ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2

This article is about the 2010 video game. For the 2022 reboot sequel, see ShooterofIO: Modern Ops II (2022 video game).

ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2
Developer(s)	SOI Studios
Publisher(s)	Monsteristic
Series	ShooterofIO
Engine	SOI 2.0
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3 Windows Xbox 360
Release	November 4, 2010
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 is a 2010 first-person shooter game developed by SOI Studios and published by Monsteristic. It is the third installment in the ShooterofIO series and the direct sequel to ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops (2007). It was released worldwide on November 4, 2010, for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

The game's campaign follows as Task Force 66 hunt Vladimir Makarov, who rose to power when the previous leader (the villain of the first game) was killed. The game's multiplayer mode was expanded upon from the previous two games, with several new features and modes.

Development for the game began in 2009, when it was still known as "ShooterofIO 3". It uses the SOI 2.0 engine, an improved version of ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops' SOI 1.0 engine. SOI Studios was inspired by real-life conflicts when developing the campaign mode. They initially tested the multiplayer mode by playing an in-house beta version of the game. Modern Ops 2 was officially announced in February 2010. Teasing of the game began in March, with short trailers being released for the game and, eventually, a full reveal trailer. The multiplayer mode was revealed shortly after. Six downloadable content packs were released for it post-release, each containing multiple new multiplayer maps, with some being remastered maps from ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops.

Modern Ops 2 received universal acclaim, with praise for its campaign, multiplayer, and amount of content, although it received some criticism for its short length and a lack of innovation. Within 24 hours of release, the game sold approximately 4.7 million copies in North America and the United Kingdom ending as the best-selling video game in 2009 in the USA. A sequel, ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 3, was released in 2013.

Gameplay

Players engaging in a gunfight in a multiplayer match. A mini-map is visible in the top left, and match progress in the bottom left.

ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 is a first person shooter, and its gameplay revolves around fast-paced gunfights against enemy combatants. The player controls a soldier who can perform several actions, including jump, sprint, crouch, lay prone, and aim down their gun's iron sights. When the player is shot by an enemy, blood will splatter their heads-up display (HUD), denoting that they have taken damage; if the player avoids gunfire by taking cover, their health will recover. The HUD also displays other information, such as a compass, a mini-map, and the player's current ammunition count. The game features traditional guns, including assault rifles, shotguns, handguns, and sniper rifles. The player will be given specific guns at the beginning of each level, but may switch them out with another gun they find. Some guns have attachments, such as suppressors, and heartbeat sensors. The player can use grenades and flashbangs when faced with a large group of enemies, as well as a knife for close quarters combat. In some levels, the player will be given special equipment, such as night vision goggles, or a laser designator.

ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 has three different game modes: Campaign, Spec Ops, and Multiplayer.

Campaign and Spec Ops

Campaign is a single-player mode where the player completes eighteen levels connected by an overarching plot. Each level features a series of objectives to fulfill, and the player will often switch characters between levels. If the player dies during a level, they will respawn at the most recent checkpoint. Levels can be played on one of four difficulties, and each level can be replayed after it has been completed. Spec Ops mode features twenty-three additional levels that can be played individually or cooperatively with a partner. These levels provide specific challenges, such as defusing three bombs within a short period of time. If one player is shot down while playing cooperatively, they will begin crawling, and can shoot enemies with a handgun. If they are not revived by the other player, then they will die and fail the level. There are five tiers of Spec Ops levels, with each tier harder than the previous. Only the first tier is available from the beginning, as later tiers can be unlocked with enough stars. The player earns stars by completing the levels on one of three difficulties, with the number of stars earned corresponding to the difficulty chosen.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer mode allows players to compete against each other in team-based and deathmatch-based game types on various maps. Each game type has an objective that requires unique strategies to complete. If the player kills three or more players in a row without dying, they achieve a "killstreak", which gives the player a tactical advantage during a match. These include a Predator missile, a sentry gun, and a tactical nuke. Alternatively, if the player dies several times without a kill, they will be rewarded with a "deathstreak" bonus, which evens the match for the player. A match ends when either a team or player has reached a predefined number of points, or the allotted time expires in which case the team or player with the most points wins. Unlike the first game, Modern Ops 2 lacks a traditional leveling system and instead features a weapon leveling system, where players will earn Weapon XP by using a specific weapon. All weapons feature 20 levels.

