More Modern Warfare 2


I have not been a competitive MP FPS player since my quake 3 days, so I am as surprised as anyone at the amount of CoD:MW2 I have been playing. It has some secret sauce tickles my gaming fancy enough that even though I am terrible (playing on the 360 makes me even worse), I keep wanting to play.  Part of this I am sure is the leveling and unlockables system they have in place, I am a sucker for leveling up and MW2 has tons of it.

But I do have some issues with the MP.


First, exploits are bad and need to be corrected asap. To IW credit they are working on this now and hopefully it will be fixed fast.

Second, I look at this game as a shooter but lately I am finding many of my matches filled with melee or air support. I don’t mind either in small quantities but with the number of people running around with knives sort of changes the game’s genre.

While the lack of my ability to counter enemy air support is frustrating. Yes I know, “don’t die so much” and the enemy wont have air support. And Yes, level up and get a stinger or javelin and you can counter enemy air power. I know, I know. But I am an admitted “nub” and the game gives out airsupport to good players long before “bad” players can get a decent counter. I would rather have the “counter” available to players before the “power”, but that’s me.
Third, the “party” system feels sloppy to me. Granted I don’t have a lot of experience using party systems but MW2’s implementation feels bad. What I want to do is link up with my friends and play together on the same team talking to each other without having to listen to the rest of the ‘jimmies’.

Problem one: The game does not seem to put xbox live party members into MW2 parties automatically. Instead from the MW2 MP menu I have to invite friends to join my MW2 party, even if they are already in my Xbox live party.

Problem two: Most play lists require us to us “game chat” and if you accidentally don’t switch to game chat when the party starts searching for a game you will get booted from the party. And you can not be re-added to the party unless all the party members are back out at the MP menu.

Problem three: there is no in game toggle for swapping between party and game chat. Which means you have to stay exposed to enemy fire if you want to chat with a friend who joins your xbox live party while you are in a game; if you want to chat with them.

Fourth, I am stuck with the play lists IW offers. I long for a “ground war” playlist that includes HQ mode. Or even better a play list that swaps between domination and HQ, allows party chat, plays on med/big maps, and allows up to 18 players.

In the end I tip my hat to IW for creating the first 1st person shooter I have found myself wanting to play in multiplayer on my xbox. You fashioned an enjoyable, short campaign to wet my appetite and then built a leveling and unlockables system in multiplayer to hook me. Genius. Bravo!

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