User Score
5.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1613 Ratings

User score distribution:

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  1. GavinR
    Dec 17, 2009
    2
    I am seriously disappointed with this title. The ratings here are really misleading. For instance Killzone got a 91 average and is the far superior game. It beats MW2 in visuals, single player, weapons, online (32 players). The only good thing about MW2 is that they show replays of the kills. Pass on this if you are smart.
  2. Nov 12, 2010
    5
    If this game came out and no other games existed, then yes, this game would deserve a 10. Sadly, for IW, it wasn't. The plot-holed storyline made no sense. It also lacked the amount of suspense and awe that MW had. It is more of a shooter and less of a exciting COD title. The multiplayer is horribly unbalanced. The perks are shoddy at best. The reactions and physics are very unresponsive. You can knife someone from ten feet away but 4 buckshots from a 12 gauge won't bring you down? What? Despite the many flaws, I still had fun during sp. Expand
  3. Erics
    Feb 28, 2010
    4
    This is the first COD game I have EVER played. That being said, I enjoyed the single player campaign immensely. It was a lot of fun. The graphics, story, mechanics, all seemed spot on. It wasn't terribly difficult, but sometimes that's a-ok. The Multiplayer. Oooh, the mp. You can call in a carpet bombing for getting a certain number of consecutive kills? Really!? You better hope you don't die during this bombing or you could spawn under another bomb and die 4 times in a row in like 5 seconds. This happened to me. The mp is waaay to easy. I love how there is a 'perk' that allows you to knife someone from 10 feet away. Logical. I like how there is around 5 maps in circulation for online play. Killzone 2 mp was far more difficult. This game sucks overall. I find it amusing when people say 'just be patient, you have to upgrade your guy' for mp. That makes no sense. An assault rifle is more likely to kill you with one bullet than knifing someone while you are sprinting. Oh, radar sucks in this game. You have to use a perk to make it so you cannot be seen on radar. But wait, you can when you are shooting. pathetic. Expand
  4. markit
    May 3, 2010
    6
    Now I'm a big fan of call of duty, and the graphics, characters and importantly gameplay in this game are top notch, great in fact. and although being highly addictive the multiplayer game has far too many flaws.....i'll mention a few........commando (wtf), boosters, tac insertion, heartbeat senser, noob tubes, akimbo, campers, painkiller, tacticul nuke, small maps.......overall the worst call of duty around, if it had none of those mentioned above (theres probably more) then it'd be close to a ten. but there there and they are staying there, IW could have released a patch, but NO. Call of Duty: Black Ops will undoubtably be much better, they have the oppurtunity to fix mw2's flaws. Expand
  5. Apr 14, 2011
    4
    I have had this game for awhile, but never reviewed it. It doesn't even deserve to be reviewed. I do not know how this game got high reviews, personally I do not even look at "professional" reviews, because they are all lieing scum. I'm pretty sure that reviewers would of gave super man 64 a good review aswell if they paid them.
    The game is ugly, the sound is terrible, and the single play
    er was crap, even the multiplayer is garbage. The people who made this game didn't care that hard working people would waste their money on this crap, they were just in it rush it and make money. Expand
  6. ChrisVanK
    Jan 7, 2010
    4
    This game was made for shareholders, not gamers. If you get all warm and fuzzy knowing that Boby Kotick is laughing his ass off all the way to the bank, then perhaps you might disagree. Give it 10 like all the so called "reviewers" who are all in on the asskissing daisy chain. Oh and dont be to suprised IF and most like when the the all controlling IWNet pulls the plug on MW2 multiplay, cause they want you to buy MW3 in 2010. Expand
  7. mikeg
    Apr 24, 2010
    3
    This game is garbage, so many more engaging fps out there, I don't know how my friends could spend hours playing it. i got up to level 50 and decided there's nothing more to see here. The whole "killstreak to unlock" special choices is ultra cheap, and why did they creat a way for a team to win by camping til a 25 kill streak means you call in a nuke? really? in war you're gonna call a nuke and take your team out just to take theirs out? stupid. if you just want gunplay, socom did that better, if you want to work as a team, mag does that better, but if you want the best experience of teamwork, gunplay, realism, and vehicle warfare, battlefield bad company 2 beats them all, hands down. Expand
  8. CarlG
    Dec 16, 2009
    0
