The campaign is full of problematic story beats, with Modern Warfare 2’s supposed heroes committing all kinds of crimes and general atrocities. In one mission, Mexican special forces cross the border, break into Americans’ homes, and kill them when they try to defend themselves. In real life, this would be an Earth-shaking political scandal, but in Modern Warfare 2, foreign forces murdering American citizens on American soil is brushed off and never mentioned again.
Modern Warfare 2 suffers from serious jumps in logic throughout the entire campaign. In one mission, players completely obliterate countless Mexican army and cartel members in an attempt to capture someone. After catching this person, Modern Warfare 2’s protagonists are told their captive must be let go because holding him would be illegal. Yet, in a previous mission the orders were to capture him or kill him. Apparently, the military leadership in Call of Duty has no problem committing war crimes or assassinating people, but they draw the line at kidnappings.
The story in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a complete bust, crossing the line into Fast and Furious-levels of absurdity with zero care for establishing a believable world with believable characters. Everyone is one note, spouting emotionless military babble at each other, with Gaz’s constant use of the word “rog” especially grating. If all that wasn’t enough to make the Modern Warfare 2 campaign story easily one of the worst in the series, it completely fails to follow up on the cliffhanger left by the 2019 Modern Warfare game, though there’s a reason for that.
Those that remember the 2019 Modern Warfare campaign will recall that it ends with Captain Price putting together Task Force 141 to take on Victor Zakhaev, one of the main antagonists of Call of Duty 4. One would think that Modern Warfare 2 would continue that storyline, but it doesn’t, and Zakhaev is hardly even mentioned. The reason for this is because that story was actually wrapped up as part of limited-time Call of Duty: Warzone events. This baffling narrative decision will leave players trying to follow the overarching narrative from one game to the next utterly confused, and it’s a choice that makes an already lackluster story even worse.
Unfortunately, it looks like this trend will continue with Modern Warfare 2. The new game’s campaign ends on a chilling cliffhanger that it seems will likely be concluded in the upcoming Warzone 2.0 battle royale or maybe the rumored Modern Warfare 2 campaign DLC. As it stands, the entire story is one giant set-up to more interesting things, and its inability to finish the story started by the 2019 game makes the whole thing completely unsatisfying.
Gameplay-wise, the Modern Warfare 2 campaign fares better, but it’s nothing to write home about. Anyone that has played a Call of Duty campaign in the last 15 years knows exactly what to expect from this. Levels play out like a shooting gallery, with enemies popping up to get shot and putting up little fight. Missions are even more hand-holdy than ever before, with the obligatory sniper mission having Captain Price fixing players’ mistakes by killing the enemies they miss.
The Modern Warfare 2 campaign gives players the illusion of choice, allowing them to make decisions like if they should enter a warehouse by breaching the door with C4, throwing tear gas through the vents, or coming through the skylights. No matter what players do, the outcome is going to be the same, and they always end up on the ground shooting enemies. Still, this is preferable to the moments where the game tells players every single thing they should do at any given time, like “stay still in the grass, pull out your heartbeat sensor,” etc.
The Modern Warfare 2 campaign is excessively hand-holdy for almost the entire experience, minus out-of-place sections where the game suffers a difficulty spike and has players facing off against armored enemies with limited weaponry at their disposal. Armored enemies in the Modern Warfare 2 campaign at least make the missions more challenging, but going from run-and-gun gameplay to strict stealth in a Call of Duty game is jarring.
Armored enemies are one way the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign incorporates Warzone elements, but there are other ways the battle royale finds its way into the single-player experience. There are a couple of missions where players are encouraged to loot and equip armor plates, like in the BR, and there’s also a horribly misguided and frustratingly wonky vehicle mission that seems to be an attempt to showcase Warzone’s driving mechanics.
Even though Warzone 2.0 doesn’t launch until November 16, the battle royale’s influence can be found all over the game. The big team Ground War and Invasion maps from the multiplayer are re-purposed chunks of Warzone 2.0’s Al Mazrah map, and the same goes for the Spec Ops co-op missions. Speaking of Spec Ops, the fan-favorite mode is back, but this time there are only three missions and none of them really capture what made the original Spec Ops special.
In the 2009 Modern Warfare 2, the Spec Ops missions were bite-sized co-op experiences that offered genuine challenges and utilized the two-player set-up effectively by sometimes putting players in different roles or giving them distinct objectives from their co-op partner. In the 2022 Modern Warfare 2, the Spec Ops missions are long, drawn-out affairs where players complete objectives across areas of the Al Mazrah map.
