Modern Warfare 2

[Jade Falcon]

Yeah, there is some awful lag in the servers. I had caught a guy by suprise on MP, aimed down my sight and fired a three round burst and his guy moved about 20 feet in one second. Either a cheat of some kind (unlikely), or some severe lagging.

The points system isn't too bad, and the titles and emblems is an obvious novelty. As mentioned there doesn't appear to be as much grenade spamming in single or multi. Even the Grenade Launcher use isn't as bad.

[Edward Yee]

You don't even need the support class to counter enemy UAVs, now that they're physical entities in the game world. If you can see it, you can kill it (eventually), which you couldn't in MW1.

Pulp Hero, doesn't the Cold-Blooded perk also defeat AC-130 targeting?

Single-player impression of Akimbo (dual-wielding the Glock 18)... wow, Akimbo is mostly useless, although it's what got me through one part of the favela in "Takedown."

[Tanasinn]

I'm mostly curious about the single player campaign, which I genuinely enjoyed in the first game.

Is the extent of Makarov's plan (as we see in the No Russian previews) REALLY to shoot up an airport disgused as Americans and use that to balkanize the Russian people for war? That seems like an incredibly daft and transparent plan to me.

[Edward Yee]

On the face of it, yes. However, the group's disguise was Spoiler

in the form of the participating PFC Joseph Allen, who's killed at the end of the attack by Makarov so that his body would be left for the second responders (the first responders having already been killed by Makarov's crew) to find. I don't know if the M240-wielding Kiril is meant to be like Meat and Royce (pretty much guaranteed to die in "Takedown"), because he's died in all of my playthroughs and his death is acknowledged by unsubtitled dialogue, but only Allen's death was planned; Internet word I hear has GEN Sheppard leaking his identity to Makarov from the beginning, though my personal fanon theory had been that Makarov had figured it out from Allen being "insufficiently" homicidal and improvised it on the spot.

[Pulp Hero]

Pulp Hero, doesn't the Cold-Blooded perk also defeat AC-130 targeting?

It makes it so that the red box that shows up around enemies does appear on you, same as with other user controled air support like the missile and the chopper gunner.

You can still be killed by the weapons, but its unlikely that someone would bother to target you (I play only team based game types). In fact since taking Cold Blooded, I've only been killed by any type of air support once, and that was when I got bunched up with several team mates, who were obviously the primary targets.

[Ford Prefect]

Is the extent of Makarov's plan (as we see in the No Russian previews) REALLY to shoot up an airport disgused as Americans and use that to balkanize the Russian people for war? That seems like an incredibly daft and transparent plan to me.

Spoiler

No, he just happened to have an American on hand to make it work. Shepherd was counting on Makarov pinning something horrific on an actual American, which is why he even starts the deep cover op. The specifics don't really matter, he just neeeded something to happen that motivates the American people and gives him a blank check to go after the people he considers a threat.

[Pulp Hero]

On the face, yes. However, the group's disguise was Spoiler

in the form of the participating PFC Joseph Allen, who's killed at the end of the attack and his body left for the second responders to find.

.

But there is security footage that clearly shows Makarov, who was in no hurry to zip past cameras. Makarov is apparently a well known terrorist in the MW2 world, it should have been obvious what was going on to the Russians.

Unless of course, Russia had already been eying the US for an invasion (Russia was under control of the Ultranationalists, who won the civil war) which would explain both the flimsy excuse for war and why Russia was able to mobilize so much hardware so quickly.

[Edward Yee]

I noticed that in the Spec Ops mission that uses the "Wolverines!" map, for obvious reasons there's no red target box due to using the Blackhawk's side-mounted Minigun; do any of the helicopters support the 'view screen' targeting with red target box?

Although I've since updated that post due to lack of clarity on my part I feel, your points are correct, Pulp Hero. On the other hand, considering Pakistan's IRL situation, I wouldn't be surprised if either the Ultranationalist-controlled media either ignored his presence by omitting him or doctoring the footage, or simply presented him as an American agent and traitor.

Speaking of the Ultranationalists winning the civil war in the years after Modern Warfare, I wonder what became of Sgt. Kamarov?

[Pulp Hero]

Speaking of the Ultranationalists winning the civil war in the years after Modern Warfare, I wonder what became of Sgt. Kamarov?

Who do you think is supplying Nikolai with all of his air power?

[RRoan]

Single-player impression of Akimbo (dual-wielding the Glock 18)... wow, Akimbo is mostly useless, although it's what got me through one part of the favela in "Takedown."

And then you play multiplayer and get your ass kicked by a jackass running around with dual silenced P-90s.

