With only a few days left until Activision releases the second game in its Modern Warfare series I’d like to take a moment and point a few reasons why you shouldn’t buy the upcoming shooter. The majority of gaming blogs over the next few weeks will be publishing hundreds of articles about all the intricate plot details and immersive gameplay, but in the spirit of Negative Gamer I’d like to suggest a few reasons why you should save your money invest your time into something more wholesome. Railroad Tycoon perhaps? No? OK, well here’s my list anyway.
First and foremost: It’s a rip-off. Activision were obviously uncertain whether or not they were going to make any money out of this franchise, so to ensure they at least scrape even they’ve upped the retail price to £54.99! While most retailers aren’t selling it at that much it remains insulting that Activision are willing to bump prices to such an extent. Then there’s the hilarity of the various editions, which is frankly baffling. There’s the normal £55 version which includes a PLASTIC BOX, A BOOKLET AND A DISC and then we’ve got the Hardened edition which includes:
A premium, special-edition Steelbook case with custom artwork and hardbound art book ‘Behind the Lines’, deigned by artists at Infinity Ward, featuring the art of Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty Classic full downloadable game.
And that’s at retail at £69.99. £70 for artwork! I’m sorry, but I honestly can’t understand how they can justify that. Usually special editions are around £50, so that’s an extra £15 just because they can. There’s also the worrying issue of precedent, if people go out and buy the game at these prices, are other companies going to follow suite? Imagine a world where every game retails at £55, it’s not a happy place.
But it gets worse, not only does MW2 have one special edition version, it has three. There’s the GAME only Veteran Edition, which features a statue of one of the characters in various manly poses (or something) along with the “Prestige Edition”, (pictured) which features all the books previously listed along with: night vision goggles. NIGHT VISION GOGGLES. Both clock in at a stunning retail price of £119.99. This has to be the most craptacular thing I’ve ever seen. What use does anyone actually have for night vision goggles? I could literally just stop here, but I’ll continue.
A couple of days ago we reported on Infinity Ward’s latest PR video, you know the one with FAGS in the title. Well if that’s not a reason to not buy the game then I don’t know what is. While the video might not have been intentionally offensive, it’s utterly stupid for an international corporation to use homophobic insults to promote its products. Read Brett’s eloquent analysis to get the full story, but basically it’s idiotic. We also reported on the news that the PC version of MW2 will not support dedicated servers, meaning PC gamers are going to have to play in yet another walled garden. Oh and how about limiting the PC multiplayer to 18 players?
Then there’s the people who play the game. In general Call of Duty is played by whiny 12 year olds who have a tendency to burst into rap mid-game. Unless you get in with a group of decent players, you’re pretty much destined to team killing and constant racism. Essentially the people who found that FAGS video hilarious.
Finally, the game is simply more generic shooter bullshit. It’ll be the same run and gun gameplay that we’ve seen endlessly for the last ten years. Think about it, it’s basically just DOOM but in 3D and “foreign people” instead of monsters. The story will try and be sombre about the effects of war, but “hurry up and get that poem shit out the way so I can kill more Russians!!!!!“. Alas, the game will be a huge success, sell millions of copies and in a year’s time Activision (now officially the new EA) will launch Modern Warfare 3. The game will require a pilgrimage to Serdaristan, a sacrificial slaughtering of a close friend and 80,000 drachma. And that’s just for standard edition.
Tags: Activision, Call of Duty, CoD, craptacular, Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 2, money, MW2, Rant Posted in: Editorial, Rant
I for one will be buying the normal edition of MW2. While I agree that the special editions, and in fact the main game, are very overpriced, I really disagree with the fact that Modern Warfare, and MW2, are just generic shooters. The main thing is customisation. There are so many weapons and attachments and perks that there are literally thousands of possible combinations. Also, the actual gameplay is very polished. From movement, aiming, shooting, jumping, everything just feels real. I play on hardcore because it is more realistic, and I would prefer to play Modern Warfare Hardcore on Xbox Live than any other mode on any other shooter, because above all else, it is FUN!
