Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Please what? Has the world gone mad than it already was? After the intro of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, we sit in amazement in front of the monitor. An intro that Imran Zahkaev presents to us as the hero of the new Russia. At least that is the base inscription of the tasteless equestrian statue on Zahkaev in Red Square. We were able to put an end to the dangerous terrorist in the predecessor Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, not least with the help of Russian allies. But in the five years that lie between the events of the first and second parts of Infinity Ward's shooter series, a lot seems to have changed in Russia. What exactly, the story of the game doesn't give us the answer. As in the following, many other points of the half-baked action are not sufficiently explained. Modern Warfare 2 , like its predecessor, constantly pumps adrenaline into our veins through breathtaking action and great script sequences, but it forgets a clever and credible story and sometimes also the logic.

The plot

What the terrorist Imran Zhakaev failed in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is succeeded by his successor Vladimir Makarov: bringing death and destruction to the United States.

In a massacre at a Moscow airport * (more precisely at "Zhakaev Airport") Makarov and his men pretend to be Americans and thus manage to provoke a war between the United States and Russia. Modern Warfare 2 ignores the fact that Makarov's face is no stranger internationally and that surveillance cameras are usually hanging everywhere at airports. The game also ignores that in the role of an undercover agent smuggled into Makarov, all you have to do is eliminate the terrorist and his men to prevent the massacre and the war.

How unthinkable the story and subtleties of action are, however, becomes clear at the latest when you decide to skip the assassination mission. The game grants you this possibility with a previous warning that the upcoming scenes can be "disturbing". If you leave out the mass murder of the passengers, you will later be like the ox in front of the mountain, because Modern Warfare 2 does not explain to you afterwards why the Russians are actually attacking the United States. But as already mentioned: with logic you must not come into the game. At the end everything gets out of hand, a terrific story turn turns the world upside down and presents you with a new enemy. So Modern Warfare 2 quickly races through an epic and fragmentary thriller plot of global proportions.

The staging

While you have to scrutinize the logic of Modern Warfare 2's plot, the logic of war has been on the table from the start. It follows a simple law: kill your enemy before they kill you.

That's all you need to think about at the start of Modern Warfare 2 when you're cast into the war in Afghanistan in the role of U.S. ranger Joseph Allen. After the obligatory training run, which classifies your skills as in the predecessor, the MG of a Humvees takes you into the streets of an Afghan city. The instruction is to not fire until you are attacked. You have to wait for a nervous minute for this, then panic sets in. The men scream with the bullets hitting from all angles, your machine gun rotates in the constant fire until your jeep is finally lifted off the wheels by a rocket. At the last second you make it into a saving building, from there you continue on foot. In such scenes, Modern Warfare 2 comes up to the top form that already made its predecessor: The anxiety of a war situation becomes noticeable, in the sophisticated staged crises the game experience flies from one emotional extreme to the next, from tension to panic to relief.

As you can see, Modern Warfare 2 is great at building pressure again, which then discharges in gaudy action. Quiet, but razor-sharp, exciting sequences alternate with fireworks-like shootings. If you shut down some guards on the bottom platform of an oil rig in one minute while still as a mouse, blow up doors from the walls in the next to free the hostages trapped behind them. In one minute you sneak through the snowy Russian nowhere, in the next you have to stop tens of enemies from storming a submarine. The speed changes cleverly ensure that the action in Modern Warfare 2 does not wear out anywhere.

The heroes

Speaking of changes: Just like in all other Call of Duty games, Joseph Allen is not the only soldier in whose skin you slip.

There are four in Modern Warfare 2: Later, SAS soldier Gary "Roach" Sanderson, another US ranger named James Ramirez, will join everyone; and even Soap MacTavish, the main hero of the first part, is allowed to take over again. For most of the game, Soap is Roach's boss, so he's a computer-controlled companion. Only towards the end does the man from the English SAS (Special Air Service) have to get the coals out of the fire again. You will experience breathtaking hours with the four men. Not many, however, because the Modern Warfare 2 campaign is five to six hours longer than that of its predecessor, rather a little shorter. After all, there is also the Spec Ops mode, which is quite interesting for soloists, but has nothing to do with the campaign.

A warning, without wanting to reveal too much: Better not get used to the four heroes of the game. As in the first Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward does not hesitate this time with drastic consequences.

The level design

Your life as a soldier takes you halfway around the world. Joseph Allen does not stay in Afghanistan, he makes a detour to Moscow.