The good news is that the Modern Warfare 2 2022 Spec Ops missions are fun in their own right, giving players the freedom to tackle objectives how they want and allowing the game’s excellent gunplay to shine. However, this is not the grand return of the 2009 Spec Ops that fans have been wanting for years, and saddling these missions with that name will likely leave some fans of the original Modern Warfare 2 feeling misled.
Spec Ops is fun but not really Spec Ops, and the campaign is the definition of style over substance. However, they’re both worth checking out if for nothing else than to unlock content for Warzone and multiplayer and ogle the graphics. Even as a cross-gen release, Modern Warfare 2 has some of the best graphics industry-wide, with a buttery smooth frame rate and a high level of detail in each level.
This polish carries over to the multiplayer, with Modern Warfare 2 providing the best-looking Call of Duty multiplayer to date. While the campaign fails to hit the mark, the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer experience is excellent from a core gameplay standpoint, providing the classic Call of Duty multiplayer experience that fans have come to expect with an extensive arsenal of weapons and a decent variety of game modes.
Along with the standard Call of Duty game modes, Modern Warfare 2 introduces Prisoner Rescue and Knock Out, both of which are no-respawn match types that require players to be more strategic than most CoD game modes. As far as maps go, Modern Warfare 2 has launched with 10 multiplayer maps, none of which stand out as egregiously bad. The maps are fun with nice variety, and while some may prove controversial in the community, like the Border Crossing map that takes place on a narrow highway crowded with cars, they at least offer something new.
What Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer delivers at launch is well-designed maps and classic game modes that should keep Call of Duty fans busy for weeks. Even so, there are some omissions from the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer experience that keep it from being the saving grace for the game. At the time of this writing, Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer has no way for players to check their stats and there is no Hardcore mode. Also, the Gunsmith is missing important functionality like saving custom blueprints, and split-screen is either broken or purposefully limited compared to previous games.
Call of Duty has kept split-screen at a time when most other games have abandoned it, but the split-screen in Modern Warfare 2 leaves a lot to be desired. At the time of this writing, players are unable to play any online matches in split-screen and Spec Ops is also unplayable in split-screen. Instead, the only option for split-screen gamers is to play custom matches against bots, which is better than nothing, but a far cry from what’s been offered in the past.
Activision and Infinity Ward have big plans for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and the game should see plenty of support in the weeks and months ahead. The big Season 1 update is scheduled to arrive in November, while Season 1 Reloaded will come in December with even more content. These updates will likely address fan feedback about the game and bring back missing features as well. Eventually, Modern Warfare 2 should get to a point where it becomes an easy recommendation for shooter fans, but it’s undercooked and underwhelming in its current state.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant reviewed the Xbox Series X version of the game.
title: “Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Review” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Charles Lee”
Modern Warfare 2 is an incredible game and easily follows in the footsteps of its Call of Duty predecessors. It is without question the premier war simulation first person shooter, no matter what console you’re playing on. The game spans a number of locales, providing diverse, albeit intense, mission variety. Missions find you scrambling through tight Rio de Janeiro alleys, infiltrating a prison, rescuing hostages on an oil rig, and sneaking into the enemy’s mountain-strongholds. The game is at its best in these moments, immersing the player in a variety of exciting and action-packed scenarios.
Without question the title looks amazing. Enemies and supporting characters move fluidly, and with fast-paced action, this is no small accomplishment. Characters stumble around corners, take cover, and melee opponents without stuttering or locking into place. Some of the best animation in the game occurs in the infamous “No Russian” mission, where crowds of pedestrians funnel through tight areas and even drag the wounded across the kill floor. The environments are diverse, but each is crafted with the same careful detail. The scenery is crisp and lifelike whether viewed up close or through a scoped rifle flying high above the ground in a helicopter. The DC map in particular, with the mix of rain and ash falling out of the sky, is especially impressive.
The game controls similar to previous titles and still utilizes the “look down the scope” centering system for firing accuracy - basically one of those “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” situations. There were a few points in the single player campaign where it was extra-easy to get disoriented, which is further compounded by the aiming system, but altogether the game handles great.
Modern Warfare 2 provides three main modes of play: the single-player story campaign, traditional online multiplayer, and Special Ops — a series of tactical scenarios that can be played alone or with a friend. Infinity Ward knows its audience, and the multiplayer in Modern Warfare 2 is everything you’d expect from a FPS war simulator. The reward system is much larger than previous Call of Duty titles, providing players with regular incentives to level up and build their combat arsenal. The game also introduces “Kill Streak” rewards for racking up kills without dying - i.e., a kill streak of 5 will net players the ability to remote-drop a predator missile on a selected area, and a kill streak of 15 will allow the use of an electromagnetic pulse to disable all enemy electronics. If a player happens to get a kill streak of 25, they’re rewarded with ability to drop a nuke that kills everyone on the battlefield - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, literally, because the bomb kills them too.
