Hounds indeed.

I’ll admit that the Spec Ops mode certainly tempts me. By all accounts, it sounds completely *awesome* – and if were released as it’s own mini-game (akin on Crysis Warhead or similar), I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

It’s a shame the rest of the game doesn’t quite stack up.

Lag? You bet. Within a matter of minutes I’d been fragged by a bouncing avatar that transported itself across the map, and that doesn’t include the noticeable banana bullets that occur just too frequently to ignore. Based on this, it’s fairly clear to see why they’ve limited the game to nine per side, I’d hate to see what it looks like with Modern Warfare’s original 64 player limit, presumably like a very tedious slide show from a trip to Borneo. It’s of absolutely no interest to me how well the rest of the developed world can play this title online, if it’s a miserable experience for Kiwi players then Infinity Ward have dropped the ball, plain and simple.

[…]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the PC is simply a next-gen console game with mouse support, in-game text chat and rudimentary graphics options. Infinity Ward have made it pretty clear that as a PC gamer, your platform advantages don’t count, and neither does your community, your history and your considerable modding skills.

via Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC) – Gameplanet Review.

Ouch.

To say multiplayer MW2 is flawed would be like saying water is a little wet – an understatement if I’ve ever seen one.

GameArena says:

We’re massive fans of Modern Warfare here. Even though purists and elitists may sneer, we had no problem in awarding a 10/10 for Call of Duty 4, because it was such a terrific effort on console AND PC. If you told me three months ago we would be suggesting PC gamers hold off on buying Modern Warfare 2 I would have thought you’re crazy. But if you are buying this game mainly for multiplayer – especially if you’re contemplating serious competitive play at a high level – that’s exactly what we’re saying. The single player story is great, and if your idea of multiplayer is a quick zap with mates maybe an hour or two a week then by all means – it’s great for your purposes. However if you’re a Counterstrike, Battlefield, ETQW or even a COD4 player looking for a serious competitive platform to move to – best wait. Wait and see if Infinity Ward can implement dedicated server support; failing that wait until early next year to see how Battlefield: Bad Company 2 turns out.

via BigPond GameArena – Modern Warfare 2 Reviews.

Don’t get me wrong – from what I’ve read, it’s a great console FPS – fantastic, even. It’s just a huge shame to see the PC side be so neglected, disowned, that it kinda makes you think Infinity Ward have shunned the PC community, Big Time.

It’s not all doom and gloom for us PC players, though – the single player is excellent, and as I’ve mentioned before, Spec Ops will keep you entertained for a decent number of hours after you’ve finished the relatively short single player campaign (roughly 6-8 hours).

It’s current price on Steam is laughable – a cool US $90 for us Aussies, compared to $60 for the same game? Right. I know I can buy it from Steamerica for cheaper, but that’s not the point, is it?

The point is, Infinity Ward have seemingly screwed over PC players.

I think it’s only fair that they get screwed over themselves – but one can only dream…