Modern Warfare 2 is no longer for Hardcore Gamers

Since it’s release I have been playing Modern Warfare 2
(MW2) on and off. First, I breezed through the very short, and very close to
unsatisfying, single player campaign.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I liked the game, but it felt short and repetitive: walk over there, shoot, run, shoot again, hide, shoot again in slow motion, run, repeat. Occasionally I got
to ride a snowmobile (did that scene seem like the snowmobile went way faster
than a real snowmobile, or was it just me? And, driving that fast while
shooting a gun and avoiding trees, bullets and other snowmobiles, all at once –
(is that even possible?) and a boat chase. I’m not one of those gamers
who spends every waking moment playing games – I do have a family and friends
that I see…in person, but shouldn’t I have died at least once during the
boat chase? This was the second to last mission of the game. Shouldn’t it be in
the very least, oh I don’t know…challenging? But, it just dawned on me that maybe the solo mission was so short and “easy” because the guys over at Infinity Ward knew that people were not buying the game for the solo campaign, but for the online content.

Which brings me to the point of my blog. Here it goes…I
don’t think MW2 is for hardcore gamers anymore. There I said it. I’ll wait
until you pick your jaw off the ground.Why do I think this? I’m glad you asked.In four words (and a number): Battlefield Bad Company 2 (BC2). I want to preface this by saying that I am only about 2 – 3 missions into the solo campaign and I have already encountered the above tasks, but also had to deal with an ATV and a tank! So, I really can’t compare the solo campaigns just yet; that’s for another day. Online is a very different story.

First there is MW2. Run, shoot, hide, spawn, run, shoot
hide, spawn, repeat. It’s a very simple game, really. There is no strategy.
There is not a lot of teamwork involved. Well, at least not with the gamers I
have encountered online. If a “teammate” is on his last stand, it’s not unusual
to see other soldiers literally jumping over their bodies or avoiding them to
avoid a nearby enemy to become number on his/her killstreak. Most just run
around like mad, shooting at everything with a red name above them.Oh, and some hide on rooftops or behind rocks (or trees, or crates, or etc…) and shoot from afar.These people are generally referred to as campers – a no-no in the gamer world, but a lifesaver in the real world. (As a side note, a Canadian holds the record for the longest-ever recorded and confirmed
sniper kill at 2,430m (2,657yd) Go! Canada! Go!). MW2 is a mess of
a war at times (and not in a good way) with everybody running around,
everywhere, with only two things on their mind…XP and leveling up.

Now, BC2 is a different story. You need teamwork to achieve
your mission: that all important medic kit to help your fellow fallen soldier;
the engineer to apply that quick fix to the tank (or ATV, or jeep, or etc…)
that will get you and your teammates the hell out of Dodge.

Teamwork, now that’s hardcore. Relying on a fellow gamer,
for your survival and even the victory, now that’s hardcore. Anyone can play as
an individual, but it takes a real hardcore person to run through enemy fire,
(and not just bullets from guns, but shells from tanks!), risking life and
limb, to save a teammate and complete your mission. Now, I will admit that MW2 is easier to play and follow ie. XP in large font on the screen and the menus are easier to follow than BF2 which seems more difficult to follow, but then again, so is war.