Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 roundup... and a disclaimer

Gaming for me has always been about escapism, so I've never been able to get into ultra-realistic modern military shooters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The last thing I want to do after spending all day editing stories about people dying overseas, terrorism and such, is to go home and play those types of things on my Xbox.

Obviously I'm in the minority: Despite controversy over a gameplay segment that asks you to participate in an airport massacre alongside terrorists, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 shattered records with $310 million in sales in the first 24 hours that it was on store shelves.

A bit of that money will go to a good cause: The game's producer announced just before Veteran's Day that it is donating $1 million to establish a foundation to help out-of-work veterans get jobs.


As for the actual game, here's what the reviewers are saying:


IGN: "For those planning to check out everything Modern Warfare 2 has to offer – online competition, full co-op Spec Ops mode, as well as the campaign – you’re looking at a no-brainer purchase. For the strictly single player crowd, however, Modern Warfare 2 is surprisingly short, and doesn’t live up to the standard set by previous Call of Duty games." - 9.5/10
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The Associated Press: "If you're into online combat, "MW2" is a must-buy. I just wish Infinity Ward had taken the time to write a more coherent story for the single-player adventure." - 3/4
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Gamespot: "Modern Warfare 2 nails the three pillars of play--campaign, cooperative, and multiplayer--to earn its place in the pantheon of modern shooters." - 9/10
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1UP: "It might not have fixed all the problems from the first game, but there's just so much quality content packed into this game that it will almost certainly be one of the most-played games in your library for a long time to come." - A
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G4: