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It just might have been the most anticipated video game release of all time.
In the first 24 hours, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to the hugely popular Call of Duty 4, sold 4.7 million copies and earned $310 million dollars, making it the fastest-selling video game of all time. The biggest opening weekend in movie history, by the way, is just barely half of that.
But for all the enormous hype and sales numbers, would the product possibly measure up — especially in the eyes of the ravenous and notoriously cynical video game audience?
The short answer is yes. For starters, Modern Warfare 2 provides the most engrossing, flawless and fun multiplayer action I’ve ever seen. Just two days after its release, there were more than a million people actively playing on Xbox Live at one time.
The multiplayer consists of a wide variety of games, most centered on destroying people and things and capturing flags. The depth comes in the leveling system and plethora of unlockable weapons and perks you can achieve if you play long enough. The experience is seamless, too — on Xbox Live, I’ve yet to see a lag or skip due to weak Internet connectivity, and when a host does drop out, the game is paused for a few moments, transferred to a new one, and resumes where it left off.
For many gamers, the multiplayer is the only reason to buy it. (For example, I’ve played multiplayer for around 8 hours so far and I’m at level 20. Many people I play against are on level 60, which could mean they’ve played 6 hours a day every day since it came out.) But the game doesn’t attempt to market itself as an online-only affair — there is a fairly engrossing, comprehensive story mode that often gets overlooked.
Players battle their way through an Afghanistan street in the first level, in a scene that’s a bit harrowing because of its realism — many actual American soldiers are living the game right now, making the experience quite a bit less fun to play in a game. But once the game leaves Afghanistan, the story mode trails off beyond realism into a crazy scenario in which Russia and the U.S. are at war, making it easier to enjoy.
The game has gotten some negative media attention because of one surprisingly traumatic level. As a CIA agent, you become involved with a Russian crime lord and join his clan. With his henchman, you are responsible for walking slowly through an airport, spraying bullets through civilians. The level is chilling and quite difficult to complete. The game does prompt you with the option to skip this level, calling it “disturbing,” but it’s hard to imagine most gamers will choose to skip a level in something they just paid $60 for.
Apart from the few disturbingly realistic scenes that sensitive gamers might find troubling, though, the single player mode is fantastic. There are fun, varied levels, taking combat onto snowmobiles, submarines and through Brazilian slums. The fighting is fast-paced and hectic; the level of difficulty for non-hardcore gamers is extremely high, even on normal settings.
Mountainous snow regions in Russia are rendered beautifully, as are the dusty streets of Karachi, Pakistan, and a war-torn Virginia suburb. It all looks remarkable and is a joy to play, though some have complained the story mode is not as deep as it should be.
But odds are, if you’re buying Modern Warfare 2, you’re getting it to play online with friends. And in that realm, it won’t let you down. In fact, it will probably provide you with hundreds of hours of entertainment. That it has a gorgeous, exciting single player is almost just an add-on.
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