Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare 2
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Game
Reviewed: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Publisher:
Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Reviewer: Shaun
Graves
Platform: Xbox 360 (Also on PS3 & PC)
Category: FPS
ERSB Rating: M
WARNING:
This review contains major
story spoilers!
Game Description:
Call of
Duty: Modern Warfare 2 picks up 5 years after the
events of the first Modern Warfare. A Russian
terrorist, Vladimir Makarov,
launches a terrorist attack at a Russian airport.
An American soldier has infiltrated this
terrorist group and in order to get closer to Makarov he must
participate in
the terrorist attack. Makarov
is already
aware that the soldier is an undercover agent and thus leaves him dead
to be
blamed for the event. This
in turn
spawns a massive conflict between Russia and the United States.
In
this game the player will assume control of many
different soldiers in many parts of the world.
Each of the individual soldier's stories intertwines to
form a cohesive
story. The game is
played from a
first-person perspective, which means you will be viewing the action
from the
eyes of the soldiers and will see their guns in front of them on the
screen. The game
also features many
different driving segments; from manning a mounted machine gun to
driving
snowmobiles.
MW2
also features a new Special Ops mode that has more than
20 missions that can be played single player, or with a second player,
online
or off. The game
also drastically
expands upon the robust multiplayer modes that the first Modern Warfare
offered.
What Parents Need to
Know
Violence
MW2
features a lot of blood and violence, more so than that
of the first Modern Warfare. In
order to
complete a level, the player will need to shoot down hundreds of enemy
soldiers
that will react in a very realistic manner.
Blood will splatter and spray, it will also pool next to
dead bodies.
There
is also a lot of controversy surrounding this game,
due to the aforementioned scene in which the American soldier is blamed
for
Makarov's attack. This
scene is actually
played out as a mission in which the player participates in the attack
on an
international airport. The player has the choice of either viewing the
attack
by just following along or the player can participate in the slaughter.
Either
way, the player will witness hundreds of civilians that are trying to
flee in
absolute panic and horror. There
is,
however, a warning that is given at the beginning of the game saying
that there
is a mission that some players may find disturbing or offensive. You
are then
given warning when the mission is about to take place at which point
you can
choose to skip the mission if you so desire.
Language
MW2
features quite a bit of bad language.
Sexual
Content
No
sexual content.
Spiritual Content
War is neither easy
nor beautiful, but unfortunately it is a part of our reality. This game does have some
admirable traits in
the fact that it depicts men who give their all for the greater good
and to
secure the freedom and lives of their country men and women.
Reviewers Thoughts
There
is no doubt that Modern Warfare 2 is a brilliantly
made game. Here are a couple of things that parents should consider,
however,
when deciding if MW2 is appropriate for their family or not. In the
June 2009
issue of Game Informer magazine, Infinity Ward president Jason West
said of
Modern Warfare 2 that “We want to put the player in those interesting
situations and have them feel what the person in that role would really
feel.”1
Also in a review
by David Ellis at 1UP.com,
Ellis says of MW2, “The original Modern Warfare dealt with themes of
life,
death, action and consequences. The sequel goes after these concepts in
a
manner rare for the video game world; it treats its audience like an
adult.”2
Footnotes
1
"Modern Warfare 2." Game Informer June 2009: 36-45.
Print.
2 Ellis, David. "Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)." 1UP.com.
10 Nov 2009. UGO Entertainment, Web. 19 Nov 2009.
<http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3176856>.
