Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Review

Another year, another Call of Duty. Going back to the name Modern Warfare with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, developed again by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, it’s that time of the year when records are broken and my friends list is packed with people all playing the same game.

Now, most fans agree that Call of Duty peaked with its Modern Warfare II version from 2009. I fell in love with it too. The story was fantastic, the multiplayer was balanced and I got very good at it. I remember my fond love for the Vector SMG and people questioning me on why I use it. Also there was the Spec Ops Co-Op mode which slowly increased in difficulty but was a lot of fun. But does this new remastered, revisited, rejuvenated version bring the same love?

For me, the old school Modern Warfare 2 was only my second favourite out of all the titles they have churned out. If you have to know, Ghosts was my favourite, which I know is controversial as not many people enjoyed it. It had a brilliant story and the “Extinction” mode was the best they ever created – I won’t be told anything different! People hated it, I loved it. I got 2000g on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One version (like you are even shocked though!).

Now this review will mainly focus on the campaign side of things has most of my time is spent on this and I don’t really play much multiplayer other than the new Warzone 2.0 , though I won’t be covering Warzone 2.0 here as that’s a completely separate entity, but quick note.. It is brilliant and the proximity chat is the greatest addition ever.

Now the campaign is a reboot. This reboot is a continuation of the 2019 reboot entry, taking place in realistic and modern times. Captain Price’s Task Force 141 is up and running, dealing with global threats. One of those is General Ghorbrani, the leader of Al-Qatala who is quickly succeeded by Hassan Zyani.

He teams up with a drug cartel with a plot to use stolen missiles on the U.S.A, and just like all Call of Duty games, it’s down to you and the Task Force 141 to stop him.

The campaign is a good length, you will be jumping between real world locations like Mexico and Amsterdam but also fictional places such as Al Mazrah and Las Almas.

One thing that I really enjoyed during my run of the campaign was the pacing. Missions feel very fluid, never outstaying their welcome, and there’s an expertly judged balance between the fast-paced action missions and the nice calm stealth-like missions. The stealth ones were some of my favourites, being a huge stealth fan. They were perfect for being that sneaky, sneaky person I like to be.

Each weapon you use through-out handles differently. If you keep the gun you start the level with you will come across plenty of ammo caches to top-up your bullets. You can, however, pick up guns enemies have dropped and sometimes you will find a hidden gem that they were carrying.

There are some new features thrown in that I haven’t seen in previous entries. One which I really liked was a new dialogue wheel that gives players the option to steer certain points of conversation and determine how you want your character to act. I can always appreciate the attempt to spice things up, but this was certainly a feature I wasn’t expecting to ever see in a Call of Duty game, and for good reason. It made it feel like you are making your own choices and of course in later levels what you say becomes more important.

This game is gorgeous. The atmosphere, animations, and characters are on point. It is definitely one of the best visual experiences I have played this year. You will hear this often but the Amsterdam level is probably the best looking one, mainly for how accurate it is.

For those yet to play it I don’t want to give any spoilers away but it’s a fun ride with a variety of different missions and your experience will last about 6-8 hours.

Now as much as I enjoyed it, there’s nothing too special when it comes to the story. Some of the levels are definitely well thought out and have a variety of different styles of missions but at the end of the day it still feels all too familiar. Of course, as a remake this is kind of a given, but I’d prefer something newer and more unique from COD, or at the very least a fresh take on a new Black Ops, which to me is the more iconic sub-series. Nothing in this remake’s tale really gets the excitement going like I’d hoped for. Another game mode that has returned is Spec Ops with a different take on the multiplayer maps, allowing you and a friend to team up and undertake a series of co-op missions. These missions take place on familiar maps, but will have you fighting against NPCs and preset waves of enemies.

It’s your classic “go to that location, hold this position, defend from waves of enemies”, rinse and repeat. It’s a decent way to spend some time with a friend, but it shouldn’t be considered an essential part of the experience by anyone, really.

Conclusion

While the yearly Call of Duty is experience still remains fun, retreading old ground yet again is beginning to give off the feeling that there’s nowhere else to go for the franchise right now. I had fun playing Modern Warfare II, and those looking for solid shooting action will enjoy it, but I’d liked to see something new from the series going forward. Warzone 2.0 feels far fresher and more enjoyable to me, and is where I’ll be spending my time with COD until then.