Call of Duty and Gaming News, 15 November 2009

MW2 Multiplayer rocks... except for complainers!

Modern Warfare 2 Afterthoughts

In the wake of yesterday's blog about difficulty levels, I started playing the Modern Warfare 2 single player on my other 360. After running thru the Pit, the game recommended Hardened as the difficulty level, but I opted for Regular. An interesting thing happened: I think the game stayed on Hardened despite my selection. On my other Xbox 360, I had breezed through the single player in about 6 hours earlier in the week. I thought the game was actually kind of easy on Regular until I got to the very last mission, and that was not due to the inherent difficulty of that level on Regular, it was because of my own lack of coordination. Last night, it seemed that MW2 was determined to screw me over with Hardened with bullets flying in from everywhere, grenades landing in my lap, and enemies flanking me all over the place. Once I took a good hit, my FOV was so covered with blood spatter that I was a sitting duck for every AI douchebag within shooting range. I was so annoyed that I just stopped playing. When my balls recover from their bruising, I might start a new game to see if it was all my imagination. I'll purposely run a mediocre Pit to get Regular as a difficulty level and retry it. Props to all you guys who play these CoD games on Veteran difficulty. I can't imagine how good (or perhaps masochistic) you guys are... :D

• The Modern Warfare 2 PC Dedicated Server Petition has reached 212,000 sigs.
  
• A new MW2 PC petition has been started asking for tweaks to the MW2 PC game (i.e., restoration of the "lean" feature, use of the console commands for tweaking FOV, and, most importantly, reactivation of the Record feature, which is essential for competitive play).
  
• The first ever MW2 PC tourney was a bust.
  
• Heavy Rain developer comments on MW2's "No Russian!" level. GameCritics discusses the art angle on the level; the article has a brief interview with the creator of the controversial Columbine FPS from a couple years back. Russia has responded to the MW2 content by banning the MW2 console version. Infinity Ward is submitting a version that omits the attack entirely. (Thanks to Caddyman from 2Old2Play for the link.)
  
• GamaSutra has an analysis of sexism and MW2. FWIW, one of the best players I know is a girl. (And, yes, she's a babe.)
  
• MW2 review roundup: Wired. Destructoid MW2 video review. Crispy Gamer. Best line from that review: "The artificial intelligence is still only challenging because weapons are so lethal. And a lot of your playing time will be from reloaded checkpoints." Crispy Gamer also has a review, complete with attributions, compiled from negative comments from positive reviews of the game. GamePro. From the Television section of the New York Times. The NY Daily News.
  
• Some spoilerrific MW2 links: GamesRadar MW2 Easter Eggs. 1Up's MW2 Superguide with hints and walkthrus.
  
• USAToday has more MW2 multiplayer tips from Infinity Ward.
  
• Destructoid says MW2 developer Infinity Ward is listening to player complaints about the ban on party chat in many playlists. My guess is they're listening and chuckling evilly.
  
• Humor: Call of Duty Spielberg level unlocked. Detructoid has video of the luckiest MW2 knife throw ever. LOL! Kotaku reports that a GameStop in Pennsylvania was stuck up, with the culprit getting away with 100 copies of MW2. What MW2 boycotters are playing.