Sunday, November 29, 2009

Modern Warfare 2. Is It Really Balanced For That?


Modern Warfare 2 was released nearly 4 weeks ago and it's safe to say that we have all managed to breathe in the excitement and absorb the experience of this awesome game. But is everyone having fun? Is the game perfect? In this latest article I debate whether Modern Warfare 2's competitive multiplayer mode is a balanced work of art or a one gun show.

The key to a successful game is balance. Without balance, a game is often seen as frustrating, boring and just plain lacking in the fun department. I have gathered opinions from the Call of Duty and WePlayCoD community to determine what the community is thinking in terms of balance and Modern Warfare 2.

A few of the most popular contributors to imbalance in Modern Warfare 2 can be found in the perk section and weapons section. Many a player has been frustrated by the damage increasing perk, Stopping Power. However, Stopping Power is often a perk that many snipers must have, as well as some of the less powerful SMG's and small arms.

With the removal of the Juggernaut perk and the increase of the damage to your health, some people are puzzled as to to why Infinity Ward have left Stopping Power intact without a proper counter perk, all the while increasing the "powerful weapon count".

However it is also worth mentioning that there are several important and useful perks in the same tier as Stopping Power, therefore it can sometimes be a sacrifice for people to choose another perk that actually may be more beneficial, such as Cold Blooded over the damage dealing Stopping Power.

Here's what some of your fellow community members have to say about balance in Modern Warfare 2:

"All seems decently balanced to me except for a few small things. Mainly the Winchesters... Remove akimbo and there you go." - xxrpggamemanxx


"What isn't balanced is the range on shotguns and how powerful they are! Painkiller is still as bad as juggernaut" - nutty_nadim

"Balance is better than WaW or CoD4 but we can all agree that the M16 still runs the show in one way or another." - firevice


"Ump45 and akimbo m1887 are overpowered, otherwise blance is pretty good imo." - WWII_Hevi


''Stopping power, gotta go. And thats it for me'' - Tyler_mills

 "definetely think it's a step up from cod4 but needs a little tweaking" - bw1231996


''Balancing in this game is hands down the worst in any CoD game yet... 3 M16's (M16 / FAMAS / M93), Full auto sniper with 100 rounds (RPD), and the super sniper akimbo shotty (1887)'' - Bon3zz1001

''They could have done a better job with the SMGs, however it's more realistic because in cod4/5 SMGs could be used at long range, now they can't. I personally do not like shotguns as secondary and it makes makes sniping imbalanced.'' - DoNt 13 JeAlOuS


''I find the weapons to be pretty balanced. You have to remember that SMGs are meant to be useful in close situations. Each weapon type is different which requires a different playing style.'' - 1

''Hey. Personally i hate Stopping Power, way too OVERPOWERED! Especially with particular guns. e.g. M16! There are so many other better perks!'' - Joshuadowley

Realism and fun has also been carried over into the debate. Infinity Ward has stated many times before that they prefer fun over realism, although many have pointed out that we fall to a quicker death in MW2 due to higher powered weapons.  Would you say the game has taken realism too far?

GR_nemesis has a mixture of positive and negative things to mention about the balance within the game:

''The game is pretty good. Balanced perks. Compare the assault rifles and u will see that there is something for everyone :)
But, i feel like as it was in cod4, that some of the weapons are rarely used. When it comes to perks
Some perks are a lot more useful in some gamemodes. I understand when people say it is overpowered, in some gamemodes it is.
The game does have the lack of total balance, and it is something they should fix.'' - GR_nemesis

Overall this is clearly a debatable subject. Community members have raised good points regarding balance within the game, and as you can see in the quotes above, many have very different opinions.  Also remember that the past two wildly popular installments, CoD4 and World at War, have both had "overpowered" weapons that continually caused a rift in the community, those being the M16 and MP40, neither of which were tweaked or changed from their original form.  Consider it a blessing that those weapons have yet to be found in MW2, although we're sure some of you have your eye on a couple guns that will take the cake.