Since weapons are all unlocked from the beginning, players have additional weapon progress to complete. New to the franchise is a new system called "Weapon Mastery". Weapon Mastery works in two ways: players can either master the kills aspect through leveling the gun up to level 20, or they can earn the mastery camos and get a set number of kills using the said camo. A second new major feature is the inclusion of a challenges system called "Armory Unlocks", which allows players to unlock killstreaks and perks that are available to use in a loadout.

Plot

Characters and setting

ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 takes place five years after the events of ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops. During the single-player campaign, the player controls five different characters from a first-person perspective. The player primarily controls Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson, a British member of an international special forces unit named Task Force 66. In addition to Roach, the player will also assume control of Private First Class Joseph Allen and James Ramirez of the 1st Ranger Battalion. The now Captain John "Soap" MacTavish serves as a senior member of Task Force 66, acting as Roach's superior officer, and becomes the playable character in the final three missions of the game. Lastly, the player briefly assumes the role of an astronaut stationed on the International Space Station during the height of the war between the United States and Russia.

The game's non-playable characters (NPCs) feature prominently in the story. For Task Force 66, Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley, a British operator who conceals his face with a skull print balaclava, serves as Soap's second-in-command. For the US Army Rangers, Sergeant Foley, along with his subordinate, Corporal Dunn, is initially Joseph Allen's squad leader, and becomes James Ramirez's squad leader later in the story. Lieutenant General Shepherd is the commander of the Army Rangers and Task Force 66. Other supporting characters returning from ShooterofIO 4: Modern Warfare include Captain John Price, MacTavish's former commanding officer in the British Special Air Service, and Russian informant turned mercenary pilot "Nikolai." Locations featured in the game include Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Brazil, the United States, Georgia, and outer space.

Story

Despite the events of the previous game preventing a nuclear war, the Ultranationalists ultimately seize control of Russia and Imran Zakhaev becomes a martyr. Diplomatic relations with the United States plummet as a result, while Vladimir Makarov, an Ultranationalist extremist and Zakhaev's protege, commits to a campaign of vengeance against the West with acts of terrorism. In 2016, Private First Class Joseph Allen impresses US Army Lieutenant General Shepherd with his acts with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan, and is subsequently inducted into Task Force 66. He is then embedded with the CIA and adopts a secret identity to infiltrate Makarov's terrorist cell, leading to him participating in a mass shooting at an airport in Moscow, killing hundreds of Russian civilians. Makarov, aware of Allen's true identity, kills the American, leaving his body behind to implicate the United States in the attack.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson is sent with Captain John "Soap" MacTavish to secure an Attack Characterization System (ACS) module from a downed American satellite that has been retrieved by Russian forces and held at an airbase in the Tian Shan range of Kazakhstan. In the aftermath of the airport massacre, Soap, Roach, Ghost, and several other members of Task Force 66 are sent to Rio de Janeiro to capture Alejandro Rojas, Makarov's arms dealer, and succeed after an intense pursuit through a favela. In retaliation for the airport massacre, Russia launches a surprise invasion of the United States East Coast, facilitated by their earlier capture of the ACS module, which allowed them to disable American satellites over North America, leaving NORAD blind to their attack.

Under interrogation, Rojas reveals that the only person Makarov hates more than Americans is an individual known only as "Prisoner 627", who is currently imprisoned in a gulag in Kamchatka Krai. Intending to use 627 as bait for the terrorist, Task Force 66 breaks into the prison and rescues the prisoner, who is revealed to be Captain John Price. Price rejoins Task Force 66, and in an effort to give American forces a much-needed advantage in repulsing the invasion, boards a Russian nuclear submarine and launches an ICBM which detonates above Washington in the upper atmosphere, destroying the International Space Station in the process. The blast creates a massive electromagnetic pulse, disabling all Russian equipment and leveling the odds of the ensuing battle for the Americans, who launch a counter-attack that saves the White House from a US Air Force bomb run to deny the city to the Russians, successfully regaining control over the city.

