www.Multiplayergames.com – Multiplayer Games

Maybe that headline is not completely appropriate. In prior Call of Duty titles, including the original Modern Warfare and World at War specifically, I was a decent player. My kill-to-death ratio was around 1.25, certainly not great, but tolerable for my own run-and-gun style of play.

Modern Warfare 2 however, is different. Currently, with three days of game time logged (almost all of it in Team Deathmatch, with small bouts of Domination), I sit at 0.87, over 1,000 deaths in the hole. My best streak is a meager 12, down from 27 in World at War. Each game is a struggle to remain positive or break even, something that typically came naturally in prior games.

This is not a rant about the game being broken, or those morons who enjoy using care package glitches to get ahead. In fact, this is in praise of what Modern Warfare 2 has done right, which is radically alter the playfield and dynamics of this franchise while online.

Something about the level design in Modern Warfare 2 is drastically different. Vertical environments dominate, leaving that poor sap who grew up playing Contra* dead the minute they start running (*that would be me). Despite its traditional frantic pacing, MW2 requires a slower, deliberate, even cautious movement, something that even after three days of play, has yet to fully sink in for me. We are creatures of habit after all.

Of course, Infinity Ward has crafted some maps that allow for a crazier pace, including the claustrophobic Rust, but the majority of the included maps are dominated by height. Even maps that seem initially as if they would be played on a base level like Highrise contain incredibly advantageous positions above, whether on top of the elevators or in the upper windows in the office buildings.

Those who believe developers give little thought to their designs, cranking these games out at the request of shareholders, are not right. Despite a few design gaffes (there are highly annoying sniper spawn-kill points on Highrise and Terminal when playing Domination), these are rock-solid battlegrounds. My rapid descent into mediocrity is certainly small proof that the detailed playing environment has been radically changed, although if you ask me if it is for the better, you can probably guess the sarcastic response.

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