It's a tricky thing to be a PC gamer who wants to play Modern Warfare 2. We weren't sure we'd get an advance copy from Activision, so we went to a local game store and put our money down to make sure there would be a copy waiting for us on launch day. (If we complain about preorders in the future, be sure to point out this hypocrisy.) When I went to pick up the game, the store manager let me know that I was the number four pre-order for the PC version of the game. He then told me he had over 400 orders for the Xbox 360 version.

It's hardly a scientific poll, but when one version of the game outsells the other 100 to 1, it's hard to feel like you're part of a demographic the publisher is going to listen to. When the time came to pick up the game, the clerk couldn't find it. It was tucked away in the back, with no display, and I was the first person who came in to get their copy. No PC gamers attended the midnight launch. I was asked, more than once, if I was sure I wanted this version. Even if you bought on Steam, you have to wait until November 13 to play it, which is weird since the game uses Steamworks copy protection and requires a Steam account to play. It seems retail was cut a break on this one.

The game is $60, which is $10 more than PC games usually cost. Without any licensing fees on the PC, publishers usually price the game slightly lower than its console counterpart. Activision decided to simply take the larger profit margin. There will be no dedicated servers, and you know the rest of our beefs with the PC version of the game. This is a game by a company that doesn't seem to care about PC gaming anymore, and the community has responded with boycotts and threats of piracy and other such nonsense.

Here's the problem with all the righteous indignation: it's about servers and politics and feeling important, not the actual game printed on the disc. That's what we'll be looking at today.

Title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Developer Infinity Ward Publisher Activision Blizzard Price $59.99 Shop.Ars Platform PC (reviewed), Xbox 360, PS3

Single-player

Once you start up the title, it becomes very apparent that you're dealing with what appears to be a direct port of the console versions of the game: there isn't even a menu to adjust your mouse settings on the title screen. You have to enter the game and hit escape before you can tweak the settings.

The game begins by asking if you'd like to be asked to skip a mission "some players may find disturbing or offensive." We're told this won't affect game completion, it will simply give us the option of skipping that content later in the game. I chose yes, just so the game will tell me what I might be offended by. Wouldn't want to miss it! I'll get into it a bit further down in the review, but if you're squeamish, or don't handle this sort of thing well, this may not be the game for you. There is no flinching from graphic violence or complex issues.

Of course, any game with a thrilling snowmobile chase where you fire an automatic handgun gangsta-style probably isn't the most politically aware creature on the market, and the sobering moments are mixed with Rambo-style theatrics. It can be jarring.

It can also be hard. A few bullets is more than enough to take you down, although by simply avoiding fire for a few minutes you'll heal all your wounds. Your screen will often by filled with your own blood, however, which can sometimes make you feel like something of a bullet sponge. Keep moving, look above and below you at all times, and always stay as aware as possible. If you try to rush these missions, you'll be stuck replaying the same segment over and over as you get shot to pieces.

The game is intense, almost numbingly so. You'll try your hand at firing an impressive array of weapons, you'll remember that survival is by no means guaranteed, and you'll be treated to a few vehicle segments that break up the action nicely without overstaying their welcome. The story, involving invasions and double-agents (or are they triple-agents?!?) and all sorts of over-the-top intrigue, can easily be ignored. You've played war games before, but the Modern Warfare world is dominated by quotes by Dick Cheney and Nathan Hale, and every character in the game thinks that problems are just one dead soldier or razed capital away from being fixed.

The graphics are strong, with many striking images throughout that I won't discuss for the obvious reasons. There aren't many innovations in the single-player game; the HUD is self-explanatory, the controls all make sense if you've played other FPS titles, and you'll know what to do with each item from the impressive array of weaponry. There is now a graphical indication on the screen of where to go next and how far away the section is, and the game autosaves often; you'll rarely be sent very far backward when you die. What makes the Modern Warfare series stand out is the heavy scripting, precise action, and unflinching look at this idea of war. If the first game made you squirm, you haven't seen anything yet.

It's a violent, one-dimensional world where might makes right, and the atmosphere is oppressive. All of these design decisions work together to create a compelling, blood-soaked setting. The campaign moves along at a breathless pace, and by the time you've put the seven hours or so into the game that it takes to see the credits your ears will be ringing and your shoulder may feel a little bruised by the idea of all those virtual guns being fired relentlessly.

This isn't a game that glorifies violence—situations and characters such as this aren't attractive—it's a game that overloads you with it. You'll be asked to take part in some repugnant things, and many of the peripheral details will stick with you. You'll want to talk about the single-player campaign long after it's done, and it's clear that people are going to have strong opinions one way or the other.

How do we feel about the controversial segment where you become part of a terrorist act? It's hard to watch. The actual mission that has gained all this controversy is, in all honesty, pretty shocking stuff. The game slows down; you can't run. You have to walk slowly through the scene, watching innocents gunned down. They scream. They try to crawl away. They hold their wounds and moan. You can pull the trigger, or you can just watch. But you're holding a gun—you're a part of this. If you decide not to play this mission, you get a cut-scene. Why is this section of the game playable? What does it add? That's a huge question, with many different answers. I'm not saying the section makes the game better, but it certainly will get people talking. But, yes: it is just as bad as people are saying, and just as hard to take.

Am I glad I played the game? Yes. Can I see myself replaying it? Maybe not. It's satisfying to step into the shoes of people who are so uncompromising, and the game is brilliant at creating the feeling of moral vacuum, but it's not exactly a feeling that's comfortable, or even fun. During many scenes, I found myself simply emptying clips into houses, knowing there could be innocents inside. Why not? I was trying to survive, and in the thick of things it was hard to tell civilians from soldiers. Yes, it's just a game, and these are just pixels on a screen, but pixels and actions are enough to create a powerful emotional reaction.

This is very impressive stuff, not in terms of storytelling exactly, but as a tone poem about warfare. For those buying the game only for the single-player, they will most likely walk away from the game a little sooner than they hoped, but satisfied nonetheless.