Why the Modern Warfare 2 Bashing?

November 2007 brought this generation of gaming one of the biggest titles thus far, Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare. That title changed FPS titles in so many ways, so much so it was literally copied for the next iteration in the series with the worn out World War 2 face again. But now we have Infinity Ward back in control and again they are bringing changes with them. Along with those changes come lots of haters, as expected. Gamers around the world loved COD4, so much so that the game is still receiving updates and fan love. With of 17 days worth of game time, I have put in my fair share of game time, and love what Infinity Ward did with the title.  Now we see new videos coming out of the works with changes that are not all loved by some. But my question is- Is this not Infinity Ward, who brought us the last great COD?

The MW2 hate started with Activision raising the bar on prices, led by the super dooper uber ultra mega collectors edition known as the Prestige Edition. For a small charge of $150 you get the game with all the the extras you could use, to include (most likely cheap) night vision googles. But let me ask you this, does it matter? They are still offering gamers any edition they want, to include the normal 60 dollar version. For those who want alittle more- enjoy the hardened edition. The prestige doesn’t make some one any more of a gamer, but some enjoy “toys” showing their dedication. I can’t imagine some one with no interest in the Call of Duty buying this version. This is for those who were huge fans of  COD4. Batman Arkham Asylum cost 100 dollars, and comes with a 14 in Batarang attached to a stand, which really serves no purpose. MW2’s googles surely aren’t the military quality I used down range, but they should be fun for people to just enjoy at a toy.  The reality of it is it’s 150 dollars, but not the only edition available. For those who want it, it’s there. For those who just want to game, there’s still 2 choices to enjoy.

Another change noticed was in the most recent video released.  Way back in the day, a revolutionary game hit the Nintendo 64, and changed FPS games on consoles forever. GoldenEye is still considered one of the top shooters on a console, but if you revisit it now, its lost alot of its glamour. But one thing available in GoldenEye was throwing knives. Whether you love them or hate them they seem to be back, revived by IW for the next installment. I can still remember hearing the news about knives coming back before the video was release and I honestly cringed at the thought. As a military service member, I know that a knife would be the last weapon anyone would use against an armed assailant, additionally on top of that, if you knife was your last weapon- you wouldn’t throw it!?!? But when the video came out, I must say watching FourTwoZero camping there getting killed by a throwing knife was great. While they have yet to say anything, I hope they don’t make this a weapon that is unlimited, because I already hate “throwing knife only” rooms. Along side with the throwing knives was the news that dual wielding pistols would be available, which is fine, as long as they keep it balanced and realistic like they say. In all reality, very few men can dual wield .50 cal Desert Eagles, but if that’s in MW2, headshots better be rare. Any one who has ever dual wielded firearms of any caliber know that your not accurate when doing so, there’s no true aiming, its just a general direction thing. I don’t see an issue with side arms being dual wielded as long as accuracy suffers and it’s only side arms, no submachine guns. My biggest fear of all the videos released was the sticky grenade. This felt like a cheap rip off of the stickies from Halo, and it really doesn’t have a spot in COD. A good throw cooked properly makes this feature unneeded, and gives people with no skill a chance.

Also on the video of just release was a HUGE change to the most hated “Host Left Room” or “Server Timed Out” errors. It’s known that IW uses P2P servers as opposed to dedicated servers. This typically wouldn’t be much of an issue, unless you have whiny 12 year old kids who hate to lose. Get stuck in that room with a 12 year old as a host who gets killed 3 times in a row and BAM, Host Ends Game. Well this time around it looks like we will still be P2P, but with a functional host migration. I would love to see dedicated servers, but this is a huge upgrade.  And if it works as the video shows, the game will run alot more smoothly.

Some where along the line, Infinity Ward though it would be a fantastic idea to allow MadCatz the right to make controllers to hype up the game. MadCatz is a company who’s controllers are cheap in so many ways. Their quality has been known as subpar for years, and their controllers tend to be the alternative people use when they don’t want to spend the extra 5-10 dollars to buy the first party controller. Well now Mad Catz is ready to release controllers to coincide with the game release. In theory the controllers bring a nice feature to the table, giving you a button on the rear of the controller, so you don’t have to take your thumbs off the analog sticks. But both the PS3 and 360 versions suffer. PS3 owners made their voice loud enough about rumble that Sony brought the DualShock3 controller to the market. But this feature isn’t on the MW controller. As for the 360 controller, these fans get the bone, and get it bad- WHO USES A WIRED CONTROLLER ANYMORE?!? Well buy this controller and that’s what you’ll have to deal with. No Thanks from me, I’ll stick with my completely functional first party controllers. Thanks though.

In all reality, with Infinity Ward back in charge our worries should be low. I, personally, am not worried that Modern Warfare 2 will continue to amaze fans of the last rendition. The only concern I have is some minor balancing issues with certain features, but I look forward to customized killstreaks, new perks, and the fast paces great game play they are known for having. So thanks IW for the first Modern Warfare, and I look forward to seeing what you offer next. Modern Warfare 2 hits selves on 11.10.09.