"Modern Warfare - Reflex" Does Its Duty
After two long years Wii owners finally can play one the best shooters of all-time. Was it worth the wait?
For those that have been living under a rock for the past couple years, let's get down to the basics of this game. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Reflex follows the two intertwined stories of SAS member "Soap" MacTavish and Sergeant Paul Jackson. Sergeant Jackson and the rest of the USMC platoon are searching for separatist leader Al-Asad, who has access to nuclear weapons (and, as you'll see, is not afraid to use them). When word gets out that Al-Asad has fled the country, "Soap" and his team set out to find him and the people who supplied the nuclear weapons.
Let's get the big thing out of the way first: the graphics. Since the Wii cannot handle the type of graphics that the 360 and PS3 are used to, Infinity Ward had to downgrade them as little as possible with the help of Treyarch. Unfortunately the Wii can handle much better graphics than what Treyarch had set into place. The characters look a bit too much like PS2 avatars, and the items don't look the slightest bit realistic. (Hell, even the watermelon you slice in the beginning isn't as round as it could be.) Perhaps if they had taken a look at how Capcom did it with Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Treyarch could've seen how to properly downgrade, while at the same time make it look great. Alas, this was not the case. (However, I will say the Death From Above level looks just as good as it does in the 360 version.)
However if you can look past the graphics part you'll see that the Reflex edition makes it up with a great control scheme. The Wiimote's your gun, and the Nunchuck is used to maneuver your character. To shoot, simply press the B-Button, and to change weapons just push right on the D-Pad on the Wii. Figuring out how to use the other tools (i.e. night-vision goggles, calling in air strike) may be tricky at first, but once you get a handle on it the gameplay is smooth sailing. As someone who had issue with the using the double joysticks on the 360 version to aim, playing with the Wiimote feels more like a huge upgrade.
Story Mode is the exact same as the the PS3 and 360 versions, so if you've played it on the previous versions there may not be any need to pick up the Wii one. For those that have yet to play it on the other systems, they have nothing to fear when it comes to the content of Modern Warfare. As someone who has played both I can assure the Wii owners that nothing's been left on the cutting room floor, so they will be getting the full experience on the Reflexedition. I will say that if you are new to the Call of Duty series, I suggest starting on the easiest level possible. Otherwise you may be spitting obscenities after you get shot up by the enemy for the twentieth time in a row.
Online play is just about as good as it can get on the Wii. The loading times are quick, there's little to no lag and the gameplay itself is as smooth as it can get. You can set up private fights with friends, or just jump into a random match with others. Granted there is no voice chat, but at least you won't know that your getting your ass handed to you by a six year-old from Sweden.
PROS:
- Excellent control scheme
- Online play is just as good as the 360 version
- It's the whole game, unabridged
CONS:
- Graphics aren't that great, could've looked so much better
- Nothing new added, not for players of other versions of MW
- Normal mode is a lot more difficult than it should be
FINAL THOUGHTS:
While the graphics aren't up to par with some of the previous Wii games I've played, the gameplay and control scheme on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Reflex is top-notch. However, if you've played Modern Warfare before there may not be any reason to visit this version.
GRADE: 8.2 (out of 10)