The multiplayer has been hampered a bit out of the gate with leveling and unlockable problems being reported on both Xbox 360 and PS3, not to mention a sea of still-sore PC gamers who are boycotting the title for its lack of dedicated servers. In the long run, these problems won’t affect the core gameplay. Infinity Ward will certainly patch the game to correct any glitches that may currently be plaguing gamers; as for the dedicated server issue, there’s no doubt it was a lousy move on Infinity Ward’s part and will certainly discourage some PC gamers from picking up Modern Warfare 2, but if you’re not concerned with the controversy, it shouldn’t deter you from purchasing a copy of the game.
The “Special Ops” mode adds great replay value to the Modern Warfare 2 package, especially for players who get worn down by the intensity of online multiplayer. The variety of missions (imagine DLC-like challenge rooms) can be played individually or co-operatively with a stranger or friend (both online and local). If you don’t have a lot of friends playing the game, you’ll still enjoy these added missions; though they definitely shine a bit brighter in two-player co-op. The missions are un-related to the story mode and range from training in The Pit, racing snowmobiles, racking up body counts, and securing an entire airbase with only stealth weapons. Successful completion of the various challenges nets you stars that unlock trophies and achievements. The higher the difficulty level you play on, the more stars you’ll snag.
Continue reading our review of Modern Warfare 2…
Finally, there’s the single-player campaign, an under-sized clip show narrative with mostly disconnected story moments and a number of exciting battle scenarios that most players will complete in under five hours. The “campaign” is a loosely thrown together collection of great multiplayer maps - it’s as if the battle locations were chosen for the type of tactical simulation or action packed scene each could provide, and then the actual story was retro-fitted to accommodate those environment choices.
The “plot” is divided into several story threads that occur in succession, through the eyes of different protagonists. Sergeant Gary “Roach” Sanderson, an elite commando and Private Ramirez, a US Army ranger, enjoy the majority of game time in the campaign mode, as the player jet sets in and out of each of their heads, and subsequently, their plights. Neither character has a distinctive personality and we’re never privy to cut scenes that make us appreciate them as individuals. We know them only through their actions - brave but ambiguous heroes.
There’s still plenty of great moments in the single-player campaign, though, each challenging the player in different ways — from running and gunning, defending targets or over-taking enemy controlled embattlements, to slow-motion breaching in order to save hostages. The game spans a number of settings and utilizes the environments to full affect — whether checking corners in abandoned suburban mansions, rushing across a battlefield avoiding fire from multiple enemy factions, or remotely controlling predator missiles in defense of an evacuation point, each of the chapters in the game offer different objectives and scenarios to overcome. Modern Warfare 2 rarely repeats itself, a testament to how carefully constructed the gameplay is, challenging the player with new, intriguing, tactical moments as well as allowing the gameplay to change depending on the player’s approach to the situation. The title easily competes with the other action games of 2009, delivering a number of incredible set pieces that are extremely satisfying in their over-the-top execution.
Infinity Ward has delivered a comprehensive package based on the passions of their base — outstanding multiplayer and cooperative gameplay with loads of replay value - not to mention the promise of future DLC support. That said, a heavy criticism of FPS games is the notion that Call of Duty-like titles are nothing more than exercises in senseless killing and Modern Warfare 2’s thin narrative does little to counter this idea. The game tries to be deep, dabbling with a terrifying glimpse at our potential future - a world of retaliatory warfare, where opportunists who capitalize on our fear of terrorism write the historical record.
However, whatever point the game attempts to make about the sacrifice of soldiers for the greater prosperity of freedom is undermined by the faceless protagonists who come off as nothing but meat for the war grinder, a point made even more ironic by the return of the death-screen quotes, of which a number emphasize the sacrifice of the individual for the greater good. Admittedly, many gamers jump into a title like Modern Warfare 2 without ever playing through the campaign, but with terrific FPS games like BioShock out there now, it’s getting harder and harder to simply dismiss the value of story-telling in the FPS genre.
Anyone who enjoyed previous Call of Duty games, first person shooters, or action titles will undoubtedly get their money’s worth from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It’s a solid title that builds on the previous episodes in the series, offering topnotch visuals and gameplay — along with hundreds of hours worth of replay value. See you on the battlefield.
Will you be picking up Modern Warfare 2?
