Hi Triphammer, I agree with you whole heartedly. It was those reasons (lack of dedicated servers, admin control etc and the proliferation of hackers that put me off playing multiplayer games several years ago. They just destroy the game IMO; usually 12 year old's or there abouts, with faster than light reactions and thinking it's fun being able to see where everyone is on the map and being able to target you without even trying; (usually due to a hack they've made or found on the net).

I also agree that the WoW model is increasinly taking over. There's big money to be made. It's a pity,because there have been a couple of games recently that i would really liked to have played. Unfortunately I avoid those games like the plague. The recently released Fallen Earth looked like a brilliant game, (maybe a little Fallout 3 ish - which I love), but as soon as I saw the monthly fees you had to pay I was turned off immediately. I've only ever bought one game that forced you to pay monthly fees and that was an oversight on my part. I saw the game on a shelve at my local Tescoes store, it had been reduced to around £20 so I picked it up without even reading any of the blurb. I'd seen Lord of the Rings as part of the title and wanted it immediately, lol. (Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Agmar). I've never bothered to even install the game because I flatly refuse to pay any more than the going rate for a decent game. (stupid really - as you get 30 days free when you register it, so I shoud have at least playedout the freebie, lol)

I have shared the cost of boxed servers in the past. That was fun because we were a small clan and everyone played for the fun of it and didn't cheat. It makes so much difference to the gaming experience when you get a clean game and a decent bunch of players.

W.R.

I've got the game. I buy games for multiplayer only usually. Single player can be finished in a few hours on the CoD games, and this one included. Then what? Then you go on to multi-player.. and without dedicated servers... the multi-player is a lagfest. IW.net is a joke and is only put in place to monetize the multi-player experience. Be prepared to pay for all DLC now.. and expect to pay a service sooner or later to use IW.net. They're going after the WoW model IMO. What a coincidence that Blizzard is also owned by Activision. I'm kinda worried about Starcraft 2 myself. I'm looking forward to the game and if they start charging for Battle.net.. I'm not sure I'll be getting that game..not for multi-player anyway. Starcraft is a GREAT single player game though.. so we'll see.

That set aside.. I'm liking the double perks in CoD6. I don't like the name tags... accolades.. titles. It just makes me feel like I'm playing a console. That and IW.net matchmaking tells me it's a direct console port. I expect a little more from a PC game in regards to gameplay compared to a console and MW2 simply doesn't deliver. No lean. No dedicated servers. No dev console. No /record. No admins to kick players. No vote to kick players. Aimbotters, wallhackers already online and ruining gameplay.

The upside is that they did just have a small update to the game and the game updates automatically. While it's still laggy generally. The 100 ms ping optimal gameplay was lowered to 50 ms. My point is.. they are trying to address the issues for multi-player. But IMO, without dedicated servers and admin control... the muti-player experience will fail.. with the cod fans awaiting Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Well my first impression (as it has been for the last three Call of Duty games) is......

Wow!

One of the opening sequences

There's action right from the outset...... non-stop action, with amazing visuals. Urban warfare at it’s best. That said; once you’ve played this out, the game plays the same every time you re-play it (I played the first objective several times to check). That, plus the linearity of the game are my main bug bears with this game. Apart from those, if you want an amazing Shoot ‘Em Up game this is definitely the game to get next.

Personally (although I love this game to bits already), I much prefer Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising and ArmA II (Armed Assault II). Both those games sport graphics that equal Call of Duty 6, though they are not set deep within an urban environment, so the visuals tend not to look as ‘in depth’.

You can see You Tube video's of all three games below:

ArmA II:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpY62oo_kAc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4cG8RwxniQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZE7at7m5qM
.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YofVL4UyEM0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2n84PUDUso

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM9ROz9-42I
.

Call of Duty: modern Warfare II (COD 6):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x55fifmC5kk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcrQJuM-E8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wh5KrVv3t8

In Call of Duty 6, there's so much to see most of the time, but you get precious little time to actually stand and admire because you are taken up with the moment - usually firing your weapons at the enemy, lol. You can see from the video examples above that Modern Warfare II is an urban shooter, whereas both the others are based in rural areas, 'but not all of the time'; however, you don't get the intensity of close quarter battles (CQB) as much in those titles. Both are better played stealthily rather than run and gun; that's not to say you don't require strategy to play Modern Warfare II (Call of Duty 6)

Both the latter games (Operation Flashpoint and ArmA II) are open world environments, with enemy AI that’s pretty cool. Each time you play the same mission it will be slightly different, much like Left 4 Dead; the enemy are never in the same positions they were in the last time you played and there may be more or less NPC's (non playing characters with computer generated intelligence) the next time you revisit the mission. Which for me gives almost limitless playability.

ArmA II has already been offered at half price a few weeks ago, I reckon Operation Flashpoint will also be a Steam deal in the next several weeks or so; maybe just before Christmas, but I doubt Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will be; well, at least not until the next release has been done and dusted and even then maybe not. The last Call of Duty release - called World at War is still selling at the original release price more than a year after it was released. There may be places where you can find it as a special deal, but I've not seen them. I’ve noticed since Call of Duty 4 (the first modern Warfare) was released, the franchise has held it’s price tenaciously while other titles have been reduced in price within months of release. In fact it’s been two years since COD4 was released and it’s only recently that it’s dropped its price from the original release price and it was finally offered s a deal on Steam a couple of weeks ago. Personally I think that the high price for so long is unjustified, (but because of the awards and ‘in yer’ face press about how fantastic this game is, it’s been artificially put up on a pedestal; that’s only my opinion though).

You can see all the images I’ve posted plus a few more at a higher resolution http://s613.photobucket.com/albums/tt217/Whiterabbit06/Call%20of%20Duty%20Modern%20Warfare%20II/?albumview=slideshow">HERE. They were all taken within the firt ten minutes of game play.

Conclusion:

If you are on a budget I think Operation Flashpoint and then Armed Assault II are much better deals and just as enjoyable as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. :). Still I bought Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, but then I buy all these games, lol. Its definitely exciting. The constant action, the sounds of battle, explosions and orders being shouted from NPC's ([i]in game characters not controlled by you), gives an impression of realism few games can boast. One of the opening sequences after you've played the first objective, which is a short fire fight across a blasted and open area, is of a massive explosion that rocks the very earth beneath you, then you see a large multi-storey building start to collapse, then it's all smoke and dust for a few seconds ([b]see images above of the explosion and aftermath). It's all very entertaining and adds to the overall feel of the game. I highly recommend you have your surround sound turned up high and just go with the flow. It's exhilarating........