UPDATE: Through a podcast over at Major Nelson’s, the price was confirmed at 1200 Microsoft Points or $15.  For that $15 players get five maps, three new ones and two remakes from COD4. The new maps are Bailout (overrun apartment complex, wide map), Salvage (snow-covered junkyard, it’s a smaller map), and Storm (raining, abandoned warehouses). The remakes are from Call of Duty 4: Crash (urban environment with crashed helicopter in the central square) and Overgrown (dry river running through a village).

Thanks to the folks over at Activision for helping the economy with the great news that will bring FREE MW2 multiplayer Maps this month.  Coming March 30th to Xbox LIVE, Infinity Ward and Activision present Modern Warfare 2: Stimulus Package.  This is the first DLC currently announced.  Amongst the rumored maps, Crash has been mentioned to be on the list of the Stimulus Package DLC.  Behind MW2’s Terminal, Crash may be the 2nd best map in the Modern Warfare series.  It was a great map for Team Deathmatches, Search and Destroy and Sabatoge.  Snipers can pick people off from atop the chain link roof tops or rifleman can battle it out near the Helicopter Crash site near the center.  And of course the broken down building where rocket launchers and grenades were constantly hitting.

Players on the PS3 will have to wait one full month due to negotiations with Microsoft and Activision that gave Xbox 360 players one exclusive month of the maps.  Sony PlayStaion owners will have to quietly sit back until April, when they’re scheduled Stimulus Package will arrive on the PSN.  Additionally, Xbox 360 Silver Live members will be able to try out Modern Warfare 2 through the “Multiplayer Unlock event” running from March 12-15.

Of course, since the PSN service is FREE $15 for all members, the Stimulus Package will not require any additional prerequisites.

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The developers behind the Modern Warfare series may have made their last Call of Duty franchised FPS.  Infinity Ward has told a source at video game website, VG247, that it would like to work on “something completely new.”  Whether that “something” is in the same genre as a First Person Shooter, we don’t know yet.  Modern Warfare 3 looks like it may not happen…

We do know that Infinity Ward is creating a timed exclusive Downloadble Content for the Xbox 360 this spring.  Timed simply implies the 360 gets it first, then PS3 and PC to follow.  But what if the MW series comes to a halt and Infinty Ward goes AWOL?  Have the developed enough to keep MW and MW2 playing for years?  I say, with DLC, 4 new maps every 6 months will keep the game fresh and new.

I’ve followed the Call of Duty franchise since it’s inception into the FPS genre.  In the beginning, I thought EA’s Medal of Honorwas the more “detailed” of World War shooters.  With this news of Activision leaving, the door opens for other developers.  And it’s a door I’m sure they’ll be welcomed into, as long as they offer the same controls we’ve all be accustomed to.

Are new maps through DLC enough to keep you coming back for more Modern Warfare 2?

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Everyone knows multiplayer is the bread and butter of the Call of Duty’s franchise. So naturally, there’s a good reason why they’ve been using the same engine since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Reliable gameplay. But this time Infinity Ward stepped up to the plate and brought their “A” game with Modern Warfare 2 and of course bettered a great game.  This fast paced First Person Shooter is the continuation of COD4 with upgraded lighting, textures and visuals. The easier to navigate menu shows you one of three gametype choices and proves it’s not all just about multiplayer anymore. Special Ops, Campaign and Multiplayer modes all provide a different slice of MW2. In our first ever group review, Aaron Mazza, Carlos Macias and I will break down Special Ops, Campaign and Multiplayer mode respectively.  We know the term “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” but did Infinity Ward and Activision raise the bar?

Modern Warfare 2 (Special Ops)
By Aaron Mazza

New to the series is the Special Ops mode. Although you can play the missions solo, its true design is meant to be played in co-op. The mode has you and your partner reliving scenarios from the Modern Warfare 2 campaign along with a few new unseen missions. It will take teamwork, communication, and patience to master some of these missions especially if playing on the Veteran difficulty level.

When you first load up Special Ops, you’ll find that only the Alpha missions are available to choose but obtaining stars will unlock the next tier of missions. Completion of a mission will normally grant you one star but if played on Veteran difficulty, you can get 3 stars per mission success. Get enough stars and the Bravo missions will unlock, then Charlie, and so on. The missions will run you through a variety of infamous scenarios, for example; you may be asked to get to a certain spot on the map while remaining hidden from enemy contact or an all out guns blazing assault to eliminate the enemies. There are 69 stars total to obtain and collecting all of them does not add anything to the solo campaign or multiplayer aspects but it is completely satisfying.

Special Ops Final Thought:

I think this addition to the game is a great one. The sense of comradery and teamwork are really prominent. Not only do I hope they include this in future games but add more missions and stars to obtain in DLC form. It’s a great new way to get lost into the world of Call of Duty.