[Pulp Hero]

Single-player impression of Akimbo (dual-wielding the Glock 18)... wow, Akimbo is mostly useless, although it's what got me through one part of the favela in "Takedown."

And then you play multiplayer and get your ass kicked by a jackass running around with dual silenced P-90s.

I thought MP akimbo weapons were only the secondary SMGs and pistols? Is this wrong?

[weemadando]

P90s are secondary SMGs I thought...

[Pulp Hero]

No, they are primary. the secondary SMGs are are the PP-2000, Glock-18 (Auto), M-93 pistol (Auto), and TMP. And frankly all of those SMGs seem pretty crappy, making them akimbo makes them even worse. Against someone with a SCAR they are going down hard, so I suggest sticking to using some kind of launcher in your secondary slot.


Off topic: Last night I replayed through the SP favela escape level and I picked up duel sawed-off ranger shotguns (double barreled breakaways) I had to eventually throw them away because I felt so fucking silly carrying them. I was like the DOOM guy, complete with questionable reload animation.


Way off topic edit: Last night I got to thinking how i would have changed the plot. You know the part where Roach misses the jump to the chopper in the favela? What if instead of making the sprint back to it, you got captured? It could end with you tied to a chair and Littlebird helicopters buzzing the city with loudseakers saying "Sergeant Sanderson, you are not forgotten, we are coming back." ala Blackhawk Down .

The next level starts with you playing as the undercover CIA/Ranger plant, and you have to kill Roach to maintain your cover. That would have been fucking boss.

[weemadando]

Has anyone else tried Spec Ops mode on PC? I've played a bit SP and played the first level in MP, but then my friend and I couldn't get a connection to save our lives. We could connect to other people and to regular MP, just not to each other in Spec Ops...

[RRoan]

P90s are secondary SMGs I thought...

No, they're primary SMGs, but you can have them akimbo anyway. I actually have akimbo Vectors right now, for what it's worth...

[Edward Yee]

The odd thing about the machine pistols ("secondary SMGs") is that though the G18 and M93 support red dot sights, the similarly-sized semiautomatic handguns don't, even though the G18 and M93 are just auto-capable versions of their semiautomatic counterparts. IRL there's even a mod to replace the Glock rear sight with a red dot sight.

The only advantage the semiauto handguns seem to have over machine pistols is speed of draw and aim-down-the-sights, to finish off an target if the primary runs empty before one has retreated behind cover. I grabbed a PP2000 off of one of the Russian soldiers in "Exodus," felt its 'use time' wasn't quick enough to justify it over the M9 I'd started with. In fairness, that's enough for me to consistently keep a pistol as my secondary in single-player and Spec Ops, but I don't know if it's worth a damn on multiplayer.

Re: the undercover/Roach -- so how would you have had "No Russian" play out, Pulp?

[Tanasinn]

I wasn't aware that the ultranationalists were to have won the civil war. With them controlling the military, they wouldn't have to be "fooled" by Makarov's little show at all, and makes it feel a little less flimsy. The idea, though, that a normal Russian government - even WITH an American corpse - would actually accept that the United States had for no reason at all shot up a civilian airport is absurd.

[Edward Yee]

Speaking of the Ultranationalists winning the civil war in the years after Modern Warfare, I wonder what became of Sgt. Kamarov?

Who do you think is supplying Nikolai with all of his air power?

Makes sense, I can't fathom how else even the SAS informant from five years before would have otherwise been given access and training in flying any helicopter, much less a Pave Low.

So, 'fess up guys! Which one of you has gone ahead and done the John Woo Special? Akimbo Perk, secondary weapon being the M9 or M93 Raffica.

[weemadando]

I got the impression that Makarov was a cat's paw. His attack on the airport was merely cassus belli as obviously (given the timeframe of the game) all the invasion assets were already in place.

He was being used by the ultranationalist gov't to create an excuse for the war. At least that was what I got out of it.

[Pulp Hero]

Re: the undercover/Roach -- so how would you have had "No Russian" play out, Pulp?

(Way too much detail, I know. but I spend a lot of time thinking about dumb stuff like this:)

I would have had some sort of heightened tension causing Russia to have Naval assets close to the US. Just some kind of background reason, maybe Castro finally died and there is a Russia fleet near Cuba. Point is- a realistic base with which to launch an attack.

***

First off, after your initiation into TF141, the General takes you to a blacksite to meet the SAS members of the team and give you a little additional training. CIA character meets Roach and McTavish. By the end of the Brazil mission it has to be really clear to the player what both Roach and the CIA plant look like.

