Modern Warfare 2 LAN Party December 7, 2009
Posted by Lyle in Just For Fun, Now Playing, Reviews.Tags: LAN Party, Modern Warfare 2, Offline Multiplayer, System Link
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12 gamers. 4 Xbox 360’s. 4 HD displays. 6 hours. This was a truly awesome evening. We typically play the game after youth group meetings on one TV with 4-player split screen mode; but last Friday we gathered as many 360’s and displays as we could and gave every player his own screen. Obviously a lot more work and equipment is involved but it is SO WORTH IT. We had a blast!
The one caveat is that Infinity Ward did not make the game playable in split-screen and system link at the same time. So as much fun as it is, the matches are limited to 2 on 2 teams or 4-player free-for-all. Each gamer has to have his own console, TV, and game (WHY, I.W., WHY!!??). Gone are the days of 16-player Halo 3 LAN parties. As much fun as they were, so many of us love the gameplay of Call of Duty much more. Being limited to 4 players at a time wasn’t all bad, however, because the game is almost as much fun to watch as it is to play. There were quite a few OH’s and AHH’s and great plays that evening. With a bit of organization and the cooperation we had (we have some really good kids); it was one of the best game nights we’ve done. The teamwork on display was a wonderful thing to see (we have experienced and not so experienced players), and another great thing about this set up is that it makes the game much more intense and fair (no screen-peeking cheap shots haha). It’s almost scary. Unless you earn your team a UAV you have no idea where the other guys are lurking – great stuff!
The next project is going to be crazier. We’ve decided to up the systems by at least two, and if possible, four. We have a few students that couldn’t come that night and thus couldn’t bring their systems – but it seems that it’s possible (if everybody comes) that we could have 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 nights in the near future!
Hey Wifey, when’s the next girl’s night out???
MW2 Comic Hits the Nail on the Head November 15, 2009
Posted by Lyle in Just For Fun.Tags: Funny, Games, Modern Warfare 2
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Snagged this from Kotaku, who snagged this from Digital Unrest by Chris Simmons. Had to share:
What’s really funny is, I did that in my second or third match. You haven’t experienced MW2 if you haven’t been killed by your own airdrop. There should have been an achievement for it!
Modern Warfare 2 Spec Ops Impressions November 15, 2009
Posted by Lyle in Just For Fun, News, Now Playing.Tags: Modern Warfare 2, Spec-Ops, Co-Op
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It’s just SO GOOD. I invited a good friend over for some split-screen co-op today. We played through about 19 of the Spec-Op missions on Hardened difficulty and I honestly can’t remember when a split-screen game has been so much fun. The smooth controls and sweet level design, along with very good (sometimes annoyingly so) enemy AI make this one of the most rewarding shooters in existence. It’s very fun, and will be something I know I’ll get tons of replay value out of.
The addictiveness of MW2’s online multiplayer leveling-up is replaced by the addictiveness of absolutely having to use teamwork and strategy for survival. And the harder it gets; the more fun it is to win. Most missions were fairly easy on hardened difficulty (with 2 players, mind you). A few of them were quite hard and forced us to rethink strategies a bit. I’ve played and beaten one mission on veteran and it only took us, what, ten tries? Failure did nothing to thwart my desire to keep playing til we won.
There are 20+ missions and you unlock them in groups as you earn stars for each successful mission. What’s really amazing is that each one feels unique; even the ones that are played in the same areas. You might have to breach and clear a prison shower room full of enemies. You’ll be calling targets and synchronizing sniper shots in the snow. You’ll be fending off waves of troops and vehicles in a desperate survival scenario. There are even a couple of racing levels (which were my least favorite, but still fun)! Then the fact that there are a couple of great missions inspired by COD4 thrown in for good measure (remember “Death From Above”?).
I would love to see the next Spec-Ops update support four players, but for these maps and missions two is definitely the sweet spot. Infinity Ward would have to up the difficulty considerably. At any rate; they’ve consistently hinted at updating Spec-Ops with new stuff… I will be there to scoop it up day one. This mode rocks.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Single Player Impressions November 12, 2009
Posted by Lyle in News.Tags: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Extreme Content, Game Ratings, Modern Warfare 2
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Modern Warfare 2 is here. And here’s what I think:
ABOUT THE SINGLE-PLAYER STORY MODE
The bottom line: Amazing (in that summer blockbuster movie sort of way). The action is way over the top and the plot is just a touch outside of the realm of the possible (I hope so anyway) - but the characters drive it so well. The explosions and the settings were shock and awe moments for sure; but the emotional attachment to the characters you meet, play as, and really learn to love (and hate) makes this one of the best media about war ever. Soap, Roach, Ghost, Foley, Ramirez and more will get under your skin. These capture you as if they are real human heroes that couldn’t have been done better.
This is going to be a five star game; for adults.
Content: Well, aside from the “No Russian” level that is mentioned specifically below; the game is slightly more violent than COD4 Modern Warfare (1) was. It’s MUCH less violent than Call of Duty World At War, and I’m glad for it. I remember saying that the intensity level was the thing that concerened me about letting kids play the first Modern Warfare – and here it is the same issue; except that the intensity level has been upped considerably. Many of the scenes and set pieces will leave you holding your breath and dodging the incoming fire in your chair. I think it may be too intense, rather than too violent, for young ones. Much like the first game; main characters are not invincible, and some of the plot twists are very, very emotional.
“No Russian”
Much has been said and debated about the “terrorist” level. As horrible as it was, it does capture the nightmarish spirit of this new world war on terrorism we are in. The game allows you to play as a covert agent committing an atrocity in order to infiltrate a terror cell. You can pull the trigger or back off and watch as the real bad guys do all the work; or you can opt out of it altogether – the game warns you twice. I advise that you heavily weigh the options and don’t just charge in without thinking. It does set up the rest of the plot, but you really won’t miss anything that isn’t explained. I watched – did not pull the trigger – and was satisfied that the scene was not simply there to push the envelope of content in games. Don’t get me wrong – it was horrible – but it was not unrealistic, unfortunately. We live in a day and age where evil men fly airplanes as bombs and IED’s and suicide-bombings are frequently heard news. Infinity Ward handled with maturity; but I wonder why they decided to make it playable. It could have been a cut scene and still been just as powerful and heart-wrenching. making it playable was unnecessary and I think it will cause issues with those who aren’t mature enough to handle it.
They said that they wanted the player to experience the atrocities of terror – but I contend that no video game or movie could really ever do that. The Ft. Hood shooting was very recent and I kept thinking – the real thing was there, not here in my Xbox. The best it could do is make me think deeply about terrorism and about myself. It is interesting that although in my mind I knew that these innocent people were just animated 3-d characters I still had no desire whatsoever to participate. This level and the decision to make it playable are very good reasons not to blindly allow your young children to see or play Modern Warfare 2. The game is not for kids. Some will not be able to handle or process the scene; adults included.
The game is rated M for Mature for Blood, Drug reference, Intense Violence, and Language. I’ll pipe in later with Multiplayer impressions as well as Spec-Ops mode. I played and beat the single player campaign on regular difficulty, and have played to level 19 in multiplayer mode as of this writing. I haven’t even tried Spec-Ops.