It's clear that there are a few issues that need solving in Modern Warfare 2, but it also appears that a lot of worries and concerns about balance are being blown out of proportion.  A wise man once said, "You can't please em' all."  Actually, I'm not sure if he was wise, nor if "he" was a "he".  One thing is certain though...the quote definitely applies to the online gaming experience.  Some will find a flaw where another may find a selling point.  

We want to know what you think. @ Reply us on Twitter, comment below on this article or post on our forums with your thoughts and ideas.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Hardcore Headquarters Arriving Wednesday

What's better than the current multiplayer playlists? Additional ones! Infinity Ward's community manager, fourzerotwo, has announced via his twitter page what all hardcore game mode fans wanted to hear. That they are planning on adding Hardcore Ricochet: Headquarters Pro tomorrow! (Weds 25th Nov).

''We're planning to add a new hardcore playlist to #MW2 just in time for the holiday break. Look for Hardcore Ricochet: HQ Pro on Wednesday!''
- Fourzerotwo

Hardcore Headquarters was hugely popular in Call of Duty 4, thus it was reasonable that many hardcore fans were disappointed to see that it was not included in Modern Warfare 2. However, many people are now angry that it is a Hardcore Ricochet playlist rather than normal hardcore. Ricochet means that all friendly fire will return to the shooter, this was incorporated to help combat team killing. 

For those that have yet to check out the revised "Pro" version of HQ, the only difference is that the HQ will come online for a short period of time before being able to be captured.  This gives both teams a chance to make it to the HQ and has been a welcome addition to most of us.

What are your thoughts on this addition?  Will you be playing Hardcore Ricochet: Headquarters Pro this week?  What other playlists would you like to see updated in the game? @ Reply us on twitter or make a post on our forums.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Hidden Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Modes



 Those file digging PC modders have discovered four hidden multiplayer modes within the source code of MW2.  Here's your chance to check them out.

A member of Raiders Game Net has posted a summary of the hidden game modes.


Arena = Round based 1 flag gametype. Basically a flag spawns in the middle, and both teams have to capture it. It's similar to gtnw, except it's the round based (one life) version. A team wins if they capture the flag or kill everyone on the other side.

GTNW = Global Thermal Nuclear War = Basically the "nuke" is in the middle of the map, and both teams have to try and get it and set it off. It's a respawn gametype. You have to first "capture" the nuke, similar to capturing a flag on domination. If there are more axis players inside the capture zone then allied players, then they will capture the nuke and vice versa. It doesn't speed up the capturing if more players on your team are inside the zone. Once you have 'captured' the nuke - it can only be activated if your team score is above 100. You get 1 point for every enemy you kill, and 1 point each time you "capture" the nuke. So if you go and hold the nuke point, you'll "capture" it, then if you keep control if it, you'll slowly gain more points every few seconds. The team who activates the nuke, wins. If the timelimit is reached, then the team with a higher score wins.

ONEFLAG = Basically round based CTF with 1 flag, so Axis defend while Allies attack. If round time limit is reached the defenders win, if flag is captured the attackers win. If defenders are all killed, attackers win, and if attackers are all killed defenders win. Basically it's like retrieval.

VIP = Basically it's like assasination. It uses the defenders CTF flag spot as the 'extraction zone' - and picks a random vip... the vip spawns with riot shield and deagle, and also has armor vest and final stand. Once the vip reaches the extraction zone, they have to press use to call in an extraction pickup. This takes 45 seconds, and after that time, the attackers win. The defenders win if they kill the vip or if they kill everyone on the other team. Attackers win if they kill all the defenders, or extract the vip.

I've looked through all 4 of them and noticed they're not fully completed. Well they would work, but they just need tweaking a little. They left a bunch of printLn() stuff which they'd probably need to remove, and they left a line that initializes the _dev.gsc script (a script only for developing).
Although it's probably because whoever coded them was either busy or rushing and didn't notice the minor mistakes they made... (not errors, just extra parameters that don't get used anywhere)''

Some people have also managed to hack the game so that they can play these modes, due to this some videos can be seen below.

Global Thermal Nuclear War


Various Hidden Modes


Does this mean that we will be receiving these game modes in the next few weeks? Not necessarily. They might have been kept out of the game due to being incomplete or possibly just used as test modes. I remember that there were also various hidden files within the PC version of Call of Duty 4 showing maps and modes that never made it in the game, this included Capture the Flag (Yes CTF was originally meant to be in CoD4!).

