The balance feels REALLY good with no Stopping Power/Juggernaut.
So, the only thing that makes your player stronger is the weapon you choose. Which is how it should have been from the start.
The perk combo is definitely something to get used to. But it's a great change.
The weapons I got to use were really good. I started off with the M16 and found that it takes more than one burst to kill someone. FINALLY. THE M16 DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A ROOKIE GUN (as much).
I didn't get to try out every weapon, but I really liked the FAMAS, which is now fully auto. It will probably have a permanent spot on my class list. I also used the M1911, in beautiful shining silver as my secondary, which was a nice companion.
The AK74u, Galil, and the MP5k prototype were also great weapons.
I ended up using a Galil with Warlord (Bling) with a suppressor (which wasn't cheap) and a blue customized RDS for Search and Destroy. Being able to pick your perks early is a nice change, so I was S&D ready from the start.
Many of you were curious about the snipers. There are 4. Dragonuv, WA2000, L96, and the PSG1.
- The Draggie wasn't horrible, but like CoD4, I had some hitmarkers. But it will deliver.
- The WA2000 feels nice. Scopes in fast and looks better in this game than MW2. Again, hitmarkers happened often, and I found myself taking two shots to take down an opponent.
- The PSG1 was horrible. I got 8 hitmarkers in a row with this gun. Not a single one shot kill.
- The L96 is the winner. Bolt action. This games Intervention/M40/R7.
The scope in is fast, it sounds badass and has the power of a reg scope M40.
You have to hit the torso and above to get a one shot kill, which is balanced.
The reload of the bolt is a little slow, but is definitely a good gun... especially with Warsaw camo
Also, the scope choices are cool. The normal scope, the infrared scope and the variable zoom scope are great. I will most likely go with the variable zoom, which allows for 3 zoom levels. Great stuff, and will make for some awesome montage clips.
The level of camo, RDS, lenses and facepaint customization is amazing.
The emblem editor alone can keep you busy for hours. Endless possibilities. I ended up making this 5 layered atomic symbol with gray, white and black colors. It looks sweet on the side of my FAMAS.
Game winning killcams return... in EVERY gametype. Every gametype shows the last kill as a round winner, game winner, or the new term "game ending" killcam. So, Domination, Demolition, CTF, and HQ all have GWK's. In addition to the classic, FFA, TDM and S&D GWK's. Whoa, a lot of acronyms there. I didn't lose you, right?
COD Points, which I call CoPo, is pretty easy to come by. But, it also goes by quickly.
The first attachment I bought for every weapon was extended mags. Which runs at 500 CP. One of the cheapest attachments. Suppressors, on the other hand, are 2000 CP. Quite the difference. I won't get into pricing specifics, but everything costs money. So, spend wisely...
Graphically, the game isn't as stunning as MW2. The gun/player models aren't the best. But that's something I got over quickly. The voice overs are also not as good as MW2's. But again, something that certainly won't stop me from playing once it releases.
There's a section on the UI called "Community" which has 4 tabs - Films, Clips, Screenshots and Custom Game Modes. So all players can see other players material on the community board. Pretty sweet.
Killstreaks seemed balanced, and didn't really overwhelm the map. I didn't get to test out all of them. The chopper gunner and gunship were really fun, and didn't seem too overpowered. They were NOTHING like the chopper gunner from MW2. No thermal sights, and very small red squares around enemy players. These killstreaks require some skill. Finally.
The RC-XD is common, but not much of a burden. It rarely gets more than two kills at a time, so it's not much of a multi-kill machine. Although I know it will happen. It's also easy to shoot, so you find yourself being chased by one, it's relatively easy to get rid of.
Overall, from the 12 straight hours I had on the beta, I'd say it's a promising game. I am really excited to play the final version and get this madness rolling. If you read this far, congratulations. I spent more time than I should have writing all of this, and I'm sure I forgot something.
