Firstly before I go into details I should let you know I was a massive Call of Duty 4 junkie. I loved the original Modern Warfare and clocked up well over 300 hours of online play. With this in mind I was expecting nothing short of spectacular for the sequel and the guys at Infinity Ward delivered an online experience beyond my wildest expectations.

The structure is generally unchanged but, as they say, if its not broke don’t fix it! All your favourite game modes have returned, from ‘Free For All’ and ‘Team Deathmatch through to ‘Search & Destroy’ and ‘Sabotage’. Matchmaking has been tweaked, and I have not had a problem getting a game in over 30 hours of online play so far. The invite system has been overhauled and you can now invite or jump into a game with friends straight from the XMB meaning you are never more than 30 seconds away from playing with your friends.

The controls as ever are tight as a drum and I believe that’s what makes Infinity Ward’s games the success that they are. It is so much more precise than other first person shooter’s out there. If your aim is slightly off when you pull the trigger it’s down to you, not the game and this means that you never feel cheated. Of course the slight bit of auto-aim helps you out, but it never feels intrusive.

The famous perks (much copied but never bettered) have returned, these have been modified and balanced to allow the player much greater choice than the original Modern Warfare. You now have pro versions of each perk which are unlocked after a certain number of uses. For example, once you amass a certain number of hip shots kills with the ‘Steady Aim’ perk, the ‘Pro’ version is unlocked. ]Every perk has a pro version so the tactical options are even more diverse.

The weapon options are similar to the previous game. Everything you would expect to be able to go into battle with is here. However, the secondary weapon slot has been adapted. Now players have the choice of shotguns, handguns, machine pistols, and rockets/launchers. This means that you are not tied down to a pistol and makes the, now removed, ‘Overkill’ perk from the original redundant.

Weapon attachments are also back and now there are at least 5 for each weapon (including secondary weapons). These range from red dot sights, silencers, thermal scopes, the ability to carry two weapons at once. This means that everyone’s playing style and setup is unique. I would be surprised to find any two players with exactly the same load out in any given game (excusing clans of course).

The new maps, on the whole, seem larger than in previous games, but they’re no less complex and fun to learn. I believe Infinity Ward are masters at creating these environments and the improvement in map quality & layout compared to, other Call Of Duty developer, Treyarch are obvious.

On the downside there have been a number of glitches noted in recent weeks. A number of patches have been released, allowing Infinity Ward to halt online issues.It hasn’t stopped opportunist players from using them to jump up the rankings though.

Despite the odd setback I can conclude that this is the best FPS multiplayer experience on PS3 and quite possibly the best multiplayer game across all genres.  I would not hesitate to buy it solely for the multiplayer. This is the complete package that will keep you coming back for more well into 2010 and possibly 2011 as well. Buy it, you won’t regret it.

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