Why i’m not getting Modern Warfare 2

Modern Warfare 2 – the game that FPS nuts are (most likely) going crazy about. Modern Warfare 2 – the sequel to 2007’s Call of Duty 4, is due for release in just a matter of days. The game already looks like it’s going to be highly successful, it’s already smashed pre-order records and has probably already guaranteed Activision and Infinity Ward a rather tidy profit – and those are just pre-orders alone. No doubt there’ll be a lot more copies shifted during the run up to Christmas next month.

That said, however, this isn’t a game that i’ll be getting. Certainly not on release date anyway. Why? Well, that’s the purpose of this blog post, to explain why (You should note that some of my criticisms are directed towards the Xbox 360 version of the game).

1- No Xbox Live party chat

For Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward has decided to block Xbox Live Parties (For those of you who don’t have Xbox 360’s, parties are basically large private chats). This means that you can’t talk to your buddies that are playing different games. Now i’m unsure about the details regarding this, mainly because Infinity Ward hasn’t specified how this works. Does it block your private chat all of the time? Or can you still use Private Chat when playing a campaign game? I have no idea.

But what I do know, is that this is not an idea that I like. This is apparently to stop people from cheating, but I rarely encounter this kind of behaviour while playing FPS games. Certainly, I never encounter this kind of cheating enough times to justify the total removal of private chat. I enjoy using private chat so that I don’t have to deal with those screaming kids who take the game too seriously, and also so that I have someone to talk to if me & a friend are playing different games.

Infinity Ward are just punishing a majority to try and make life more difficult for a minority, who will probably find some kind of way around it anyway.

2- No Xbox Live co-op campaign

One of the main things I look for in games these days are co-operative campaigns – a campaign where I can jump in with a friend. I enjoy the relaxed and laid-back nature of co-operative gameplay when I don’t feel like playing human opponents. Modern Warfare 2 was originally slated to have a co-operative campaign mode, but it got axed during development.

The reason for this was that it “broke the cinematic feel”, which is fair enough if i’m playing the game for the first time, but after a while, it just gets to the point where I just want to kill some bad guys with a friend, but Infinity Ward have removed this option from me. Sure, there’s a Spec-Ops mode, but it’s not the same thing.

Simply put: I only care about the “cinematic feel” the first few times I play the game. If I really cared about the “cinematic feel” so much, then i’d decide for myself whether to play the campaign co-operatively or not. I don’t need Infinity Ward to babysit me and tell me what I can and can’t do.

3- It’s overpriced

I’m probably no angel in this regard considering that I paid £35 for Halo 3: ODST, but this is not a mistake I plan on making again. The RRP for Modern Warfare 2 was raised from the standard £40 to £55. Activisions attitude towards consumers also stinks, with the CEO of the company saying “if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further”. Wow guys, that’s some good PR there.

4- The music in this trailer

Is it me, or is that Eminem? Seriously guys? Eminem? It’s bad enough that 50 Cent is in the game for christs sake.

5- No dedicated servers for PC gamers

Although i’m not the most hardcore PC gamer around, I can still understand the frustration that this brings to PC gamers. Dedicated servers allow PC gamers to find a “home” in which to play in, a group of people who they’re familiar with. Infinity Ward are removing the option for PC gamers to have their own servers. The lack of servers also means that PC gamers can’t use mods in the game, which is one of the main appeals to PC gaming.

Of course, this wasn’t always the case for me. The Washington DC trailer for Modern Warfare 2 actually had me a bit excited. Washington DC being invaded? It would be awesome to see how that works out. Sadly, i’m not willing to pay £55 to have Infinity Ward tell me what I can and can’t do.

I think i’ll get Assassins Creed 2 instead.

Update: You should read this post.

~ by pokeh on November 5, 2009.