Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2

by Rob Pearson on 8.11.09

It’s not often we feature computer games in 4Q, in fact this is the first game we’ve ever featured in this fine publication, but there’s a very special reason why Infinity Ward’s new title deserves a mention in this month’s issue. When it’s predecessor ‘Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’ was released in November ‘07 it became the biggest selling game of that year.

Despite only being on sale for the last 7 weeks of 2007 it outsold every other game in the previous 12 month period.
Think that’s impressive? Here are some other facts about COD4:

15 million gamers have been logged playing the title online.
The additional map pack that was sold separately was downloaded 1.5 million times in the first 9 days on X-Box live alone, this figure doesn’t even include downloads on the PS3’s PlayStation Network, or downloads for the PC version.
On Xbox live it knocked Halo 3 off the top spot as the most frequently played online game.

It received 3 BAFTA Video Game Awards, and 10 nominations in the prestigious Interactive Achievement Awards.

X-Box live reported 32 million hours of online gameplay logged in its first 12 months.

…and by May this year the title had sold an astonishing 13 million copies worldwide. That’s more sales than those clocked up by The Beatles single ‘Hey Jude’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean.’

With these massive figures it’s no wonder why the game industry is predicting its upcoming sequel ‘Modern Warfare 2’ to be one of the biggest selling games of all time, some predict it may even outsell the record braking Grand Theft Auto IV.

The story of MW2 follows on from the end of COD4, where the Russian Ultranationalist Imran Zakhaev is killed during his attempts to stage a coup d’état in a neighbouring Middle Eastern country, and convert his homeland back to its old Soviet Union rule. In the last lines of the end title sequence the news report states: “Meanwhile there have been no comments from the Ultranationalist party, where rumours of a power struggle have just now begun to surface.”

In the upcoming sequel a new, more dangerous, more psychotic leader is emerging: Vladimir Makarov, an extremist who in the past was kept in check by Zakhaev. Now he wants revenge, and is preparing an elaborate attack on American soil. Many rumours exist as to the details of the game’s highly secretive plotline, however the one that is widely regarded as the most possible emerged from the teaser trailer. In the first video released the Ultranationalists attack a Russian airport posing as American CIA agents, this creates a new tension between the old cold war countries, giving Makarov the ammunition to attack the West.

In the latest online trailer the White House is seen being attacked by foreign invaders, and the city of Pittsburgh is ablaze while ally helicopters fly above. The available art book in the prestige edition hints at suburban settings and possible airdrops in to US territory. There are many suggestions and possible leads, and all very intriguing, however all that has been confirmed at this point is that the game will feature levels in Russia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and even as far as Brazil.

The single player section of the game will undoubtedly include an engrossing storyline as its predecessor did, but the introduction of the new Special Ops mode will add a new aspect to the title.

While previous games have tried to include co-operative missions into the single player storyline Modern Warfare 2 will have a completely separate mode with one-off arcade style missions, this has allowed the game designers at Infinity Ward to produce a single player game experience without compromise while catering to occasional gamers and hardcore players out to beat their previous score.

However, the most important mode in MW2 will be the aspect which has made the original widely regarded as one of the greatest games of all time… online multiplayer. In the original, the character customisation was designed to cater to different types of players and missions without giving anyone an unfair advantage.

The game maps were purposely designed to create intense close combat and the use of high speed tactics and manoeuvres. This style became hugely popular both with the veteran players of first person shooter games and with beginners who were attracted to the fast pace and instant rewards. If you search on Youtube you will undoubtedly find millions of Call of Duty videos ranging from kill streaks, in-game glitches, and blooper reels, to ridiculously extravagant kills by the most elite gamers. It is a community which has grown throughout the years of the Call of Duty series due to the accessibility and simplicity of the online system.

Although only a small part of MW2’s online mode has been leaked on the internet, the features seen already outnumber all of those on COD4. New weapons and camouflage, multiple gun attachments, 15 different customisable kill streak rewards including supply drops, airstrikes and gunship attacks, new death streaks to help struggling players, masses of new perks, and even an option to upgrade your perks to a pro version for extra damage and effectiveness.

What sets the developers at Infinity Ward apart from their industry rivals though, is their willingness to include their fans in future developments. IW’s community manager Robert Bowling has created his own Twitter page and Facebook fan page, where he can often be seen replying to questions from eager fans, and even during the game’s development has been giving gamers the opportunity to brainstorm new ideas and share them with the designers.

Thanks to this attention to detail, it is almost certain that Infinity Ward will once again raise the bar for the first-person shooter genre, and Modern Warfare 2 will undoubtedly be the king of 2009 and beyond.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is out on 10th November on PS3 and Xbox 360 for £44.99 and on PC for £34.99