• By JOSHUA WASCOM
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Nov 27, 2009

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“Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” was an incredible game. Its single-player campaign was one of the best in a series already known for its compelling narratives. Its multiplayer mode joined standard online first-person-shooter gameplay to an RPG-style experience system with devastatingly addictive -- and fun -- results. This year’s “Modern Warfare 2” attempts to outdo its predecessor on every count by refining the multiplayer experience, taking the story to some unexpected places, and adding a new co-op game mode.

And it’s quite successful, for the most part. The improved online play is the brightest point. Every noticeable tweak and addition seems to be perfectly planned, and the result is one of the deepest and most enjoyable multiplayer experiences anywhere. The class system, which allows you to customize your equipment and abilities, is enhanced by a greater variety of items and perks. The further addition of weapon specific upgrades means that your resources improve as you use them, creating a huge and terrible reward vortex that can suck you in for as many hours as you let it.

The refinements to the leveling system almost seem to tie too much power to your level, and you shouldn’t feel too bad if your first few experiences with “Modern Warfare 2” multiplayer end with you being repeatedly killed by cackling, vulgarity-spewing 13-year-olds armed with weapons of which you can only dream. The system has ways to account for this, though, and between good level design and the new “deathstreak” perks -- which essentially reward repeatedly dying players with new powers, like the ability to copy your killer’s equipment and perks -- you’ll soon be able to redress the balance.

The new cooperative Special Ops mode is also well-handled. The missions are fairly short and tightly focused with a pleasing range that goes from the simple “go kill 50 guys” to more complex, asymmetric tasks that have one player hovering in a gunship, covering the second as they attempt to infiltrate an enemy compound.

The single-player campaign is the game’s weakest point. As in every “Call of Duty” game, there are some really great moments, points at which the game more or less tells you to do something awesome and interesting, then tells you how great you are for doing it. Unfortunately, there are many more situations that are resolved by standard tedious gunfights in which you just have to shoot and find cover and shoot and on and on until you manage to kill everyone except one guy you don’t see who kills you with one shot, making you restart the process.

The narrative is also of somewhat uneven quality. Many of the ideas presented are interesting, but many of the story points seem jumbled and poorly contextualized. Characters do ludicrous things to advance the plot rather than for any logical reason, and the actions of a handful of people drive major world events over and over again. It feels like someone halfheartedly edited together a Tom Clancy novel and the script for an episode of “24.”

So, if you’re strictly looking for a single-player experience, you may be somewhat disappointed. On the other hand, if you have the slightest interest in the perfect blend of tactics, reflexes and dopamine that is the multiplayer game, “Modern Warfare 2” is an inescapable purchase.