Prologue: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

One Last Continue is heading to gamescom in just over a week, and we’ll be getting our hands on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  Until then, though, what do we actually know about the game?

What We Know

• Sequels R Us: Modern Warfare 2 is quite obviously not the first Call of Duty title.  If the number two at the end doesn’t give it away, then at least the lack of number at the end of Call of Duty, and instead a subtitle is evidence enough.  However, even though this game is in no way the first title in the series, it is infact the first true sequel in Call of Duty history.  Set two years after it’s predecessor, Modern Warfare 2 follows on from the events that took place in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  Another indicator,from the E3 demonstration, if you pay attention you may notice that your squad Captain this time around is Soap MacTavish - the character you played as in Call of Duty 4.

• New Setting: Despite being a direct sequel, Infinity Ward have decided to take gamers to new locales, including the likes of Rio de Janeiro, as seen below.  We’re also exploring some cold climates, with a mountainous snow section, first seen in the early pictures and the E3 demonstration.

• Good old Infinity Ward: From their past Call of Duty titles, and most recently Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, developer Infinity Ward have become famous for delivering a very intense cinematic experience to the player.  From the trailer released for Modern Warfare 2, there is no change there, with the game looking just as action packed, if not more so.

• Visuals: When it came out I thought Call of Duty 4 looked good, hell I still do!.  However when I saw the killstreaks video ,showing some multiplayer action from Modern Warfare 2, I was blown away.  I’m assuming that Infinity Ward have revamped the engine they used for the first game, because the new game looks considerably more detailed and it’s just for lack of a better term, beautiful.  Textures have a higher quality  with a greater attention to details too as seen from the E3 demonstration where you can see straps blowing in the wind, and little cracks in the ice from digging the pick in it.

• Arsenal: The killstreaks video, as seen above, also shows us some new things that will be coming in Modern Warfare 2.  The first of these things is what the video is mainly about - customizable killstreaks.  You can now decide what rewards you want for getting a number of kills in a row without dying, including a strike from an AC-130 gunship as seen below.  Another thing, or things I should say, is that there are a whole new array of weapons.  From the video, I don’t see a single weapon from the first game; they’re all new to Modern Warfare 2.  However, Infinity Ward have confirmed that there will still be some weapons from the first game, just hopefully not a certain M16 that everyone ends up using since it’s so powerful.

What We Want To Know

• Campaign: Although it was cinematic and action packed, Call of Duty 4‘s single player campaign was generally regarded as relatively short.  Some opinions said that it was movie sized, yet others said for a video game it just wasn’t long enough.  Infinity Ward have said that the campaign for Modern Warfare 2 is longer than the predecessor, but what we would like to know is just how much longer?

• Veteran: Call of Duty 4‘s veteran difficulty was challenging, yet fair.  With a bit of practice, a player could get through it eventually.  However, developer Treyarch decided to change the way the veteran difficulty was made in Call of Duty: World At War, and ended up making it mindbogglingly frustrating.  What we would like to know is if Infinity Ward will keep veteran difficulty fair, or follow Treyarch’s decision and make it grenades galore with infinitely respawning enemies.

• Arsenal: We’ve seen the video showing us a new range of guns and a new range of killstreaks.  However, what we would like to know is just how many new weapons, rewards and equipment, including perks, there are.  Oh, and will you be putting vehicles into multiplayer like the snowmobiles seen in the E3 demonstration?

• Soap is back: I, for one, am intrigued by the decision to have Soap MacTavish as your new Captain.  We would like to know the reason behind the decision not only to bring the character back, but to now make him a non-playable character with a face instead of having the player take his role once more.

• Customisation: I’ve mentioned this before in my expectations article, but I would really like to know that alongside the new weapons and equipment, will a player be able to customize the look of their character in multiplayer?

One Last Continue’s visit to gamescom in Cologne, Germany should reveal more details about the game, and we’ll be posting our thoughts after we see some more of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  Be sure to keep your eye out for this one.