I think NG didn’t catch the news that a lot of the DVD’s are being shipped defective. :P
http://e4g.info/2001/modern-warfare-2-pc-errors-becoming-common.html
Well there you go Torinir, one more reason not to get it!
I’ll be buying the standard edition as well, picking it up from Sainsburys for £26 on launch day. Personally I can’t wait for this game and I completely agree with Huggz when it comes to MW being more than a generic shooter, even just taking into how amazingly cinematic the game is not to mention the highly polished multiplayer, Modern Warfare stands head and shoulders above most other FPS titles at the moment.
As for the kids who play the game and shout obscenities down the mike, I’ll just do the same thing that I do in Halo 3, hit mute and talk to the people I want to.
Me: Ooh Activison, MW had it’s share of flaws and was utterly overrated but i had fun with it, i’m looking forward to the sequel.
Activision: *throws cold glass of water at me* how about now?
Me: Well i’m cold and wet but I still kinda want to play it and I could use a new multiplayer shooter
Activision: *kicks me in the balls* how about now?
Me: Well i’m cold and wet and my balls hurt but i guess i’ve already put the money down on the pre-order.
Activision: *slaps me in the face with it’s cock* how about now?
Me: Well now i’m cold, wet, my balls are killing me and i’ve got Kotick’s dick cheese on my face. At this point I’m not sure if i want to play the game or just throw myself under a fucking truck to escape the shame of paying for this thing.
Doom [i]is[/i] in 3D
Nice to see someone call Activision on their greed. They’re are becoming worse than EA. The original Modern Warfare is STILL high priced for an older release and even on sale on Steam recently wasn’t a good deal.
The game is massively overhyped. I was interested but the hype and the greed has killed it all for me and I have no interest.
These exclusives for various places are getting out of hand. I picked up the Ltd Collectors Edition of Forza 3. I got extra cars for the LCE edition. I filled in various Turn 10 promotions to get extra cars, AND I got an extra car for pre-ordering… However, there is a BMW that some stores were giving away for pre-ordering rather than an Audi. So even though I spent $90 on the game, pre-ordered etc… That apparently STILL doesn’t qualify me to get all the cars that were available.
That’s a relatively minor issue but speaks to the depths to which this industry is sinking.
Back to MW2, Activision can join EA on the list of companies I will no longer financially support. Yes it makes no difference, but if you don’t take a stand against the abject greed running rampant in this industry, you have no right to complain in the future when it gets worse, and believe me, it will.
Wait, so Modern Warfare 3 will be out next year? Awesome.
I canceled my pre-order this mourning after an all night session in cod 4 reminded me how much I don’t like the cod series and a particularly mouthy 12 year old who after claiming I was the worst cod player hes ever seen still lost 1 vs 1.
He commented about how I could have ever possibly leveled up and I have to agree with him there because I rarely ever play the game barely clocking a days worth of time.
farcry may be dead but that doesn’t mean I have to play cod. “play” isn’t even the right word considering all cod is is campers and frag spammers.
@Huggz: Nah it is just another shooter.. near enough every shoot em up nowadays has every feature that modern warfare 2 has.. well except from 3rd person mode… but thats stupid… Counter Strike Source is the best FPS…if ur gonna do a FPS stick to it.. I dont like any CoD games since they are just FPS’s and that is all
@nikmonroe: Nah it stands above none of them.. Resistance 2 has customization obtions.. BatFieldBadComp has Customization Options… UNcharted 2 has Customization options… literally every shooter has customization options its not a selling point when every game has them.. not saying MW2 wont be a good game but its nothing new.. and so not worth £55.. Just another FPS
@LordCancer: Good for you :D
@CoamIthra: Ha, damn you.
@Spoogan: The BMW is just a paint job of one of the in-game cars, fairly meh.