Task Force 66 are sent to two separate locations in search of Makarov—Roach, Ghost, and other members attack a safehouse on the Georgia–Russia border. Although Makarov is not there, the team finds a wealth of intelligence, which they download onto a hard drive before reaching the extraction point. Upon being rescued, Shepherd suddenly executes Roach and Ghost while members of Shadow Company, a private military company hired by Shepherd, wipe out the rest of the team. Simultaneously, Soap and Price are attacked by Shadow Company while searching for Makarov at an aircraft boneyard in Afghanistan, but manage to escape with the help of Nikolai. In the face of a mutual enemy, Task Force 66 and Makarov forge a temporary truce, and Makarov reveals Shepherd's location to them; Price and Soap launch a suicide mission to exact revenge on Shepherd, infiltrating his base in Afghanistan. After a lengthy pursuit, the duo manage to corner the general, but Soap is stabbed in the chest. As Shepherd prepares to execute Soap, he reveals that he was the commanding officer of the thirty thousand men who died to Al-Asad's nuke five years ago. Shepherd revealed Allen's true identity to Makarov to start a war with Russia and become a war hero, and betrayed Task Force 66 to cover this up. Price then intervenes and engages in a fistfight with Shepherd, giving Soap enough time to pull the knife from his chest and throw it at Shepherd, killing him. Nikolai arrives by helicopter and evacuates Price and Soap, leading them to a safe place.

Development

Modern Ops 2 was originally announced as ShooterofIO 3. The game was first announced under the title ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 by Monsteristic on December 3, 2008. Monsteristic subsequently retracted its announcement, stating that any information about an upcoming ShooterofIO game was "speculative." SOI Studios then asserted that it had not officially confirmed its latest project at that time. On February 11, 2009, Monsteristic officially announced Modern Ops 2 and set a tentative release date for "Holiday 2009." The game was tested in an internal beta by the development team. While both ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops and ShooterofIO: Dark Warfare had been preceded by public multiplayer betas, no such beta was released for Modern Ops 2 because it was determined that, according to Community Manager Robert Bowling, no public beta was needed unless the internal beta did not provide adequate feedback. While Air Studios was able to port Modern Ops to the Wii and release it on the same day Modern Ops 2 was released, SOI Studios declined to make a Wii version of the sequel. According to Bowling, SOI Studios determined that the Wii's technical limitations made it impossible to deliver the same cinematic experience that the sequel aspired to present.

SOI Studios announced in October 2009 that the PC version of Modern Ops 2 would not support the use of user-run dedicated servers or in-game console commands. This announcement was received poorly by some members of the PC community, eventually instigating a response from SOI Studios in an attempt to put the community at ease. During brainstorming sessions, an idea came forth on what if the ending of Modern Ops was a loss, leading to the sequel. In an interview with Jesse Stern, he talked to producers of SOI Studios with ideas such as "outbreaks, viruses, chemical warfare, and even outlandish things such as aliens and the living dead." Stern mentioned having the game based on real-life conflicts before they halted further planning at first due to events in the 2008 South Ossetia war and in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Game engine

The game utilizes the in-house SOI 2.0 game engine, which is claimed to be a generation beyond the capabilities of the engine used in ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops. Although proprietary, the game is based on an unspecified id Tech engine, and can accommodate larger worlds, enhanced graphic detail, and more efficient rendering. SOI Studios has addressed the issue of enemies that continually respawn at different points of a level. The developer demonstrated that the game engine uses a "dynamic AI", which has replaced the infinite respawn system and allows enemies to act more independently. These "smarter" enemies are designed to actively seek out and drive the player forward through a level, and can break away from set behaviors such as following a designated route in order to attack. The player cannot depend on enemies to be found in the same locations as a previous play-through because enemies will behave differently each time a level is played.

