The most anticipated game of recent times, Modern Warfare 2 dominated all videogame news regardless of how little or significant the tidbits of released information were. The very intriguing enigmas left from the teaser trailer welcomed the passengers onboard the hype train which seemingly didn’t make any stops until the launch on November 10th. As a rule of thumb, hype is the bane of all videogame developers. Yes, it offers unprecedented coverage and anticipation for your titles, but the scrutiny from even the most die-hard fans of the genre and series is intensified such is their expectations of a game blown out of proportion by those same inividuals who are now scrutinising the level of anticipation. Basically, our own desires and build up for this game led to our underwhelming experience with it. Like other classics before it, notably Grand Theft Auto IV, the bar with which we hoped would be raised instead was jammed, and our exploration of the game outside of glossy screenshots and press packaged videos led to us realising how the innovation we crave leads to the downfall of the game.

Innovation is a wonderful thing, no-one can disagree with this.

However, innovations that create a different experience to one we are used to, especially when the reason for the innovation is to do something we already do but better, are always poor. For this reason, taking the example of GTA IV, realising the ‘gamers dream’ of being able to play in a realistic playground of destruction led to great recognition of its use of physics and aesthetics, but the fun factor adored in GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas was lost, underwhelming the gamers. They took apart the wheel but couldn’t remember how to put it back again. Modern Warfare 2 falls headfirst into this trap, reinventing the things we loved from the first game as well as filling it with an abundance of features. However, as with too many cooks, over-complicating the game was the downfall for Modern Warfare 2, removing the simple pick up and play aspect of the elegant and pleasant predecessor. Instead of 3, 5, 7 killstreaks, we can have any 3 from a choice of 15. Instead of a simple 6 challenges per weapon, we have at least 15 or so, many involving gaining well over 1,000 kills. Prestiging to 10th was too easy, so now we have an additional 150 levels to traverse. Attachments are no longer limited to red dot sight, acog sight and silencer, we now have heartbeat sensors, thermal scopes, previous perks converted into attachments (Double Tap to Rapid Fire, Deep Impact to FMJ). The highly praised and highly successful CoD4 formula has been stretched to cover literally every base possible, cover as many fans desires as possible and attempt to be something it’s not, an in-depth tactical shooter.

You may see some of these features as a nice addition, and I do too. I love being able to use other killstreaks, extend my longevity with new challenges and play 3rd person mode, offering nostalgia from the days of Socom on the PlayStation 2. However, whereas each addition to the Call of Duty series offers a couple of new features, Modern Warfare 2 has gone all out and implemented everything they can think of, removing some features they shouldn’t (Team Tactical anyone? Where are my 2 claymores? Why can’t I counter Stopping power with Juggernaut?) and still largely failing to do the things they should. With all that goes on now, heartbeat sensors act as a permanent UAV, but cannot be prevented until unlocking Ninja well into the level 20’s. All of the new air support can pillage the opponent team, but they cannot prevent it as the more effective launchers and Cold Blooded aren’t unlocked until well after level 30. And even when you have unlocked it, the infamous spawn system keeps you with your teammates so for the Chopper Gunner and AC130, which autotarget and splash damage respectively, you’re screwed anyways. This may appear as a snide comment to make at a game of such prestige, but it’s not. I love the Call of Duty games, I love the team at Infinity Ward’s work and I love videogames, but it’s for those reasons I don’t want to sit back and let Infinity Ward and the developers who look up at their success, get complacent.

Despite all of its flaws, Call of Duty is the leading FPS game available at this time. Competitors like Medal of Honor, Battlefield and the various Halo-esque SciFi shooters have attempted and will attempt but will not make much progress. Call of Duty offers a much smoother game, a comfortable control scheme unlike the rigid competitors, the greatest development in the FPS genre; the killcam (unless you spend all your time watching it) and most importantly, it’s an arcade shooter with a colossal fanbase. These features simply exist alone or not at all in other franchises, leaving CoD the only practical game in the genre that will continue to monopolise. Its reign as king will continue and our wait will outlast Prince Charles’. It’s not that MW2 is bad, it’s a fantastic game with a few obvious flaws that cripple it and leads us to overlook the positives. Scribble on The Mona Lisa, it’s ruined, but the masterpiece is underneath waiting to be fixed.