@Spoogan: EA’s started to learn from their mistakes. Don’t know if that would be possible for ATVI/IW. Not while people like Kotick and 402 are there.
@Torinir: EA figured out that it’s not the way to sell games. Yeah they made lots of money, but the “it’s an EA game so be careful” perception is only just starting to fade. (Titles like Mirrors Edge etc are helping that)
Activision will soon realise that gamers judge games heavily by the developer/publisher. If not on this release then soon.
Guess there’s a reason I’ve never heard of this site called Negative Gamer. Who wants to read an articles that are just looking to grab as many page views as possible by posting extremely fanboy infuriating articles as this one? That said, congrats… you got me to take a look at it and I’m sure that’s all you were interested in anyways
well i already beat this game on veteran, it was nowhere as hard as vet in W@W, but i think this may be the last cod i buy unless i get them for free.
@verygoodyear This is true, and for a long time I had subcribed to the EA Lames sentiment, but at least they were somewhat honest with their customers. Probably why I’m able to forgive them and move on. Not so with ATVI/IW.
@detbadboys8990: If I’d wanted to just get hits, this would’ve been a top ten list, without any research or editing and half way down would have been a picture of the Evony girl. But I’m glad you read it without any of that :)
first of all, not everyone is a 12 year old on any game, and it could be the same for any other game. and who cares about the hardened and veteran and prestige editions, im just buying the regular edition.
Um, $79.99 (USD) for the game, a Steelbook case (which are f*cking awesome), artwork, AND COD Classic (a full downloadable game that will likely retail for $10-15?)…all of that for $80 USD. Oh, and Amazon.com is throwing in a $20 gift card so really I’m paying $60 for the Hardened edition. Almost EVERY major retailer is offering a $10 or $20 gift card so I really don’t see what there is to complain about. Yes, the price hike is bullsh*t but if you look for a deal you’re almost guaranteed to find one.
your are a fag, just don’t buying n stop complaining. You are just like those little boys that you describe in multiplayer, annoying!!!
£50? Where the hell are you buying your special editions? Every special edition I’ve bought (SF4, Tekken 6, Assassin’s Creed 2) has cost £70. Should’ve put a bit more effort into that research Sam. Every special edition these days costs at least £70, also the £70 special edition of MW2 is probably one of the more generous out there, though I haven’t seen the artbook yet.
Not to mention Bobby Kotick is a raging, insulting dickwad that doesnt care about the people who fund his 7/8 figure a year salary. And Infinity Ward has given in to the dark side and assimilated with Activisions mantra and ideals (make the same shitty game and try and over charge the consumer in an economic downturn). Awesome
Lol come on man. Jezz this happens with every game who cares they can charge how much they want to who says that the regular price for a game is $59 no one. And for me i’m probly going to be picking up the top eddition with the night vision it looks awsome! By the way find something else to complain about. XD
The more I hear about the game the more I’m beginning to feel like I don’t really want it. Recently without having live, or peer pressure from asshole people i used to call friends, it’s losing a lot of the fire it burned inside me when I saw a lot of the early previews for it.
Personally the realization it’s just another war game, even though it was one of the few that actually interested me, isn’t making me want it more.
I’ll probably spend my money on more interesting titles, or more unique fps’s to fill that urge (borderlands has been calling) something not super franchisy (is that a word) and soulless.
It is interesting to see how much some people mindlessly buy games only to play with because it’s the “new shit.” Not much different from the old shit.
If you cant afford 60 dollars for a video game it sounds like to me you better find a better job than flipping hamburgers. Maybe instead of complaing about a 60 game u should be filling out resumes.
@victimizer98: As someone who flips burgers for a living and regularly buys not only games, but special edition versions of games I think you should go find a job yourself.
@Huggz:
this article made me not want to buy a game i have been looking forward to for a while keep these kind of articles going this is what i wanna read not the same old MW2 10/10 its amazing wow wow thats boring
@mike: if you haven’t heard, there’s this button on the keyboard called the “period.” It looks just like this. and is next to the letters M and L. Consider using it next time.