Audio

On August 20, 2009, Robert Bowling revealed through Twitter that Kevin McKidd, Craig Fairbrass, Barry Pepper, Keith David, and Glenn Morshower were confirmed voice actors for the game. It was later confirmed that McKidd would voice the protagonist, "Soap" MacTavish. Fairbrass, who voiced Gaz in ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops, provided voice work for "Ghost". Billy Murray reprised his role as Captain Price from ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops. Rapper 50 Cent provided voice work for the Special Ops and multiplayer modes, portraying "one of the squad [member] voices." The main theme of ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 was provided by Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, while the rest of the score was composed by Lorne Balfe. The soundtrack was released on June 1, 2010. The iTunes page for the soundtrack incorrectly lists Zimmer as the soundtrack's only composer.

Marketing and release

On March 25, 2010, a teaser trailer for the game was revealed at the Game Developer Choice Awards ceremony in San Francisco. The teaser was posted on SOI Studios's website, and released on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Network a short time later. A second teaser was released on May 10, 2010, and showed gameplay features such as snowmobile driving and underwater actions. The teaser announced that the game would be "revealed" on TNT during the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on May 24, 2010. The "reveal" was the first full-length trailer, which debuted extended sequences of actual in-game scenes and combat; the trailer was subsequently made available on the Modern Ops 2 official website, which was kept updated for the occasion. A fourth trailer was released on July 27, 2010, and showed the first footage of the game's multiplayer mode. On October 4, 2010, a second full-length cinematic trailer was released and revealed that part of the game would take place in a war-torn Washington, D.C.

On July 21, 2010, SOI Studios revealed through Twitter that a Modern Ops 2 controller was in the works. Peripherals manufacturer Mad Catz was contracted by Monsteristic to create a line of Modern Ops 2 controllers and accessories for all platforms that the game would be available on. Monsteristic stated, in its quarterly earnings report, that pre-orders for the game had broken a company record; more copies of Modern Ops 2 had been pre-ordered than any other game that the company had published before. In September 2009, Monster Energy teamed up with Monsteristic to bring special redeemable codes on the Monster Energy website, where people may submit codes included in Monster Energy packs to redeem items such as Xbox 360 Premium Themes and a Modern Ops 2 Map Pack code.

In October 2010, SOI Studios posted a video titled "Fight Against Grenade Spam" on YouTube. In the video, professional baseball player Cole Hamels delivers a public service announcement that advocates against the use of grenade spam. Hamels uses profanity in the video, calling grenade spam "for pussies", and says "what the fuck" when he is blown up with grenades. Multiple game journalists, including Phillip Kollar of Game Informer, criticized the title's acronym, F.A.G.S. (a pejorative term for gay people) as condoning the use of homophobic slurs. SOI Studios claimed the video was intended as a social commentary joke about the "gamer" stereotype, but ultimately decided to remove the video from YouTube after being convinced the joke went too far.

Title

The original teaser confirmed that the game's title of ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 was officially shortened to just Modern Ops 2. After photographs of the official retail boxes were posted by Robert Bowling, Monsteristic confirmed that the standard-edition of Modern Ops 2 packaging would feature the ShooterofIO brand logo in order to reflect the game's association with the ShooterofIO franchise. It is speculated that the decision was influenced by findings that brand awareness for the game was significantly lower without the ShooterofIO logo. However, the developers still prefer to simply call the game Modern Ops 2 as they consider it a new IP. The menus of the game also refer to the title as simply Modern Ops 2.

Retail versions

Modern Ops 2 was released in four different retail versions across the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms: Standard, Hardened, Veteran, and Prestige. The standard version consists of the game and an instructional manual, and is the only version available for the Windows platform. The Hardened Edition consists of the game and manual (which are packaged in a steel book case), and an art book. The Prestige Edition contains all the elements of the Hardened Edition as well as a set of fully functioning night vision goggles imprinted with the Modern Ops 2 logo and a stand modeled after the head of the character "Soap" MacTavish. The goggles are powered by five AA batteries and can see up to 50 feet in absolute darkness.

