With steams free weekend of MW2 online, I figured that I would go ahead and give it another go. Just in case the online experience has had a chance to grow into something more legitimate. Well, I must say, it has not changed one bit from when I first tried it. I am still shocked people pay 60 bux, plus DLC for this game. The only thing that has changed, is everyone is now at rank 90+ but still can't shoot or aim worth a damn.

So here are my gripes. First and foremost, the game engine does not work online on a PC without dedicated servers. Here is why. While playing, if there is a lot of action on the screen, even If I have a solid 90fps and a 5bar (yes they don't give actual ping values but designate it with signal bars like a cell phone) ping, the game slows to a crawl because the host PC cannot handle all the information it is given. Before anyone tries to chime in saying that this is client side issue, I have tried playing at low detail and low res to just make sure it was not me. It wasn't my PC. The game is also supposed to put you in a match to which you have excellent ping to. This does not happen at least half of the time. In half the game that MW2 thinks I should join have I have horrible ping. When this happens, I end out dyeing about 3-4 times before I have a chance to realize my ping is shit because of spawn campers and screw with my global stats and KDR.

Other gripes I have with this game has to do with game play style and spawning. The game play style if far to run & gun based. It feels more like Quake or Doom with real guns then anything else. The game modes can be fun, mostly the flag capture one. The fun with this however is quickly ruined by the idiotic spawning system. Once you die, you can instantly re-join the battle without any cool down time, which at first is nice, but causes problems because of this next tidbit. When you spawn, you get seemingly totally random spawn point. If you team just took control of a flag while the enemy is still there, you spawn right next to the flag only to get shot before you can react. If no flags have been capped in a while, you will spawn anywhere else on the map. I have been spawned right in the middle of enemy strongholds more times then I can count.

I will admit, MW2 can be fun from time to time. It is a decent fast paced FPS with some decent weapon upgrades. (except the whole air support in a map that is entirely indoors) I can easily see how someone can start playing this game and lose a couple of hours without realizing it.
As a PC game though, the flaws are just far to great. There are many more then listed here. I just don't want to spend a whole day typing this out. Half of the issues with MW2 online can be fixed with the use of dedicated servers. The other half are inherent in the Arcade like run & gun over adrenaline pumped style of game play that exists no matter what online mode you play.

Oh I forgot to add that I gave the online play a good 6 hours of total gameplay and got near rank 13 or so. I tried to give each game play mode half an hour minimum. I ended out spending most of my time on the flag cap one (can't remember the game mode) as it is my favortie game mode. I just don't want anyone thinking I only played it for 20 minutes then decided to go bash it.

I'm glad I didn't bother wasting my bandwidth on this. You've pretty much highlighted all the issues that put me off getting the game in the first place.

It's more of Quake insta-gib chaos considering short salvo sends you bitting the dust.
I played it and it lacks any kind of tactical depth.
Oh and Activision is so awesome i managed to start playing it on Sunday due to how greatly they prepared pre-download package.

That reminds me, I forgot to mention that if you get hit by just 1 full burst, no matter where it hits you, you die. All rifles I tried, by default, fire in bursts.

Save your time and money and buy Battlefield: Bad Company 2 instead of this overpriced, consolized Counter-Strike ripoff.

I already have BF:BC2, I still can't decide if it is better then BF2 though.

I considered downloading it, but opted not to.
When I play COD4, I typically look for 30 or 40 player servers. I suppose I prefer things more chaotic than a 9 vs 9 match can give you... but it does get pretty bad when the numbers get really high (especially with grenade spamming).

Add to this crappy ping (sorry, "bars"), host advantage, host migration, etc, and I'm just not interested. I'd simply rather play COD4, if I need a Modern Warfare fix.

It was a decent time waster over the weekend, but I don't think it's worth full price and I became bored of it rather quickly. Heck, to even be able to play it you had to first pre-load 4 gigs of data mid-week before the final ~6 gigs were made available to kick off the free weekend or download the whole 10-11 gigs at one time.

Without going into a ton of detail, my experience was just a quick moving, quick spawning/death and spamming mess with a number of connectivity issues.

That sounds about right.

Hmm ... did you try Hardcore Search and Destroy - this is my favourite MW2 mode. Nowhere near Quake or Doom. I feel it more like Counter Strike. If you die you need to wait for the next round. Run & gun is not a winning tactics in this mode. BTW how did you try weapons if you got just to rank 13? It's just to low. FAL for example is single fire and I'm 99% sure that FAMAS's 3 round burst is not enough to kill you in the foot if the mode is not Hardcore.

I have no issues with the respawning in other modes. I'm not a big CTF fan, but in Domination the game put you where your team mates are and there are no enemies around. In most cases it works. And there is respawing time you need to wait. Same for Team Deathmatch and Sabotage.

I have no problems with the game like you. It doesn't slow down. Some times I connect to a bad host (bad for me) and I just go out to find another game. The game is responsive even with 3 bars out of 5.

MW2 offers so many different modes and guns/accesories/weapons that can satisfy all tastes of gameplay - from Quake to Counter Strike, from run&gun players to campers, from lone wolfs to teamplay lovers.

The only negative thing I can say about the MW2 are the cheaters, but they are in every popular FPS PC game and from Counter Strike times I know - admins/developers/anticheat programs can't stop them.