With Roach you romp through Rio de Janeiro, shoot your way through a poor district and rush towards a rescue helicopter over corrugated iron roofs. Russia and an oil rig are also on Roach's route, you will even experience a very atmospheric dive with the man. As James Ramirez, we go with Stryker support (i.e. with an armored vehicle) through the suburbs of Washington and later into the burning heart of the capital. Overall, the level design is strictly linear, as is typical for the series, but Modern Warfare 2 also gives you minimal freedom in certain missions. If you compete against the Russians in the huge parking lots in an American fast food oasis, it's up to you which route you take to the next task. If you are supposed to steal a satellite module from a Russian airport in a snowstorm with Soap MacTavish, you can blow all your enemies, but you can also cleverly circle them around your weapon with the help of a heartbeat sensor. Incidentally, the latter is significantly easier than the shooting variant.

»Watch the test video for Modern Warfare 2 in high resolution

The claim

In contrast to the predecessor, we can book a successful improvement for Modern Warfare 2 : The game only ever places a certain enemy contingent in an area and does not constantly let new opponents appear. When the last adversary is finally out of the way, your AI companion will start moving forward independently. So you don't have to keep moving forward to keep going.

The limited enemy contingent makes your soldier's life on »Veteran«, the highest of the four levels of difficulty, almost contemplative compared to the predecessor. Still, it would be wrong to call the game simple. Infinity Ward has built in some pretty tricky passages. For example, there would be your first trip to the poor district (favela) of Rio de Janeiro. In the winding streets you shoot at them from below, above and from the side. Snipers and enemies with rocket launchers lurk on the roofs, suddenly windows open from which you are fired at at close range.

The minutes you really have to wait for a data transfer to Makarov's shelter really go to the substance. While important documents are slowly being transferred to a mobile hard disk, you have to fend off hundreds of opponents who come from all directions and who not only target you, but also Makarov's computer. However, we did not notice any noteworthy improvements in the enemy AI. The enemies are still throwing grenades (albeit a little less wastefully than in Call of Duty: World at War), you are still using the cover assigned to them, but they are still rushing straight at you or running straight ahead in groups around corners the shotgun. Only sometimes do the boys manage to stab you in the back. You have to be careful at the beginning of the favela level, because there are several routes between the houses that the AI opponents also use.

Graphics and sound

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is based on the same graphics engine as its two-year-old predecessor, but looks better. This is mainly due to the increased detail density and the revised animations.

When a squeaky scraper of sticky figurine bounces on a dashboard in front of you, when Soaps wields a weapon strapped to his shoulders with every movement he makes, when civilians scream through the streets on the streets of Favelas, Modern Warfare 2 makes the decisive tick more realistic than the first part , This makes technical shortcomings such as partially muddy textures forgotten, especially since the game fires effects on all tubes. The flying sparks of burning houses in a suburban settlement is worth seeing alone.

We don't need to mention that Modern Warfare 2 burns an excellent soundscape in your ear canals. We do it anyway, because the game conjures up intense contrasts thanks to the successful background music (partly by film composer Hans Zimmer). The streets of Washington are one huge field of debris, there is fire everywhere, there is shooting everywhere, the men shout orders - and underneath is quiet, almost worn music. Goose bumps guaranteed!

You get goose bumps of a completely different kind when you approach a Russian gulag on the skid seats of a Little Bird (helicopter) and the pilot of another helicopter horribly wooden announces the fire at a watchtower. In general, the German spokesman for the game is not consistently happy. But in the pompous noise of the brilliantly staged smaller battles and larger battles, this is hardly noticeable anymore. Ultimately, that's what makes a Call of Duty game.

Steam activation

Just like every Valve game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 must be activated via Steam. In order to be able to play the title, you need an internet connection and a (free) Steam account.

»Pit stop video for Steam activation of Modern Warfare 2

The multiplayer mode

You can find out more about the multiplayer mode in our multiplayer test for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. There we explain the game modes and reveal what restrictions are waiting for PC players. You can also see game scenes from some multiplayer games in the commented video and find some snapshots in our screenshot gallery.

The Spec Ops mode

In addition to the solo campaign and multiplayer mode, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 also offers 25 varied Spec Ops missions. They are designed for two players, but can mostly be played alone.

However, two players are required for the new edition of the "Death from Above" mission known from the first part; one of them sits on the guns of the AC130 gunship and has to clear the way through enemy masses on the ground. Similarly, another mission in which one player sits on the MG of a helicopter while a second struggles through the hostile fast food area of the solo campaign.

The mission structures of the Spec-Ops missions are very simple: Sometimes you have to kill a certain number of enemies, then defuse three bombs within a given time, then get back to the pick-up point alive. You can get by in the moody snowmobile races completely without shooting, because it's all about best times.

»Video: Commented scenes from the Spec-Ops mode

There are only five Spec Ops missions available to begin with. Depending on the level of difficulty previously set, you will earn stars for each mission you complete. It's a minimum, a maximum of three. With four earned stars you then unlock the next five missions.

»Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Launch Center
»Editor-in-chief's comment on the airport scene
»Test the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version at GamePro.de

»Technical check for Modern Warfare 2