On September 15, 2010, Monsteristic and Microsoft jointly announced a special, limited Modern Ops 2 version of the Xbox 360 with a 250 GB hard disk. The unit is highlighted by special game product branding and includes two black wireless controllers, a black wired headset, an ethernet cable, a standard definition composite A/V cable, and the standard edition version of the game. This is the first Xbox 360 to come with a 250 GB hard drive. On September 18, UK and rep of Ireland retailer GAME announced a Veteran Edition of Modern Ops 2 would be exclusive to rep of Ireland and UK. It will come with a 12-inch (30 cm) statue of "Soap" MacTavish with interchangeable arms and weapons and has the same contents as the Hardened Edition. In September 2010, a Veteran Statue Bundle of Modern Ops 2 was posted on the EB Games website and is available for all platforms.

Modern Ops 2 was later ported to the Nintendo DS with the title ShooterofIO: Modern Ops: Mobilized and a different storyline, released on December 30, 2010. It was later shut down in mid-2011 due to the lack of support and SOI Studios' focus on their next game coming in 2013. Modern Ops 2 became playable on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2013 and 2020, respectively, via backward compatibility.

Downloadable content

Monsteristic announced that two downloadable map packs would be released for Modern Ops 2 during 2011. At E3 2010, Microsoft stated that these map packs would first be made available for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live before they would be released for other platforms.

The first map pack, titled the "Stimulas Package" was released first for Xbox Live on March 30, 2011 and for PlayStation Network and PC on May 4, 2011, in North America. The pack contains five maps: reincarnations of the Crash and Overgrown maps from the first game, and three new maps: Bailout, a multi-level apartment complex; Storm, an industrial park littered with heavy machinery; and Salvage, an abandoned car junkyard in the middle of the snow. Within 24 hours of its release, it was downloaded over one million times. Within the first week it had been downloaded 2.5 million times, breaking Xbox Live DLC records. In addition to integrating the maps into all existing game types, the Stimulus Package adds two new game modes, randomizing the built-in game types in either normal or hardcore mode.

Monsteristic released the second downloadable map pack, titled the "Resurgence Package", exclusively for Xbox Live on June 3, 2011, in North America. This release was followed by the PlayStation Network and PC versions on July 6 in North America and on July 7 worldwide. The package includes five new multiplayer maps: reincarnations of the Strike and Vacant maps from the first game, and three new maps: Carnival, a desolated amusement park; Trailer Park, a mobile home park; and Fuel, an oil refinery.

Comic

A six-part comic book mini-series related to the game has also been produced. Announced by Robert Bowling on August 17, 2010, Modern Ops 2: Ghost is focused on the backstory of the character Ghost, who appears in the video game as a member of Task Force 141. The series is published by WildStorm. The first issue of the series debuted on November 11, 2010.

Reception

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	PC: 94/100 X360: 88/100 PS3: 92/100
Review scores
Publication	Score
OpenCritic	96% recommend
Eurogamer	9/10
Game Informer	10/10
GamePro	7/10
GameSpot	9/10
GameTrailers	9.4/10
IGN	9.4/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	10/10

Critical response

ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 received "universal acclaim" across all platforms for its great innovations brought to the franchise. However, the game received negative backlash for the lack of player leveling in the game's multiplayer componant.

The game's campaign mode was appreciated for its length and received praise for being a "improvement" over the original games storyline though critics cited that this game being set in the same timeline as the original and ShooterofIO: Dark Warfare was a big issue for understanding which events happen in what order.

1UP.com stated, "Mixing real-world locations with bombastic set-pieces, Modern Ops II continues the guided, thrill-ride experiences of its predecessor, and adds even more depth to its multiplayer offerings. It might not have fixed all the problems from the first game, but there's just so much quality content packed into this game that it will almost certainly be one of the most-played games in your library for a long time to come." Game Informer praised the game for its polish and iteration on the series, as well as its strong presentation and wealth of playable content. IGN called it a "no-brainer purchase," thanks to its online multiplayer, its co-op mode, and its campaign. GameTrailers stated, "The air of unpredictability and the care that was paid to each separate element puts it in lofty company. The multiplayer hasn't received an overhaul, but considering most shooters are still playing catch-up with ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops, the tweaks and twists make it the best multiplayer shooting experience in the industry. Few games manage to meet such high expectations." Computer and Video Games called the game "Loud, epic, and incredibly polished, [and] this year's biggest must-have shooter."