Modern Warfare 2 (Campaign Mode)
By Carlos Macias

It’s very likely that you’ve blown through the single-player campaign in MW2 by this point, so this will either validate your opinion or make you run around the house screaming about how wrong I am. Either way, my two cents on Modern warfare 2 — sans the “Call of Duty” moniker…Infinity Ward don’t like that — are as follows.

MW2 was the 800-pound gorilla in the game industry this fall. One that plenty of games delayed themselves to early next year to avoid. And, can you blame them? The game is huge. Huge explosions, globe-trotting protagonists, colorful characters, and plenty of twists to keep you on your toes. A short adventure that can be considered the exact equivalent of the Hollywood summer blockbuster. Well, in this case, bigger since its gone on to make more than half a billion dollars at this point.

“No Russian” has been the most controversial piece of the game but, in my opinion, it serves as no more than the crux of what propels the story forward. Not art. Infinity Ward is pushing buttons (and someone certainly has to) by how it depicts the scene, but it is no different than why Bruce Wayne becomes Batman after his parents die. Or, the many different, generic starting points of action flicks where terrorists hold civilians hostage. It’s the closest you’ll probably ever get to such a horrendous act but there’s too many holes upon further inspection.

Go in the same way you would go into the latest “Die Hard” or Bond flick, enjoy the lush locales, unrivaled action sequences, and you’ll come away having a blast with the latest from Infinity Ward.

Modern Warfare 2 (Multiplayer Mode)
By Juan Perez

If you’ve played Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or Call of Duty: World at War you know about the engine that makes their FPS games cream of the crop.  Modern Warfare 2 takes that great engine and enhances the gameplay with newer maps, advanced weapons and of course host migration.  That’s right, host migration has finally been introduced and it works.  Now, when the current host of a match leaves the game, you’ll be prompted with a screen that will choose the next best host in queue.  This essentially keeps the matches going rather than closing them out like before.  And for the power hungry players, the option to “kick” a player is now possible.  No more cussing tweens in your matches.

Killstreak rewards can now be customized. Before in COD 4, everyone had the same 3 killstreak perks.  UAV, Bombers and a Helicopter.  Now, each amount of kills can call in which ever perk you want.  For example if you don’t want the 3 kill perk of UAV, skip it and enable the 4 kill care package instead.  The highest killstreak reward is set to 25 and that is the Tactical Nuke.  Pretty much everyone including yourself dies <sigh>  Of course that means staying alive long enough to benefit from these perks.

Maps pack a punch. MW2’s maps are fantastic.  They mix in a new bunch of locations taken from the campaign mode while somehow preventing the camper to stay in one place too long.  Introducing levels makes the experience a new one.  Not only do you have to look left, right and around corners, but looking up in buildings and down in warehouses keeps you on edge.  Despite having larger maps the action feels much closer than before.  One of our complaints in COD:WaW were the long distances between the battle at hand and where you spawn after you die.

Less abuse more skill. I’ve always had my gripes with the overuse of bouncing betty’s (World at War) and martyrdom’s (Modern Warfare 1) and they finally corrected it.  Yes, there’s still martyrdom’s but that perk is only enabled after 3 deaths in row.  There’s another perk that buff you with more energy after 3 deaths in a row giving you that extra health to end the death streak.  The kill cam is still present which allows you to see who killed you after you’re dead.  The kill cam is now shown to all players replaying the last kill from the shooters point of view.  Now you know who to blame!

The negative aspects, unfortunately. Invite system is a complete failure.  Before you were able to invite all your buddies at the same time through the in-game invite system.  Now, they’ve taken a page from XBox 360 and went with invitations through your friends list.  This is much slower to gather your friends into a party.  And speaking of parties, the Private match glitch allows others from joining even after “kicking” them out.

Pros:
Great maps, plenty of volume
Levels within maps (alleyways, rooftops, in buildings)
Killstreaks/Deathstreaks

Cons:
Short campaign mode
PS3 game invite issues

Final Thought: There’s no denying that the Call of Duty franchise improves on their great FPS games year in and out and Modern Warfare 2 continues the trend. Infinity Ward’s controversial scene in “No Russian” changed the way gamers saw shooter games. For a moment, I had become sensitive to the killings and shootings during gameplay rather than the emotional-less actions most shooters have in games. But great games are great games and the sales figures don’t lie — selling $550m in its first five days on sale worldwide.  For fans of FPS, I’d make this game a “must buy”.  For fans who absolutely dislike FPS, I’d also tell you to get this game.  Keep the cussing down in multiplayer games to avoid being kicked and join the biggest social “meet-n-shoot” on both Xbox and PS3. …After all they’re just games, right?

9.5/10

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Infinity Ward released the official launch trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and boy, is it a doozie.