Although some have mentioned this possibly being paid DLC, that is highly unlikely, especially now that these modes are now known to be included in the retail version.

What are your thoughts on these game modes?  Should Infinity Ward go ahead and patch these in? Discuss this and all other Call of Duty news with fellow WePlayCoD members on our forums now!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Modern Warfare 2 Pwns The Record Books!


MW2 is not only the biggest and best game of all time, it was also the biggest launch of all time in all of entertainment.  That includes smash hits like Transformers and Halo 3.

Early reports are showing that you and your friends bought nearly 5 MILLION COPIES of Modern Warfare 2 within 24 hours!  That totals up to over $300,000,000.00 in sales in a matter of one day.  After the hands have grabbed what their promised out of the pot, that leaves Infinity Ward with a nice chunk of change on a project that we've heard cost a measly $20,000,000 :P.

Did we mention that those numbers are only for the US and UK?  That's right, these monstrously huge numbers aren't even taking into account the rest of the world, which will surely boost those numbers up greatly.

You deserve every penny Infinity Ward.  This is truly the best game we've ever seen, played, heard of, etc so on and so forth.  You have created a masterpiece that we'll be playing for a long time.  Thank you!  Now, if you would kindly send us a red Ferrari, our work here will be done. ;)

Modern Warfare 2 Player Reviews


Instead of compiling a list of Modern Warfare 2 reviews from the big box gaming sites, I thought it would be nice to bring in some of our friendly players to tell you what they think about the new smash hit we're all now addicted to.  Here you'll get to see some different views on the game, so let's get straight to it.

lawtondannyboy: Well anyways, I liked the campaign alot! It was like a movie, but you playing in it. Towards the end, you learn that you cannot trust anyone, and when IT IS the end, it may reveal a Modern Warfare 3. My review on MP: I like the ranking and everything, its just that I don't like the FAMAS, that is the MP40 of the game.

DitkaKenobi: Campaign - The story is a little far fetched for my taste, but outside of that, each level is fantastic in it's own right. It's almost like they came up with a bunch of cool ideas and then tried to wrap a story around them, rather than the other way around.

Spec Ops - So far, I've played through 6 missions with a friend. This mode is excellent and I can already tell I will end up spending a lot of time playing through these. Each mission is it's own thing. No story to get in the way. Just solid objectives for you to complete with a friend (or solo if you lack people skills). Sadly, there are no leaderboards!?!?

Multiplayer - Wow. So, this is what a shooter is supposed to feel like. Customization is off the charts, gameplay is balanced, and all the maps are well crafted and surprisingly large for the most part. Small, cramped maps were the main reason I didn't enjoy MW's MP as much as WaW's MP. The Kill Streak rewards are great and I've noticed that they add a level of back-and-forth gameplay that didn't exist before. A bigger portion of my MP games have been really close, with one game already ending in a tie. Oh, and the best part? I haven't said "F***ing Juggernaut!" in over a 2 days, and that makes me smile.

xMinus81x: I've only done MP so far. My first impression was.....damn I suck. Razz However, after playing a few matches and gettin the swing of the maps that definitely changed. MP is a-freakin-mazing! The maps are huge and multileveled! To me, COD4 seemed to be a 'camp-fest'. This one....not so much. You still have those players that all they know how to do is camp, but they're easily dealt with. Very Happy

I've mainly played TDM (mostly merc) just to get used to the maps, level up and unlock weapons/attachments/perks. I'll probably start switching over to HQ and CTF now.

The unlockables are great. So many weapons/perks challenges to keep the game interesting and variety going. I'm constantly changing classes around (mainly figuring what I like best) to work on the different challenges.

shane35007: I'll start with the obvious, the Maps. I've yet to play Underpass, Invasion and Subbase and I've only played Domintion and TDM / FFA. So I've yet to see how well they play in the more serious modes.