    This game will make you want to pull the hair out of your head, frustrating for the PS3 to collect enough trophies to be even close to collecting the platinum, horrible online. Why are servers still being hosted by one person? Can't they put servers up without needing a person to host it? Like battlefield 2? counter-strike? Is Infinity Ward that lazy? Tell you what, I bet a grade 12 class in highschool could design a much better game without all the frustration of completing the game, there is too much help to avoid deaths, the frag grenades CAN NOT kill anything, the game is ruined with CAMPERS, if you try to run out in the open, you WILL get shot, die, and throw the game out the window. Avoid all this, dont buy this game. Expand
  9. Sep 20, 2010
    8
    Modern warfare 2 is a great game, with a pretty good amount of stuff to do that will keep us coming back for more and more. I personally was a late adopter of the cod4 game, but once I got on I was in for the long run. When they announced a second one coming out I could not think of a thing they would add. I thought cod 4 was pretty much as good as that kind of game could get, and well I guess I was right. The game is almost the same game with the smallest changes. While custom kill streaks and more perks is great, those are things that I could see being implemented in a add on pack or something, but the only thing that is dramatically better is the single player. I really enjoyed the single player on this one but was still not without fault. I think they were trying to go for a big blockbuster kind of game but for me to be a blockbuster you have to have everything, and to me it just feels like this game was trying to take itself too serious and were afraid of doing something different. Maybe it was the publishers pushing the developers but the game came out like a modern warfare 1.5 more than a true sequel to me. Expand
  10. Sep 20, 2010
    4
    The biggest follow-up fail EVER. The campaign is solid, but not nearly as good as CoD4's campaign and the multiplayers is atrocious. OMA dangerclose noobtubes flying everywhere, people literally teleporting 80 feet with commando, it is all for the scrubs, and nothing for the experienced players. Things like painkiller which TRIPLE your health make it impossible to spawn trap in domination or sabotage anymore. Marathon lightweight makes it ridiculously easy to run around the map in a a second. The The maps are terrible they encourage camping looking out windows., the assault rifles are overpowered, the boosting in Free-for-all is completely out of control and makes winning FFA's now almost impossible. The care package lets people get 11 killstreaks out of a 4 killstreak. Gamebattles have been ruined because of the extremely aggravating "join in session" BS. Sniper shotgun secondaries map camping even more encouraged along with unlimited claymores. Thermals allow people to literally be told where people are. You will be screaming at the TV constantly with this game. Anyone who is not a douche-bag who abuses these things in the game, and did not make the review before Christmas, has down syndrome, if they gave ti above a 6. Infinity Ward made tons of mistakes with annoying glitches like getting under the map in ranked lobbies. It earned the nickname Modern Warfail 2 Expand
  11. JamesB.
    Apr 15, 2010
    9
    This is one of the greatest games of all time, but i can see where people are coming from when they give it a low score. Call of Duty has a history of amazing campaigns, but this one just short of what people want. What do i say? There wasn't a single part in the story where i sat there wishing it would just end, each part of it is fun and adds flavor to the game. That is an amazing achievement for any game, but it is really short and dosnt explain the events that well. Voice acting is great, but if you could explain the story better i wouldnt have to wonder 'Why the hell am i doing this' so often. This dosnt cause a problem for me, and it all makes up in the multiplayer. What i like most about it is that accessibility of it. It finds me the game that i want fast and makes it more enjoyable to play. The graphics are the best in any game iv ever seen, they put all the love and care the make it absolutely amazing. Now, the reason its not a 10 in my opinion, the fact that it does get stale after so long. Sure, the maps are nice, but in multiplayer, the computer chosen maps sometimes ruin a few of the settings, such as quarry, its a good map with alot to do there, but they use it so many times it got stale for me. Sometimes by bad luck you play that same map two times in a row, and that sucks. Also, glitches, iv had a few times where my sever died on me, and i was forced out of my game when i was doing so good. Overall, i love the game, but it has a few technical difficulties, but it looks amazing and the diversity of the guns is enough for you to play it over and over again. Expand
  12. May 18, 2012
    0
    Trickshotters ruin this game, little kids spinning around yelling in their microphones.
    The game is ruined!
    Really not fun at all because of the kids
    ...................................................