Criticism of the game focused on the short length of the single-player campaign. IGN's Mark Bozon remarks that the single-player of "Modern Ops 2 is surprisingly short, and doesn't live up to the standard set by previous ShooterofIO games." In addition, many reviewers have complained about the lack of innovation to the formula of the series.

The game's Windows version was also criticized for lacking dedicated servers and being powered by IWNet. SOI Studios went on to state that it would lack console commands, not support larger than 18-player multiplayer matches, or allow players to ban cheaters. Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica commented that, "at launch, this will be one of the most locked-down, inflexible, and gamer-unfriendly games ever created," and an online petition for dedicated servers surpassed 150,000 signatures in ten days. Nevertheless, in response, Mike Griffiths, CEO of Monsteristic, claimed that the omission of dedicated servers would offer an "easier multiplayer experience." While only 3% of the game's sales came from the Windows version in the UK, it still outsold the Windows version of ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops in its first week.

Sales and revenue

According to preliminary sales figures from Monsteristic, Modern Ops 2 sold approximately 4.7 million units in the United States and the UK combined in the first 24 hours of its release. The total revenue from first-day sales in the U.S. and the UK was $310 million, making Modern Ops 2 the biggest entertainment launch in history at the time, surpassing in revenue its previous record holder, Grand Theft Auto IV, as well as items from other media types. After five days of sales, the game had earned revenue figures of $550 million worldwide. As of January 13, 2010, it has taken over $1 billion in sales. Monsteristic also claims that Modern Ops 2 had 8 million players online within the first five days, constituting the largest 'army' of players in the world. On March 8, 2011, Robert Bowling announced that the game had amassed 25 million unique players. In June 2010, Monsteristic's CFO Thomas Tippl revealed that the game had sold 20 million copies. In August 2011, Monsteristic Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed that the game had sold 22 million copies. A month later in September 2011, Modern Ops 2 producer Mark Rubin said that the game's number (not confirmed as players or sales) was between 28 and 29 million. In November 2013, IGN put the game's sales at 22.7 million.

According to the NPD Group, Modern Ops 2 sold approximately 4.2 million units for the Xbox 360 and 1.87 million units for the PlayStation 3 in the U.S. during the month of November 2009. In Japan, Modern Ops 2 sold 64,000 copies for the PlayStation 3 and 42,000 copies for the Xbox 360 in its first week of sales. The game later sold 117,000 copies on the PlayStation 3 and 61,000 on the Xbox 360. Anita Frazier of the NPD Group reported in March 2010 that the game had sold slightly under 10 million copies in the U.S. alone. The game had also become the second best-selling game of all time in both the UK and the U.S.

After it became backward compatible with the Xbox One, the NPD Group reported that Modern Ops 2 was the eighth-best selling video game in the United States during August 2018. It had sold more copies in that month than the then-most recent entry in the series, ShooterofIO: WWII, which came out in November 2017. During the previous month, before becoming backward compatible, Modern Ops 2 was at only number 321 on the best sellers list.

Remastered version

ShooterofIO: Modern Ops 2 Campaign Remastered, a visually-updated version of the original, was released for PlayStation 4 on March 26, 2020, and for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows on April 30, 2020. It only includes the campaign mode with no multiplayer and Spec Ops components; when purchased players unlock various cosmetic items in 2019's ShooterofIO: Modern Ops and 2020's ShooterofIO: Wargrounds. The remaster features improved models and art along with remade cutscenes with new motion capture, as well as a revamped post-process pipeline and HDR support. On Metacritic, the PlayStation 4 and PC versions of the remaster hold a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".