That being written, I love these maps. The detail (burning embers in Scrapyard, killable Chickens in Favela), the designs (Highrise and Terminal) and the look (Estate and Derail might be among my top FPS maps ever) give an all out joy. Even one I figured I'd hate (Rust) is fun because of the HI-Low gameplay.

I prefer this new version of the Challenge menus. It's a bit more clean. The idea of Titles and Emblems is awesome. I could've cared less before I started unlocking em. Finally figuring out that RBumper moves through page at a time, took away my one gripe.

Weapon attachments are great, especially the way they are unlocked. I've never wanted to use the M-203 more then I did yesterday in unlocking my Undermount Shotty for the M4A1 (to find out it sucks took some wind from my sails). I finally unlocked the Thermal Scope for my M4 and am loving it.

My only real gripe is with the Perks. I love the fact that there are Pro versions of a perk which in some cases turn 2 perks from MW into 1 perk in MW2. The downfall to this though, is that it really lessens the difference in my Created Classes so far. I'm level 20 right now and Sleight of Hand Pro is on every Class, except for my LRRP which has Marathon. That being said, I know that Bling is next.

I also think it was cool to make the "Default Classes" have higher level Perks.

The Kill / Death Streaks are awesome and only slightly ridiculous. I've taken down many a Attack Helo / Harrier on my own. I've yet to see a AC-130 taken down, but I'm chalking that to needed more then the AT4.

Yesterday morning when I played the last of CoD:MW, I noticed 19 days of playing time accrued over the 2 years I owned the game (and I took a helluva hiatus). There is no way I will not beat that by at least 50%, as MP is just too damn awesome outta the box.

No I am not good. At best I am average. I'll have a +10 game every blue moon, with the norm being 1:1 or a little better on TDM / FFA and -5+ on Domination / HQ (but still among the leader thanks to cap points)

el_chad: Not going to post a lengthy review but here it goes.

Spec Ops: The few missions I played were quite fun, even the snowmobile was fun to drive. On certain missions 3 stars is pretty tough compared to 1 but it does make a good challenge.

Muliplayer: Where to start... All of the new features are pretty much kick arse. I think it definitely gave MW2 a much more in-depth multiplayer with the tons of challenges and weapon upgrades. Game winning cam is pretty nice also especially to show off any perfectly cooked grenades exploding in front of someones face.

Won't go into weapons much but the M21 sniper is ridiculously good.
Marathon Pro is a really nice perk, really comes in handy for CTF, Domination, HQ, etc...

Kill Streaks:

Care Package: Comes in handy, sometimes getting counter-uav and ammo isn't that exciting but getting a harrier, heli, ac130, etc after 4 kills is nice.

Sentry Gun: Has it's pros and cons but it is much more effective in objective gametypes such as headquarters, domination, ctf, etc... For example, earlier on CTF me and another person had 2 sentry guns set up covering both entrances to our flag, needless to say they didn't get our flag that half. Can really rack up the kills in certain spots to get to your higher killstreaks, but I prefer the predator missile as my 2nd usually.

Predator Missile: Really effective, especially on maps with less buildings. I liked how on terminal I could drop it through the glass roof and take out 3 or 4.

Harrier Strike: Probably one of my favorites, 10+ kills with this happens quite often especially on more out in the open maps.

The rest are all nice too, didn't care too much for stealth bomber but only used it a few times. EMP can come in handy on some games but doesn't really seem worth it to set as a killstreak...

RK1 Silentops: - Single player campaign is great and well diverse as far as various mission objectives. I liked the aspects of all the SP missions while they did remind me of some other games - they looked and played amazing and the ambient sounds and weather were spot on .. the snow storm was my all time favorite map for the SP followed by the last series of SP

I felt very immersed in the game and to me that's huge .. where I feel connected to the story and characters - from the first mission rolling down the road scanning rooftops to the sand dunes .. I felt very connected to the story line

I also felt that the SP was to short for my taste - I wanted more and wanted to play SP more then the short campaign i was given ...