The gameplay footage we see in the trailer spotlights some previous footage that Infinity Ward released mashed in with some new footage, such as the satellite blowing up in space, into a single trailer with a very fitting soundtrack.  Eminem’s “Till I Collapse” was chosen as the song to help amp up the hype level for Modern Warfare 2, and to be honest, I see no other song more fitting than that one.  Not only does its beat bring out the emphasis how epic Modern Warfare 2 will be, but also Eminem’s lyrics are befitting of the game, specifically towards the end,

Cause I don’t really think that the fact that I’m Slim matters
A plaque of platinum status is whack if I’m not the baddest.

The original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare set the gold standard for the FPS’ franchise, to which many other FPS games have adopted some of its ideas (XP, further customization of your character, etc.).  With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the already ridiculously high bar Infinity Ward set itself with CoD4:MW is now being challenged once again.

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Infinity Ward’s latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 trailer is… interesting.  It does show some gameplay footage, but for the most part it’s a PSA to ‘Fight Against Grenade Spam’, or F.A.G.S. for short.  Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels tells us random grenade throwing are, “for pussies”.  It’s kind of strange he’s suddenly included in the PSA, but I believe it was to tie in with the World Series that’s currently underway.

With the amount of anticipation for Modern Warfare 2, I don’t think this was a smart move on the part of Infinity Ward.  Yes, we all hate random grenades.  If you think about it though, aren’t all grenades that kill you random to the one getting killed?  You never expect them, but then when you hear it, you’re for the most part surprised.

What are your thoughts? You think this trailer was over-the-top, or do you think it’s just right for Modern Warfare 2?

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We’re only a few weeks away for the epic release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  Here are 8 fantastic screenshots that mostly Xbox 360 and PS3 owners will appreciate.  As far as you PC gamers, you’re probably still upset over the non-dedicated server issue.  Along with no PC mods, Infinity Ward has upset their PC community members and in turn they have filed several petitions explaining their frustrations.  That won’t stop these lovely screenshots below from showing off some of the upcoming scenic backgrounds.

Campaign

In response to questions about the length of the single-player campaign, Infinity Ward CCO Jason West stated that Modern Warfare 2 would not be longer than the 6-10 hour-long campaign of Call of Duty 4. Mission settings in the game will include Russia, a military base in Kazakhstan, a desert area in Afghanistan, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A trailer released on the official Infinity Ward Youtube page teased fighting at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., although it is unknown if the game will feature fighting in that setting. New features include the ability to wield dual handguns.

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I think he wants to be friends... SHOOT HIM!

As much as I enjoy a good round of multiplayer mode, I am an old-school gamer at heart.  With that said, I grew up playing games along with my brothers and majority of the games that came out in the 80s were co-op.  There’s just something about working together with family and friends that give me a much more richer multiplayer experience than just shooting the hell out of them.

Infinity Ward realized how important co-op play is becoming and is introducing a new mode called ‘Spec-Ops’.  Spec-Ops is a mode that is completely apart from the single-player campaign.  You and your buddies work together to complete different objectives across multiple maps.  The objectives vary from simply clearing out a map of enemies, to getting down a snowy mountain the quickest on your snowmobile.  Players can even change individual difficulty settings, so no longer will men have to play on casual mode while their girlfriend holds the controller upside down screaming “HOW DO I MAKE THAT MAN DEAD?!”

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be a port of Infinity Ward’s 2007 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  No other information was given besides the fact that it’s going to be released on the Nintendo Wii.  As soon as we hear more regarding this title, we’ll be sure to let you all know.  Now just keep your fingers crossed there will be multiplayer and it won’t require friend codes.

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For those of you who love Call of Duty, you may shrug your shoulders at Modern Warfare 2’s price tag.  But for those of us who just want to “play and prestige”, the inflated price of $149 for MW2 Prestige Edition better come with something special.  Lo and behold, night goggles?  That’s right, bundled within the Prestige Edition comes:

Modern Warfare 2 (game)
Artbook
Real night vision goggles
Classic Call of Duty

Infinity Ward also confirmed via Twitter that the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network versions of the classic Call of Duty will have multiplayer support. Grainy visuals, here I come!

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After a quick scare, Destructiod showed a mysterious survey sent from Activision insinuating a monthly fee would be a possibility for Modern warfare 2.

While Activision and Infinity Ward know the Call of Duty fanbase would not react positively to MMO-like monthly fees, a statement was made on their forums  by fourtwozero, squashing the idea.

“This rumor has absolutely nothing to do with Infinity Ward or our games, including Modern Warfare 2. We would never introduce such a system for Modern Warfare 2 so don’t worry.

Multiplayer will always be equal and free for everyone as always.”

Good move Infinity Ward.  You know Modern Warfare 2 will be one the hottest selling games of 2009, even with the 11/10/09 release date.  Don’t piss off your most loyal fans with an unnecessary monthly fee.  We’re already paying for DLC.  Cut us a break.  Oh, can you send Treyarch a memo to also not even think about fees and to leave the porch light on.  Thanks!

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