Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

The story tells of a terrorist attack in Russia that leads to all-out war between the United States and Russia, which reveals a new take on first-person shooters.

It’s one thing to battle it out in a Brazilian slum or some dusty middle eastern village, but when the house-to-house combat takes place amid manicured lawns and swimming pools and Honda Civics in the garage, the action hits a little close to home – literally and figuratively.

Also, when one of the epic battles plays out in Washington, DC, with pitched battles in the White House itself, a slightly new perspective is gained.

Beyond that, the story was a little muddled, with double-crossings and double double-crossings making “The Fog of War” even more foggy.

Of course, for Call of Duty fans, the single-player mode is the side dish to the main course – multiplayer action.

And on that front, COD:MW2 brings the game.

Building on the solid foundation of COD4, the game takes what was great about the earlier game and expands.

Back is the process of building your soldier through the ranks, opening up new weapons as you rank up. Also returning are “perks” – weapon attachments and skills that also become available the further you progress.

The weapons and perks have been expanded markedly, however.

Some old favorites remain, but new ones add replay value to the game.

For instance, new kill streaks (stringing together a number of kills) are available. These include calling for care packages that are dropped into battle and the ultimate – a nuclear detonation that ends the game with a win. The nuclear option is open to a player who kills 25 opponenets in a row without dying.

Also, Prestige Mode is back (once the upper rank is reached, the player can start over with a new emblem next to their name). But to make it more attractive in MW2, using Prestige Mode opens up additional rewards.

New to the series are customizable call signs and emblems. Players can tailor what is displayed for their character when they kill somebody.

Also adding a little help for the new and bad players are death streaks. As a player dies a certain number of times without getting any kills, bonuses are available – like extra health or dropping a grenade upon death – called Martyrdom.

Martyrdom is another tweak to COD4, which was available as a perk and was used far too often by good players just looking for an advantage.

Another fine-tuning for the better is the limiting of frag grenades, a bane in COD4. Players can now only carry one, eliminating the “fragfest” of the past.

Another marked improvement is host migration. In COD4, if a host left a match, the game ended and the remaining players were dumped back to the lobby. MW2 now migrates the ongoing game to a new player and the match resumes.

A cooperative online mode is also available, allowing two players to fight through levels together.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 gives players what they want, outstanding online play with almost endless replay value. At least until the next COD game is released.

Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 Rating: Mature Manufacturer: Activision Score: 9.5 “hoorah” chilies