Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009)

Best FPS multiplayer I've ever played. No game before or after offered the same experience. It is addictive, full of dopamine rush-based unlocks: guns, gun attachments, camos, emblems, tags etc. Everything is overpowered and unbalanced but in a way that works. Gameplay of MW2 can be described by a quote of Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung: "In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order". What really set MW2 apart for me was the killstreaks. By killing a set number of players without dying you get an award that allows you to call in aircraft to the battlefield among other assets. It builds up hype, adds an element of strategy and changes the whole first person shooter dynamic. Because it's not just boots on the ground. Soldiers with laptops actually change what happens in the airspace of the map. Laptop is a weapon. It truly feels like "Modern Warfare". The game embodies its title perfectly. The Perk system of MW2 was ahead of its own time and is still ahead of our time as well. I'll take the Perk system over static class system of other multiplayer shooters on any day. Instead of choosing a class, in MW2 you get 3 perks (skills) from 3 different categories. You can choose just one perk per category. This limit forced you to be creative. Combined with different weapon and grenade options this system leads to many creative custom classes and countless unique play styles. You can combine Marathon (infinite sprint) with Ninja (silent steps), get close to the enemy undetected and knife them or go through them with a silenced UMP. You can hide in a smoke screen cloud and shoot people people with a thermal scope. At the same time, you stay hidden with Cold Blooded. You see them but they don't see you. Can't get to higher killstreaks? Take Hardline, an RPD and "let it fly" as Chris Smoove has said. And I'm not gonna get into toxic combos like akimbo gay 18s or Danger Close + One Man Army + Noob Tube. MW2 is pure chaos and I love it. And hate it. The atmosphere, the sound design is amazing: gun sounds, constant explosions, air support, hit markers and their satisfying clicks when you hit the enemy, victory music, victory kill cams, lobbies. It's peak as far as FPS multiplayer is concerned and perfect representation of what online gaming is supposed to feel like and be like. My hope is that this game will continue to live at least as a nostalgic fan-driven throwback a niche community with a long memory can always go back to.

glad to see some things dont change

Still here 16 years later

Best COD Ever

THIS GAME CHALLENGES YOU AND IT THINKS WITH ITS OWN MIND

Very nice game, lot of players online, good graphics for its age. Excellent price. Biggest problem is cheaters.