  13. Jan 21, 2011
    4
    Thanks to the mindless and downgraded story, a short campaign, a disappointing spec-ops mode, and broken multiplayer, Modern Warfare 2 is one of the biggest disappointments ever in gaming. On top of that, it is just a bad game, and does not live up to the quality that Infinity Ward has given us before. Modern Warfare 2 is a game that even Call of Duty fans should rebel against!
  14. May 23, 2011
    10
    This game has a user score of 57 as opposed to a critic score of 94. This tells me that it's a high quality game, but people don't like it because they suck. Now whether or not you LIKE a game is subjective, and I'm sure that there are people who actually don't. However, the majority of negative reviews here are just people **** that they got killed in MP.
  15. Apr 8, 2011
    6
    Ok, let's all be honest with ourselves for a moment: The SP story is B>A>D! Ridiculous, over the top, attempts at controversy abound! Ooooh, how badass! A scene where we mow down civilians... Don't even get me started about the "twist" ending! Utter garbage. The SP gameplay doesn't fare much better. What happened to the well crafted pacing of the first MW? A lot of the action is so overblown that you are usually left with absolutely NO CLUE as to what the hell is going on, let alone why. Same as the story. Wherein the last one jumping around to different locales suited the story... here it just leaves you shaking your head, wondering what the F is going on. VERY POOR. 3/10 for SP. Tops! MP is an entirely different animal, however, and saves the game from being the usual overhyped letdown. MP gets just about everything right. Most of the maps are well balanced. The mechanics solid. Matches are easy to get in and out of. Lag being the only considerable issue here. Why IW doesn't spring for dedicated servers is beyond me! It's not like they don't have the money. Mp gets 9/10. Update: MP was fantastic... right up until it got hacked beyond all recognition!!! Biggest security breach I have ever witnessed! I'm not sure if it's been fixed yet, as I haven't been back in awhile to check it out, but, seriously! Wow! Sadly, the hacking is creeping into Black Ops... Overall: 3/10 + 9/10 = 6/10 Expand
  16. Dec 21, 2011
    10
    People should stop comparing this to other games, great campaign that tests you on veteran along with a superb online that also does the same. If you are looking for a fun campaign this game is for you.
  17. Jul 2, 2012
    6
    This Game is an overrated pile of Junk. The only reason people play it is for the online. It is a pretty good game...... For a Casual Gamer. When i played it i was really happy with it for the First 5-6 Hours. But it's simply repetitive.
  18. JonathonC
    Apr 1, 2010
    9
    an amazing campaign the guns are modern and feel realistic. its amazing theres a lot of detail put in to this games graphics. the story is a bit thin but dosent really cross your mind until the last three mission and the mission no Russian. MULTIPLAYER is absolouetly incredible so much depth and fun addicting action but this amazing online fun does come with a price CAMPERS totally ruin the game for everyone a few mins in and a camper will have the veins blowing in your heads but worse of all he will proberbly have an ac-130 in the air. lag is another issue its constant i swear to you will find 1 in a hundred games where there wont be lag. Aside from the problems with the Multiplayer Modern Warfare 2 is golden and defineatly lives up to its name as one of the greatest shooters of all time. Expand
  19. GordonF
    Jan 5, 2010
    0
    I am not a big fan of COD, but I have played COD4 on a PS3 in the past, and own COD5 on Steam, and when I got COD6, I was just shocked..... No dedicated servers, no mods, no custom maps, N O T H I N G !!! Like honestly! What makes a great game een better? THE COMMUNITY!!!! Look at Half-Life 1 and 2! What made these games even BETTER, is all these AWESOME mods!! I can't imagine Half-Life without mods, just look at Counter-Strike, it was such a smash-hit online! Today, the number on mods for Source Engine (Half-Life 2) is COUNTLESS! Well, some mods are not that great either, but some are just AWAZING! Summary of my impressions on COD6: CONS: *Storyline TOO short! *NO DEDICATED SERVERS!!! (most important problem for me) *Huge lag online with most players *SAME engine as COD4.... *It is NOT worth 70$ ! PROS: *Good graphics, even if they the SAME as in COD4 same engine) *Nothing else..... Expand
  20. StevenL
    Mar 1, 2010
    9
    If you're looking for the best online shooter of 2009 / 2010 then this is for you. The Single player story is indeed not as long as some people would have liked, but given that you have loads of missions in Spec Ops and the Multi Player aspect of MW2, then you have a blockbuster. Sure it looks kind of the same as COD 4, it's an inevitable comparison, however there are lots of tweaks. People complain about campers, it was my initial view too. However once you know where people camp and how to get around them, it's even more satisfying nailing them in the head. Add 5 friends in a good mood and you have an epic game on your hands. IW aren't the fastest to respond to bugs, but they are addressed where needed over time and with more maps on the way why wouldn't you be playing this? Sure the MP is different to COD 4, which is why a LOT of people aren't comfortable with MW2 immediately. Give it time and watch the dust grow on 4 on your shelf. Expand