Special Ops is a good little break from MP and SP but I wanted more from it ... I would have rather had a robust SP and CO-OP as we had in WAW

MP is where it at ... the maps are all very welled layout out , the GFX work is unreal and even in MP i get pulled into the map .. with the ambient sounds , the weather .. snow , blowing sand .. amazing

The amount of weapons, attachments, and perks has really made the customization huge. The combination's are almost endless you could have any set up that you needed for your playing style or your teams playing style and the weapons are very well balanced so if your ranked 40 to ranked 1 you have a good Exp playing MP

I like all the little things I unlock , titles and call signs and the pop ups on my screen as I complete a task or get a head-shot or long-shot ...

Cons

Duel Wield
Silenced Sniper and Shot guns
Sentry guns
No party chat ... bad choice on IW part .I can see in no re-spawn games but in TDM or HCD or Domination .. come on now I play with people I want to and I dont want to listen to the bullshit in a lobby ... and why should I have to turn my coms to friends only ...

Kyled55: OK I GOT THE GAME AND ITS AWESOME!! Right now im a rank 10

I love the M4A1 and alot of the maps but quarry.

My M4 setup is

M4A1-RDS
P2000-RDS

Frag Grenade
Stun Grenade

Slieght of hand<-- sorry if i misspelled it
Stopping power
Steady Aim

CopyCat

UAV
(forgot what its called but the air drop killstreak 1) if some1 could tell me what its called thanks.
Predator missle<---PWN!

Thanks to those of you who gave us your mini-review.  Feel free to submit your own on our forums and we'll do another one of these- LINK

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Your MW2 Midnight Release Pictures

We asked you to send pictures of yourself at the Modern Warfare 2 midnight launch festivities, and that you did.  Here are a few that were sent our way and a few more that we saw floating around the net.  @flowery_air went all out and gave her ride the MW2 touch. :)



 
 
 
 
 

 
 



I thought we'd also include this "MW2 Story" from a huge CoD fan, JGMAROT...

"Ok guys Im a big fan of the site and I got my hands on the uk Prestige edition yesterday. Early I know brilliant. Anyway After some playing on my xbox 360 version I got in 7hrs 52min and 48sec the campaign completed on veteran. So I moved onto my ps3 multiplayer - I don't have LIVE anymore. Im now in the twenties after under 3hrs playing and have almost finished the famas challenges just got headshots and Extended mags to get. Any way the game is fab as everyone knows but I hated getting the shot gun thoses 20 n00b t00b kills over two games where horrible to be playing my team and opponent hated me I bet lol."

Feel free to send us more of you pics by either leaving them in the comment section or @replying us on Twitter @WePlayCoD.  Thanks to all of you who were tuned into WePlayCoD leading up to release.  We hope you continue to hang around, and we hope to continue to bring you Call of Duty news and player chat to Twitter.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Modern Warfare 2 Is Here!




That's right folks, the day we've all been waiting for has come (well almost).  Many of you are in the process or will be in the process of picking up your copy of Modern Warfare 2 today through the various retailers selling early as well as the HUGE midnight release parties going on around the world.

We'll be posting the funniest/most outrageous pictures on our blog from the midnight release/release parties you'll be attending, so @ reply us @WePlayCoD with your pictures or email us @ weplaycod@gmail.com

Also feel free to let us know what you're liking, what you're not liking, if you're playing SP/Spec Ops/MP by leaving a comment here or tweet us @WePlayCoD.

*IGN will be streaming the NYC MW2 Launch Party live here- LINK*

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Modern Warfare 2 Launch Trailer

No worries if you didn't get a chance to watch the new MW2 launch trailer last night during one of it's three airings.  We have the full trailer in all of it's HD glory.  Without further ado, the MW2 launch trailer, featuring the musical stylings of Eminem and Nate Dogg ('Til I Collapse')


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Seen And Heard v3: IW Developers On Modern Warfare 2



It's been a bit since we've done this, but we've finally found enough nuggets of info to warrant a full post.  Seen and Heard is where we track down forum posts by the Infinity Ward developers to keep you in the loop.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you might even learn something.  Enjoy!

This was in reply to a thread addressing the EMP (ElectoMagentic Pulse - 15 kill streak) that Joel Emslie let slip on yesterday's live Combat Training Experience...

"LOL! Hope I dont get fired tomorrow ;)" -IW_Peasant

Here we have Peasant replying to a user in search of Dead Silence, now known as Ninja Pro...

