Modern Warfare 2’s campaign like other Call of Duty titles will have you playing separate roles throughout the world providing several aspects on a major war that is taking place.  Fighting with the Army Rangers you’ll experience a lot of major big battles that is reminisce of classic Call of Dutyaction that set it apart from other war videogames in the past.  In the British campaign you’ll experience a lot of infiltrating and covert missions that are unique in their own way often times having a slow cinematic beginning and ending with a fast paced action sequence.  This change keeps the game fresh and builds up momentum to a large cinematic ending.  The cinematic experiences in this game keeps the game very engaging and you’ll reach a point where you don’t want to stop playing until it’s finished;  m>Modern Warfare 2 does a good job with playing with your emotions.  Call of Duty has always been such a great cinematic game series and they’ve always been able to accomplish this through excellent sound and graphics.

Opening sequences like this are exciting and doesn't even feel like a cutscene

The audio has really been improved in Modern Warfare 2.  One noticeably different aspect is the battle chatter has really been improved.  Instead of shouting out compass locations all the time like previous Call of Duty titles your allies will now shout out more notable locations nearby like “over by that red truck,” or “near Burger Town.”  This keeps the players focused on their surroundings and not having to look at the compass constantly.  Enemy movement and gunfire is easier to hear when closer being able to point out their locations much easier.  Graphics have been improved and much more detailed.  Weapons are a lot more detailed and even your hands have a bit more detail than just gloves and a shirt sleeve. 

The new mode called “Spec Ops” engages players through several challenges ranging from assaulting an area, defending an area, eliminating enemies, snowmobile racing to obscure ones like blowing up all the vehicles in a certain area.  Spec Ops can be played solo or with a friend but its best played with a friend especially when trying to get the veteran three stars on each challenge.  Playing with friends also opens up cooperative only challenges like the Blackhawk minigun level or the AC-130 level that was made famous in Modern Warfare 1; one player will man the AC-130 from above while the other player will be on the ground relying on the AC-130 player to provide adequate supporting fire.  It’s an excellent experience aside from the campaign and multiplayer.

Riot Shield wielding enemies require a little more strategy to take down

Multiplayer is what Call of Duty has always been famous for and the Modern Warfare series multiplayer definitely stepped it up a notch.  In Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer has been vastly improved from its predecessor.  There are many more weapons and attachments to earn on your way to the new level cap at 70.  New equipment to choose from like the Semtex (sticky grenade) or the Throwing Knife add some guilty pleasure kills to the game if you manage to stick someone (Halo fans will surely have a slight advantage) with the grenade or get a long knife throw kill.  Allowing only one equipment (like the grenade) at a time has improved the multiplayer experience since now it’s not so much of a grenade throwing frenzy.   New attachments like the heartbeat sensor adds some new ways in routing out our enemies and the thermal scope is good for finding enemies in the bushes while old attachments like the ACOG scope have been improved and is much more useful than it was in Modern Warfare 1.   

The Perk system has also received a pleasant reworking.  Each perk can now be upgraded to a “Pro” status adding another bonus to your loadout.  One of most satisfying perk being “Bling” allowing you to add two attachments to your primary weapon and when you have been earned “Bling Pro” you are then allowed to add two attachments to your secondary as well.  It’s a very satisfying reward system for your hard work in multiplayer.  If that’s not enough to whet your appetite there’s even more to unlock.  Your very own callsign and emblem to be used in multiplayer as a sort of a customizable badge which can be as simple as displaying your current rank in multiplayer and showing off your nations colors to a more complex callsign you earned by shooting down your first helicopter allowing you to be called “Flyswatter” if you so choose.  There are dozens upon dozens of these to unlock that can show off how awesome of a player you are or what kind of player you are.  

Killstreaks are now fully customizable.  On certain levels you will be able to unlock new killstreaks each requiring a certain number of kills before activating.   You are allowed to choose three killstreaks out of the list so if you know you are just an outstanding player that can manage eleven kills with no deaths then be sure to choose the AC-130 to reign hell down on your enemies. More balance has been added for killstreaks as well; killstreak reward kills no longer count towards a further killstreak and helicopters that are called in to help will no longer dead aim on certain players shooting through roofs and windows; they're a lot less trigger happy but still they are helpful. 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a great game for the first person shooter fan and anyone else looking for some excellent multiplayer.  Replay value and the need to keep coming back for more unlocks in multiplayer will make this title a sure hit for many gamers.  Infinity Ward took great strides with their compelling story and keeping the players actively engaged throughout the campaign and rebalanced multiplayer making it a very enjoyable experience.