Random thoughts on Modern Warfare 2

As action games go, Modern Warfare 2 is a wonderful experience both in single-player and multiplayer. But that said, there are a lot of little things about it that bother me. The first is this whole fluff-up over the "No Russian" mission. It feels like Infinity Ward created this mission just to be controversial. The whole mission feels contrived and the outcome is the same no matter what you do, so it's hard to agree with the camp that says it lets you play as a terrorists. Everything about the mission is deliberately paced so that you feel more like a spectator than a participant.

But my biggest gripe with the mission is that the storyline leading into it and leading out of it is so flimsy. Are we supposed to believe that one day this operative is in Afghanistan and the next he's supplanted into a Russian born terrorist group? The conclusion to the mission makes sense in that context - I mean, how couldn’t they know that he was some sort of spy or government agent?

While the story is weak in places there are other parts of the game that are equally agitating. I hate platformers, and there's way too much bullshit going on in this game; I didn't like it in the first game and I despise it even more in this one; the snowmobile race, the ice climbing, the jumping from rooftop to rooftop, etc., just doesn't belong in this game; Somehow Infinity Ward got the impression that fans loved this in the first game and wanted it dialed up times ten in the sequel. As someone that named Modern Warfare Game of the Year, I can tell you that those kinds of mission mechanics were not why I enjoyed the first game at all. If I wanted to ride some powder I’d play Shaun White and if I want to traverse a cityscape I’ll play mirror's Edge or Uncharted 2.

There are some great things about this game that are downright scary. The whole "Red Dawn" series of missions where you are walking through middle class suburbs is eerie and a little bit scary. For me, these missions aren't exciting, but scary. What if a powerful nation like Russia or China did finally invade American soil? How would people act? How many innocent people would die? What parts of our heritage and history would be destroyed by war? Seeing those suburbs on fire, fighting out of a fast food joint that looks like Burger King and seeing tanks roll through the streets of an American neighborhood is scary stuff no matter what your political or religious beliefs are.