  21. JoseM
    Mar 24, 2010
    7
    I bought MW2 on release day and I enjoyed it much... in the beginning. After many hours of playing this is my honest review. Tech: Graphic engine is smooth with 60fps, but looks aged due to lack of HDR lighting and some awful pseudo-reflections. Sound FX are above average. Controls are nearly perfect. Net-code works well after several patches. Art: Music, although generic, is very good. Scenarios are beautiful and detailed, although they suffer due to engine's lack of contrast. Good smoke and debris effects. Poor rain effects. Some models, like cars', are pretty bad. Weapons models are very detailed. Animation is above average. Story writing is epic but not very inspired and lacks cohesion. Game Design: Player character moves insanely fast. Weapons have very little recoil. Bullets make severe damage, you can kill fast as well as die. Campaign: It is very short and linear, and the length is mainly due to the insane amount of enemies you will encounter. Sometimes you may even think there are infinite of them (like in favelas levels). There are some breathtaking levels, only stained by the "9999 enemies" design decision. The story lacks cohesion, which means you forget about the relations between chapters, and you won't care about the story until the end. Spec-Ops: They are a set of cooperative short missions, mainly based on moments from the campaign. They're hard but fun to play with a friend online or split-screen. Unfortunately, it feels half-cooked and leaves you wondering why they didn't implement a full cooperative campaign. Online Multiplayer: Here is where most of the people wanted to come. Multiplayer is incredibly deep, fast and addictive. MW2 has a good set of modes and maps and a HUGE set of perks, killstreaks, tags, etc. You will have much fun for the first 50 levels or so, which is not too bad. I said it is addictive but it is also becomes frustrating and eventually boring. This is because unbalanced weapons and perks, loads of campers, lack of team play, huge bullet damage, God-like ninja knifers, annoying overpowered choppers and bizarre speed of movement. In the end, it becomes "run in circles and knife anybody you come across", which is a pity after the great amount of (unbalanced) options devs made for the game. Ending comment: MW2 has great production values and tons of content, but in the end, is very arcade. It rewards reflexes over skill and it gives you much fun quickliy, until you burn it out and it quickly becomes boring. Rent it and get Bad Company 2 or MAG if you want long lasting fun and develop your skills rather than your time of reaction. 7/10 Expand
  22. JesseT
    Jan 26, 2010
    6
    so overhyped its not funny. short campaign, spec ops is fun for about 5 minutes, multiplayer - well that depends on how much you enjoy multiplayer: i dont much, and seeing as how most of the game is in the multiplayer, its quite disappointing. Brings absolutely nothing new to the table, just your standard FPS.
  23. RyC
    Mar 4, 2010
    3
    This game represents the raping of your wallet. Overdone, unrealistic to the point where it bugs me. When a game is too realistic it can be frustrating and not fun, but this game is goofy and i can't get into the action because it doesn't seem like it would ever take place in real life. it looks prettier, but it's still the same feel as the previous game, and the sound is shit.
  24. JerryJ
    Nov 10, 2009
    1
    Think of this as Transformers 2. It'll probably make alot of money, but just be a disappointment compared to the first. Rediculous single player, not to mention only 3hrs long... wonder if thats how long it took them to make this game? Graphics are dated, and nothing in the environment moves except the player, just like md1. New perks are about the only thing 'new'. Ops is just there version of a horde mode... something every other game has practically. This offers nothing new, and just attempts to copy and paste other games formula's along the way, including its own. Another problem i have is the small multiplayer limit of 6 vs 6, or 9 v 9. Are they too retarded to make bigger maps or allow more players? Killzone 2 offers up to 32 players, Resistance 2 up to 64, and MAG will soon have 256. I assume its the fact they have there head up microsofts you know where and ported this from the 360, so ps3 and pc users are stuck in neutral because of it. Save your money and stay away from this overpriced expansion pack. The greed in the gaming world is getting ridiculous, Activison is the new EA. my opinion. Expand
  25. ChrisB
    Nov 10, 2009
    0
    Remake of Call of Duty 4 with a worse singleplayer and multiplayer. Not sure why people buy the same game every year with little to no improvement. (much like sports game but atleast they usually try new things and update the roster). Battlefield Bad Company 2 on the other hand is shaping up to be FUN and bring new things to the table.