"Perhaps youre not seeing it because it has a different name now?" -IW_Peasant

Peasant in reply to a user questioning the inclusion of a U.S. based multiplayer map out of the box...

"No. There is a US map in the game as is." -IW_Peasant

Joel Emlsie again explaining the 15 killstreak reward that is known as the EMP a bit more...

"Emp = For the opposing team.

All electronic optics don't work.
Killstreaks cant be called in.
UAV is down." -IW_Peasant

In reply to a thread asking if it was possible to snag a Tactical Nuke (25 killstreak reward) from a Care Package (4 killstreak reward - random killstreak drop)...

"No. Care packages are limited to specific killstreaks. The nuke can only be acquired by getting 25 kills. Also care package kills dont count towards new killstreaks." -IW_Peasant

Here'a a reply from Scriptacus addressing a user's idea to "lock" the game for play before release date...

"In some respects it's better that it works. We're going to have a lot of players hitting Live, PSN, and IWNet on launch day. If we get a decent number playing a few days before hand it gives us (and Sony and Microsoft) a chance to catch any load issues that might be forthcoming." -IW_Scriptacus

You gotta love it when devs openly talk about information that hasn't "officially" been announced.  We appreciate this tidbit regarding the Stealth Bomber (9 killstreak reward)...

"Comes in completely unannounced. You can hear its engines though. Doesn't appear on radar for baddies so you have to look for it." -IW_Peasant

Here's Peasant again replying to a user asking about players with early copies being banned (obviously illegal/pirated copies)...

"I honestly don't have any idea how many. All I know is that they are going through them and banning." -IW_Peasant

This in reply to a user asking about the Javelin and it's targeting abilities...

"Can only lock onto mechanized objects and terrain." -IW_Peasant

Here we have a reply to a user asking if the frag grenade will be less used since it's now in the Equipment class with some other top-notch options (Semtex, Throwing Knives, Claymores, Blast Shield, etc)...

"I still fancy the frag grenade in some loadouts." -IW_Peasant

In reply to a thread asking about the 4 killstreak reward, Counter UAV...

"Even if the other team doesnt have a uav up their normal mini map is scrambled." - IW_Peasant

Here's a bit of information on the Sentry Gun which is a 5 killstreak reward...

"It has full 360 on its turret and can pitch up and down. You can move them around if its yours but it wont fire until its placed. They are most effective when placed in high spots." -IW_Peasant

A reply to a user who claims there is no major differences between the Assault Rifles...

"You really need to play the game. All the ARs feel and fire differently. I like to use a scar in larger maps and switch to an M4 for med and small maps. It all depends. The recoils are all appropriately balanced and to say there is no recoil at all simply isn't true." -IW_Peasant

Hey, where's my Juggernaut (now a deathstreak known as Painkiller that gives temporary health boost upon spawning)?...

"The removal of Juggernaut opened up Perk 2 and made a attachments like the Silencer more viable.

In COD4, when you play without Stopping Power it was generally fine (if you're a pretty good player), but going up against a player who was using Juggernaut when you didn't have SP was painful. On top of that, if you were using a Silencer or a low damage gun it was even worse.

Without Juggernaut in the mix you're not worrying about running up against someone who is going to take 5-6 bullets to drop if you're not using SP, which in turn encourages more usage of other perks in that slot. (I personally only use SP on one of my classes right now)." -IW_Scriptacus

That does it for this edition of Seen and Heard.  We'll see you on the battlefield on 11.10.09!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Modern Warfare 2 Combat Training Experience w/ Infinity Ward



**Operation Live Stream Complete.  Thanks For Joining Us!  Videos Below**

Thanks to the over 2000 Call of Duty fans who joined us for our live stream of the exclusive live chat with Robert '402' Bowling and Joel Emslie of Infinity Ward.  We'll toss it to over to @ZXyXGodlyXyXZ who brings us the recorded version of the broadcast.  Enjoy!

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



Thanks @xMinus81x for streaming the show and thanks to Monster Energy (@MonsterGaming @MonsterEnergy) and Infinity Ward (@fourzerotwo) for holding the event.