By all means, The 8-bit Left 4 Dead de-make that arrived in January should’ve been a one-off, but it turns out that more than one person likes the idea of taking a high-end 3D title and cramming it into a 2D field.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 fans will find that the 2D version rings familiar. For the most part, everything from the original game is in here: even those fast-paced chase sequences. Available as a free download (PC only), 2D Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is worth the 10 mins or longer that you’ll spend wasting your life.

The controls for COD 2D are simple: W, S, A, and D make your character jump, do nothing, move left and move right accordingly. Then there are your guns: you get an assault rifle, riot shield, RPG, flamethrower, duel pistols, and a semi auto shotgun. These are controlled using the number keys. Additionally, throwing grenades can be done by pressing the G button. Lastly, the mouse controls where you fire your gun, which gives the game the a FPS feel, even if the game doesn’t look like it.

In fact, the game looks largely like a sidescroller illustrated by a 10 year old. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when you see baddies or tanks blow up in an exaggerated fashion you may not be able to help laughing as it is just so ridiculous. Some of the graphics actually seem pretty cool though. For example, a lot of the levels where you are being chased look a bit like a primitive version of a SNES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, or like those Stick Figure Flash games.  The bottom line is that you should not expect the high dynamic range and beautiful 60 fps  glory of the 3D Call of Duty games. In fact, it’s probably best not to expect much in terms of graphics overall.

The game’s music and sounds are much more pleasing than the graphics. The music sounds like the tunes that you’d hear in the regular Call of Duty, and the weapons all have great FX attached to them. Actually, this game is best played with headphones on to give you a more immersive experience.

The gameplay is very straightforward, but very challenging. For example, ensuring that Makarov (one of the main villians who made his way into the 2D world) doesn’t escape requires you to lead an RPG missile across the screen until you catch up to him. The chase sequences are very confusing though because these are done in a top down perspective. Additionally, there is a whole load of dodging that needs to be done. You need to dodge obstacles and outrun people chasing you. This also requires shooting at them, so your attention gets divided quite a bit.

As far as weapons go, you really only find yourself using the assault rifle, RPG, and grenades for a majority of the game. The duel pistols come in handy during the chases. There is almost no reason to ever whip out the riot shield. The flamethrower is extremely fun to use: then again, they are in any game.

Players won’t feel the emotional connection to the characters that they did in the console version. The reason for this is because of the lack of cut scenes and dialogue. You simply are just thrust right into the game instead of having to go through those sections. For players looking to just play, this is fine. For players looking for a story, look elsewhere.

There was one part that I couldn’t get past: it’s the chopper sequence. Thankfully, I just went back to the main menu and skipped it to go onto the next part of the game. This is a welcome addition to casual players that may find it too hard a game to play.

Perhaps playing through the parts you can’t get through allows for the replayability factor. Truthfully, you probably won’t care to do so though. This is, after all a 16MB download. That isn’t to say that good things can’t come in small packages; or downloads.

There is no multiplayer ability or crossplayer either, so you can’t pwn noobs with duel shotguns or throw knives at them and have the entire server scream epic win. For people that get pwn3d often, this may be a welcome change. For the others, keep throwing those knives.

This is actually a saddening part of the game: the fact that knives were kept out of the game. Everyone loves using knives. In my time playing the game, I didn’t encounter the knife except at the end of the game. The entire game was completed in addition to searching for Easter eggs.

Overall, the 2D Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is solid, but somewhat empty, experience. It naturally doesn’t compare to it’s full-sized big brother, but If you want to give it a try, it won’t hurt to keep it open during class or at work.