  26. JamesW
    Apr 25, 2010
    10
    What is wrong with some people. This is an epic game and is actually the best game I've ever played. I have not even played single player but what I have done with spec ops and multiplayer already makes this game a standout. I have played multiplayer for 6 days which is something like 200 hours and I still can't get enough of it. One day I play this game and the next day I feel like I am playing a totally different game. The multiplayer is perfect with the amazing level up system and clever perks. The weapons in this game at first seem to powerful but once you gain a little skill you will be the one ranking up the kills and suddenly being addicted to this game. The killstreaks are great because it is a challenge to get the powerful rewards and very easy to get the basic rewards like radars. The catch is that you are only allowed to select 3 killstreaks, so if you pick the three best rewards then it will be very hard to get up there, but if you chose the worst 3 awards then after you have gained all you will feel somewhat unrewarded. To those people bagging this game saying it us "unrealistic" are both ignorant and stupid. Firstly this game is mostly realistic except for a few perks as other people said like coomando which means from no matter how high you jump you can't die but the truth is do we buy games and think their good because they are realistic. NO. we buy games because they are fun. If you want a realistic game why don't you just live your own life. That's a game that is realistic. Well it's sort of a game. Anyway why buy a game for how realistic it is when you can buy a game that keeps things real but most importantly is fun. I rest my case.........I've always wanted to say that. Overall if you are looking for a great multiplayer experience that in my oppinion stands much higher than any other multiplayer game than click the exit button on your computer, click start then click shut down computer then slowly make your way to your wallet, grab out that extra $100 bucks and take a trip down to your local games store. Thanks to those people who have read this far and keep your eyes out for another review by James W. Expand
  27. MiKE
    Dec 23, 2009
    9
    A soild 9 from me, I was very impressed with the graphics, gameplay and intense action! One of the BEST action shooters I played in a long time! I didnt play the multiplayer, so this review is only based on the single mode experience. I would of liked if the story would of been better told then just displaying the map and have over voice.
  28. blakel
    Apr 23, 2010
    10
    I love this game so bad but callof duty four is pretty fun they dont have that good of snipers in mw2 than mw1 i like m40a3 in cod mw1 just to tell you people ilove this game so go out and by this game i like do in glitches but if you people wnat to be my friend on ps3 my friend name is blakemotoracer please add me i you want to do glitches in private match once again i would lov to be your friend so go buy this game for the ps3. snipers kick ass. Expand
  29. TristanL
    Dec 17, 2009
    6
    Gameplay is superb. The single player campaign is decent enough (though a little out there). However this game completely comes crashing down with its online gameplay. VERY unbalanced. There are either very good players, or very poor. There is no in between. The streaks system that they implemented this time is ABSOLUTE OVERKILL. And the servers/matchmaking for this game are the worst that i have ever attempted to play with on XBL. Collapse
  30. MaxB
    Dec 27, 2009
    5
    This game is a step down from the last MW. The single player campaign is fun but does not have a plot you can follow very well. It's also very short. The multiplayer has a decent number of maps but the same maps get picked for the server over and over again. Spec Ops is a nice addition but Nazi Zombies in WaW in a lot better.
Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 67 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 67 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 67
  3. Negative: 0 out of 67
  1. 100
    Modern Warfare 2 crosses into the must-have category of video games effortlessly. It offers an unmatched shooter experience, a compelling story mode, a slick package of mini missions and a multiplayer which is pretty much unparalleled in depth.
  2. 100
    Modern Warfare 2 offers epic gameplay, a stunning Spec-Ops mode and a huge amount of adrenaline.
  3. Despite certain controversial elements, this game is an FPS fan’s dream. Game of the Year? Hell, yeah!