fan of the OG Modern Warfare 2 then there is plenty here to like.

The last thing I want to mention is the incredible amount of detail that was put into the characters in the environment. During the first mission, Rangers can be seen taking out their phones to record a building being leveled, or during "Of Their Own Accord", we can see a board filled with soldiers that have been marked KIA, MIA, or WIA, and the wounded men can actually be found bandaged up around the bunker. Little stuff like that goes a long way to make the world way more believable and full of life.

Overall, it's extremely hard not to recommend this game if you are a shooter fan. Whether this is your first time playing it or not, there is a brilliant campaign waiting to be played and it is full of the same amount of intensity and action that it had back over a decade ago. Pretty much everything outside of a few small details has been improved upon and a game that I thought was near perfect has been innovated and improved upon. I can't sing this remake enough praises, especially at the low $20 price point. Considering the amount of effort that went into this game's assets, especially the guns, I would say a multiplayer remake is not far behind.

first play

played on gt 730 i3 7100
The First Game was Great, with missions, Storyline, and Character Emphasis. So I wanted to play the sequel, and I played it twice, a year apart.

Missions: Great missions, like the first game, My favorites are the

1. Gulag
2. Exodus (The mansions are well designed)
3. Loose Ends(For the weapons collections and a really really large number of troops)
4. TakeDown (Rooftop shooters are tough, but fun and realistic)

These missions are well designed and tell a really specific storyline, which makes them rememberable for that particular mission.

The Gulag mission feels like taking an entire kingdom down by yourself, which in a sense it is.

Story: Compared to the previous game, black ops 1, this game didn't highlight much character development. Just when you are getting familiar with the character arc, they are removed.

The big event when everyone was shocked why the shepherd did that after loose ends, is not clear.

Spoilers: Don't read this if you didn't play the game, may ruin the impact.

1. if his team died in a nuclear blast, why can't he go straight for the macaron, instead of teaming with him
2. why kill his soldiers again, to make the world get you, if only he had a motive to become the president or something, that would make him more hateable.
3. Makarov helping is stupid.
4. The mission with the airport is okay and understandable but lacked the story impact like didn't see the side of the Russians why they are attacking.
5. The climax, how the hell can a general have such a big private army no US army know about.

At least price was back and he made the game intense.

Weapons: Compared to mw1 this lacked innovative thinking, and the heart rate gun(making this game easier?). SMGs are best, snipers are shit, and enemies always throw tons of grenades or RPGs at you, change that guys.

I played the game at veteran settings but liked the difficulty on par.

Graphics: I ran this on a gt730 at max settings, which ran fine, with some stuttering at cut scenes, but the game overall played smooth and didn't see any hiccups.

Would solid recommend this game to try after mw1.

Edit 2024:

played on rtx 4060 amd 7700x
played the remastered one still the missions are good the exodus one with all the houses are great, gulag is good, but feel like they made the game difficulty a bit low or I was experienced in the mean while playing competitive shooters.

because at veteran level really breazed through the game without that much difficulty and still the story line of sheperd killing many American soldiers is stupid for getting more patriots but I can now understand that he wants to be a war hero, which is still not realistic and dumb way of betraying the characters I was not that attached the characters of ghost and roach to care either but many people got shocked, so yeah ok I guess.

Ending of taking the knife was great.

still first one is better.