Then he starts at the bottom of the terrorist organization, working for Rojas. The CIA has given him a pretty wide range of what is acceptable to gain the terrorists' trust in order for him to get closer to Makarov.

So you start out doing a few missions running guns in Afghanistan/MW1-istan. For some reason your return to Brazil is delayed (US military destroys your plane when its grounded, or your transport flyers can't get back into the airspace because of heavy US patrols. Whatever, point is- you're now stuck in the middle east with gun runners and terrorists) Eventually you get forced into taking part in a convoy ambush or something, possible a few different missions against the US (The point being you are escalating your acts of violence).

Later the SAS/TF141 shows up on an unrelated mission to stop the terrorist attacks. Your CIA character is briefly caught by Roach/McTavish who recognizes you as the CIA plant and lets you go.

Switch to playing as Roach- The CIA decides that that plant character is getting in too deep and the likelihood of him meeting Makarov is slim. TF141 goes to Brazil to pull him out, with the secondary objective of capturing Rojas.

Roach gets captured in Brazil. POV cutscene similar to MW1 opening with Roach getting killed by the plant. This display is what convinces Makarov to meet the plant. After he agrees to meet you, you message General Sheppard on an encrypted CIA radio, he tells you to meet with Makarov and do whatever it takes to find out where he is staying.

Makarov meets you a few days later and says that he has a "special mission" for you. The airport mission occurs (except all of the shooters wear masks) at the end Makarov plays a recording of a section of Sheppard's radio conversation with you, then kills you.

The body is found by the Russians and found to be American. Cue the attack on the American ACS systems and full scale invasion of the US.

[weemadando]

I got the impression that Makarov was a cat's paw. His attack on the airport was merely cassus belli as obviously (given the timeframe of the game) all the invasion assets were already in place.

He was being used by the ultranationalist gov't to create an excuse for the war. At least that was what I got out of it.

On further contemplation:

Was Shepherd in bed with the Russian leadership?

I ask because he sent the guy inside Makharov's organisation which gave them the opportunity to blame the massacre on the US. So were Shepherd and the ultranationalists working together to a start a war? It felt like Shepherd wanted it to happen to wipe out the leadership of the US and allow him to use the shadow company (or whatever his personal militia was called) to cull the rest and install himself as head of a junta.

[Edward Yee]

*Whistle* Your take on the thing was actually more coherent than IW's, Pulp!

Based on the between-mission dialogue, within the game it's not explained how PFC Allen was compromised, but I don't think that the Ultranationalist government in Russia was working with GEN Shepherd, if only because there's little real reason from their end to do so; he would benefit way more than they would. The the fulfilling of his endgoal would call for an eventual kicking of their ass (see the Hunter Two-One dialogue at the end of "Whiskey Hotel"). From his end, there's also the external threat from Ultranationalist Russia, even if it were blunted by the invasion being defeated. Finally, he was already planning to eventually remove Task Force 141 by attrition before betrayal and Makarov from the picture for being able to compromise him... so why make more work for himself by having to clean up after himself with the Ultranationalists?

I also don't feel that he wanted to make himself head of a junta either, not overtly anyway. Shadow Company would be needed for his personal security and perhaps certain strategic missions (most likely "direct action"), but the real key was his legitimacy, i.e. the SECDEF's blank check.

[weemadando]

I thought the sequence in Cheyenne mountain made it fairly clear that Shepherd was trying to establish himself as a major power figure, if not in front of the curtains, certainly behind them - pulling the strings and making sure there's a gun pointed a the marionette's head.

The whole point of the assault on the airport by Makharov was to frame the US - so clearly Allen was compromised from the get-go. Almost certainly Shepherd was responsible for this to guarantee his war.

Additionally - the speed and scale of the Russian invasion means that everyone must have already been pre-positioned and ready to go. The downing of the ACS module and the airport attack must have been carefully scripted to fit into the Russian's timeline for an attack.

[Pulp Hero]

Assuming the writers put that much thought into the story. It seems more like they had a number of set pieces they wanted, and those set pieces were then forcibly tied together in a semi-coherent story.

[Edward Yee]

Emphasis on "overtly," but your point overall on Shepherd taking power is certainly taken. I'd think that Shadow Company would be intended to be hidden from the SECDEF even when Shepherd made his move . I do agree that Shepherd was in clear cahoots with Makarov, but from what I see there's just not much reason for him and the gov't to explicitly cooperate as well.

Pulp Hero's take sounds about right for what happened out-of-universe, of course.

By the way, gameplay note: I clearly did not give the G18 (at least) the credit it deserves, in terms of bridging the gap between the Handgun and Machine Pistol categories.