“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” can take a hike. Ever since the game was in production, Activision and (to a lesser degree) Infinity Ward have been sitting high on the hog, deigning to bend over like a mother bird and vomit into our open mouths…and wallets. They made a great game with MW1, and they knew it, so they had some kind of team meeting where the topic of discussion—scribbled on a white board in the back of a conference room—was “How To Be Jerks About Our Success.” They implemented several steps towards this aim.
First, they handed Treyarch the engine and told them to pound out “World at War,” a game that is by any reasonable standard a paid decrease from “Modern Warfare.” It plays identically, except now you have inferior weapons, because you’ve jumped back in time several decades. I give them credit for implementing a zombie mode, that was awesome, but not sixty greenbacks awesome. Of course, because the world is a cold place full of evil, they made an obscene amount of money.
Secondly, they cracked knuckles and got down to business making “Modern Warfare 2.” Seems reasonable, right? It is and it isn’t. First of all, MW2 is not completely innocent of cash-in-sequel-syndrome; it’s not as bad as “Bioshock 2” (God help us), but Pepsi challenge someone on back-to-back screenshots of the two games and only the most discerning are going to prevail. SpecOps is great, the perks have been tweaked nicely, and we’re all happy not to have dogs chomping on our testicles, so I won’t call this an “ODST”-style rip off. But it could have cooked a little longer.
The real bomb-dropping moment was a lack of dedicated server support and console command (for the PC version). This, in no uncertain terms, is a big middle finger to your hardcore audience. I guess Infinity Ward was busy getting Hans Zimmer to recycle something from “Black Hawk Down” for the “main theme” (read: six notes during the credits), but their customers really care about that stuff. They also elected to disable party chat in the Xbox 360 version, a dick move of nearly titanic proportions. And then it keeps getting worse: http://www.el33tonline.com/past/2009/11/5/inflammatory_cod_4_and_modern/
No one can read that and not understand IW’s message: we’re going casual. Screw you guys that carried us this far, it’s time to seduce the frat boy and the casual weekend gamer. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you, it was a cunning decision and their stockholders are probably taking baths in Dom Perignon as a direct result, but that doesn’t make it less evil.
Meanwhile, here comes “Battlefield: Bad Company 2,” the underdog with a heart of gold, out of the left corner. BC1 was promising but problematic: they nailed the engine and the shooting mechanics, but some genius decided that modern soldiers should have some supernatural syringe with infinite ammo that heals you completely. This affected the player in the same way an indulgent parent affects a child: it spoiled us and made us miserable. Taking fire was no longer frightening, it was a damned nuisance. Every obstacle could be overcome by waddling from cover to cover with a needle wedged messily in your heart. Not exactly a thrilling experience.
Fortunately, the developer of BC1 is a great company called DICE, and they tend to learn from their mistakes. They thoughtfully listened to the feedback, scrapped the needle, and delivered a fresh new product in “Bad Company 2.” Let me be crystal clear about this: you need to throw away your copy of “Modern Warfare 2” and acquire this immediately. Immediately. Ignore the slightly lower score it gets from review sites; I’ve read those reviews, and they all smack of being paid off. For example, IGN faulted the campaign for “not quite nailing” a cinematic feel, a comment they know damned well makes no sense and cannot be proven or disproved. These websites had all settled on MW2 as their best gal, slipped the proverbial corsage on its wrist and taken it to the metaphorical dance, so of course an even hotter chick who walks by a moment later is going to be met with denial.
In most measurable ways, BC2 is just the better game, it’s that simple. Stepping away from the foggy, vague criticisms that somehow land this masterpiece with a “B+” on the average review site, let me break down some cold hard facts for you. Here is a list of things BC2 offers you that MW2 does not. It’s not an opinion list, you can’t debate any of these, they’re all fact:
-Squad Play. An ingenious invention, this allows you to sync up with several other players (and carry it over into multiple rounds) and spawn right on top of one another. If you’ve got a few buddies online, squad up in the pre-game menu and you’ll never have to think about it again. The strategic usefulness of this is almost disgusting: each side can now move their soldiers in tactical units that flank, support, and carry out objectives. And also, you don’t have to huff it back to the fight every time you die. It’ll even drop you into a vehicle if your buddy is driving one.
-Bigger Maps. They’re way bigger. Huge. Giant sweeping battles. But again, let me emphasize: no exhausting hikes just to get shot by a sniper, because you can deploy right on your Squad Mates.
-More Players Per Match. MW2 is squeezed into gorgeous but incredibly narrow fighting spaces. BC2 is 24 combatant mayhem on a grand scale. And it’s gorgeous.
-An Experience System that Doesn’t Break the Game. It’ll take time, but after a while, you will get used to the fact that BC2 does not feature superhuman ninjas that sprint through automatic weapons fire and stab you in the eye.
-A Better Story. The MW2 “plot” is like “Red Dawn” after a dozen Red Bulls. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with that, but BC2 just seems more geared towards adults. The banter is wittier, and the plot actually makes a little bit of sense. Not too much, though.
-Vehicles. Boom, that should have just made your decision right there. Jet skis, helicopters, tanks, humvees, jeeps, you name it, we got it. The one-on-one shooting is every bit as solid as MW2s, and then there’s vehicular combat. It’s like basic addition: everything MW2 has + awesome vehicles = superior game.
-Frostbite. The other killing blow to the competition, and a legitimately revolutionary concept. Damn near everything in this game is destructible: if you need a quick exit, blow a hole in any wall with a grenade. If an enemy’s dug in and he won’t budge, knock out the supporting structures and crash the roof down on him. The fact that this technology is implemented without the graphics or the frame rate ever slipping even an inch is a Christmas Miracle. It looks as good as MW2, but it plays better.
-Sound. Turn up your sound. Fire an automatic weapon in a small room. (waits) I know, right? About a billion times better than anything you’ve heard anywhere else. Hans Zimmer can bite me.
I feel a compelling case has been made here. Rest assured, as a rightful owner of both games, due consideration has been taken in their review. I have some love for MW2, it’s a great way to blow off steam, but it is not the king. If you want modern-day military action in the style of Rambo, “Battlefield: Bad Company 2” is the purchase you should be making. End of story.
