Well, looks like the PC launch has gone a bit tango uniform in South Africa – ironically enough, because of bunch of people are boycotting the game, there aren’t enough players to provide local matchmaking options for the bunch of people who aren’t boycotting the game (or ostensibly boycotting the game, but secretly buying it on the sly anyway). There’s a Steam group forming up for private games, though, so go find some comrades, comrades. Hooah!
On Xbox Live, however, the game’s exploded all over the local scene like chunks of unlucky civilians (that’s “collateral damage” to you, mister) caught in a carpet bombing. Matchmaking during peak – between 7pm and midnight – seems pretty much guaranteed to deploy you into a packed and locally hosted game within 30 seconds or so, so you can talk about biltong and crime with like-minded people while you frag. Internationally, Modern Warfare 2 runs as tightly as its predecessor, with even just a single bar of connection quality making for adequate playing conditions. If I can place second in a game full of rank 50+ Norwegians (and make off with the accolade for most headshots), anyone can.
Jumping to the gameplay then, and the sequel’s very much the same as the first time around, but just a little bit funkier. Apparently Infinity Ward have been watching Bungie, and thinking, “Hmmm, we should do some of that because people like it.” So Modern Warfare 2’s got Buzzkills and Paybacks, and a torrent of unlockable titles, emblems, and all that other junk that everybody always wanted but was too afraid to ask for in case they were accused of playing Halo.
Elsewhere, there’s a lot of new stuff going for Killstreaks, including the extremely awesome Care Package – a random drop of anything from a Predator Drone missile launch to a Harrier Airstrike to an EMP blast to a sort of deployable sentry gun to the booby prize UAV (stupid UAV). Best part is, anybody can grab that Care Package when it lands, so you don’t even have to bother with Killstreaks – just wait for someone else to do it for you. Finally, if you’re totally rubbish at the game, there are now also Deathstreak awards – just when you can’t possibly feel any lamer, you get a pity present for it.
Headquarters has been changed up in one tiny but significant way – a newly spawned HQ can’t be captured for about 10 seconds, meaning your camping tactics are going to have to be entirely reworked.
Simply, it’s everything Modern Warfare multiplayer was, and now with more stuff. Oh, and have I mentioned Semtex sticky grenades? Yeah, Semtex sticky grenades.
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