This rant needs more fucking rage. Prepare to bent over in order to learn the art of ‘progressive writing’…
Link
the only reason i would buy this game is for the splitscreen modes… sadly every other fps just don’t have splitscreen anymore… if bad company2 or MAG or SOCOM or whatever would have splitscreen I would not even read this article because i would just not care about any CoD. Cheers
i’m growing sick with all this greed and corporate shit. long lost are the bedroom devs when a game used to be by gamers for gamers. when just a goddamn game cost that much it puts your morality on the line if you know where i’m getting.
No way I’m buying this game for that shitty price.
Its basically a 2hr campaign killing terrorists and then fighting those morons over at XBL.
Nah I’m much better off downloading this from Torrent
God Bless The Pirate Bay!!
I agree with this article fully…..not only the screaming little brats who arnt old enough to buy the game and the ridiculous price for terrible night vision goggles the call of duty franchise has basically become madden….another year another game…it was this time last year the terrible game world at war came out and 2 years ago the original modern warfare.
For the Lose. Ranting is correct. All this is is a bunch of anti-hype propaganda trying to squash the greatness that is sure to be with COD:MW2. this game would sell despite its name. another point that should be made is that they are not over-priced. production value within games has gone up therefore the cost of the finished product has as well. Packaging it with wanted or cool bonuses is a plus, although i do admit that the night vision goggles are a stupid idea. and on a final note the game is far from generic. if it is so generic then please send me photos or videos of 3 others gamers that are just like it, and I’ll send you 20 bucks. we as gamers have to support good games and developers even if we do not like every titles they release, because if we do not government like our is the United States and other like Australia will kill the gaming industry.
Spyderknot@hotmail.com
gamertag: Mih Tsurt
anti-hype propaganda……sir you need to stop cause the only propaganda that is going on is saying its a good game with amazing graphics cause its not the graphics look terrible there is no story except the normal american b.s. (America is god and russia is the devil that cold war crap) and its a first person shooter there all the same run shoot kill repeat. and company’s like game stop dont help cause they say every game is good when it not or they put in in game reserve items witch ruin online experiences…Halo and Gears of War are crap and the years they came out thats all i heard about and they were terrible and the most stereo typical crap
Geezus dude, if you dont like the game dont buy it. Stop yer bitching and whining, YOU sound like a 12 yr old kid who throws a tantrum when things dont go exactly to your liking.
yes cause i like good games that makes me 12 yes very good you just said the most retarted statement in the world…..and obviously im not gonna buy the game it’s terrible i figured you would have figured that out when i said it’s terrible
what use does anyone have night vision goggles? i stopped reading right there. dont insult me like that
Wish IW stuck to there COD1/PC roots. Our clan still has a COD1 custom server and loves it. Plus our COD4 custom server gets good hits, but our COD6 server will not even exist. I think 2 people (out of 45) in our clan are getting it, but only on the XBOX360.
I think its all about the money, and it should be all about the gamers.
@Jeremy:
Calm your sensetive ass down boy, wasnt talkin to you. I was talkin to the guy who made this site and this article just to bitch about games he doesnt like. I came in thinking he’d have valid points as to why I should save my money for Left 4 Dead 2. Instead (like I said) I get a grown ass man bitchin like I spoiled child.
So much for IWNet and VAC being the cure for cheats…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MdSwgKtSYg
@GenesisDX: L4D 2 is bollocks too mate… save your money for a house… your mom aint gonna put you up forever
7 years ago you coulda used that one on me buddy.
either way call of duty modern warfare 2 is a terrorism for dummies and should not be sold killing innocent people is in excusible….granted it’s not real…. it could happen but that is unlikly
Maybe these are the reason why a kid with milk mustache was devastated over Modern Warfare 2 crying, punching the wall while filming himself XD