Modern Warfare II is the pinnacle of the franchise 2023

Backed by a huge wave of nostalgia thanks to the original Modern Warfare 2 (note this one lacks the Roman II), the new game promised to be the return of the king of online shooters. With a militarized campaign, tactical co-op and frenetic multiplayer, the new game is here to stay. But what are the positives and negatives anyway?

Index

1. epic campaign
2. Improved multiplayer
3. tactical coop
4. Final considerations
   1. Call of Duty Modern Warfare II

epic campaign

The campaign picks up a few years after the events of Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019), with Lieutenant Simon Riley (or Ghost for those closest to him) investigating a transaction between the terrorist faction Al Qatala and the government of Iran. In the first minutes of the game, the writers reveal the central theme of the campaign: the United States invading countries and paying the price for it. A guided missile with the power of mass destruction is used to decimate a small convoy of soldiers, all with the sole aim of killing the current leader of the terrorists.

It is obvious that this was not going to stay that way, as US actions have resulted in the birth of Hassan, a new leader who is even more radical than his predecessor. In a matter of a few months, the new leader was able to assemble a highly militarized army, which forced the United States to join the members of Task Force 141 in a capture-or-kill mission in the fictional desert of Al Mazrah. It is during their first mission as members of the 141 that Captain Soap MacTavish and Ghost discover that Al Qatala is in possession of American missiles. This triggers a series of reconnaissance and espionage missions, taking the characters to Mexico in the city of Las Almas.

In Las Almas, Team 141 makes contact with Alejandro Vargas, head of the special forces and specialist in the fight against the Cartel commanded by the mysterious “El Sin Nombre”. The Cartel is responsible for harboring Hassan in Mexican territory, and makes Soap and Ghost uncover the rotten truth behind funding the drug war.

The campaign, despite being relatively short, is full of memorable missions and key moments that we’ve come to expect from other games in the Call of Duty franchise. The characters feel real, each has their own motivations and personalities, and the dialogue is subtle.

Although the game follows some clichés and its ” plot twist ” is easily predicted (especially for those who played the original MW2), Call of Duty Modern Warfare II delivers one of the best campaigns in the franchise’s history, and makes me think that it still exists. people at Activision studios who care about the game. It’s impossible not to smile when Price makes some reference to the original games, especially in a quest that is entirely inspired by the famous Pripyat quest from CoD 4.

Graphically and technically, Modern Warfare II demonstrates the power of Infinity Ward’s new graphics engine, delivering a variety of photorealistic settings and delightful sounds. All locations are faithfully portrayed, the art direction is impeccable and the game’s performance is to be envied. I played on an Xbox Series S and I didn’t have any kind of problem that interfered with my experience (in the campaign).

The campaign was a very pleasant surprise, and it surpassed all expectations I had created thanks to the game’s beautiful marketing . But what about multiplayer? Is it good?

Improved multiplayer

Let’s face it, 80% of the people who buy Call of Duty every year don’t buy from the campaign. When we talk about CoD, the first thing that comes to mind is running around with an MP5, jumping, shooting and sending high-ranking killstreaks like an AC-130 or even the coveted Nuke .

Call of Duty Modern Warfare II’s multiplayer mode brought many positive changes to the game’s classic system, but also some things that, as a franchise veteran, deeply bothered me. Let’s get one thing straight: the gameplay is the best the franchise has ever had, and that’s undeniable. But what about the rest?

Let’s start by talking about the new weapon system. In MWII, the developers threw out the classic system of earning weapons as the player levels up and adopted a “tree” system. In this way, for you to unlock (for example) the M16, it is necessary to level up the M4, unlock the LMG 556 Icarus, level up the Icarus to 13 and only then can the player use the M16.

https://youtu.be/eDtX2jaJqiA

It does not stop there! The attachable equipment you can put on your weapons is shared between all, but you need to unlock this equipment using the corresponding weapon first. That is, if you want to use a specific type of scope that is unique to Kastov (AK-47 equivalent weapon) on your M4, you will have to play with Kastov until you reach the required level.

Sounds pretty complicated, doesn’t it? Although at first I had problems with this new system, over time I started to appreciate it. It was created with the intention of allowing players to try more weapons, generating more rotation and breaking the norm of the “meta” that has spoiled the multiplayer experience in recent games. After spending some time figuring out how the system worked, I started planning different mounts for my weapons, and that forced me to play with weapons that I would never have touched before.

Another big change was in the perk system . This time around, the game doesn’t offer a classic system with 3 “ tiers ” of perks , putting an evolution system in place. The player must select two basic perks to start the match, an intermediate one that unlocks after a few minutes and a “max” that unlocks after half the match has taken place. This way, you don’t run the risk of having players running with “Ghost” right from the start, creating a greater equal footing for everyone, whether pro-players or amateurs.

These two changes were the most significant, and overall I think they fit in well with the kind of gameplay that Modern Warfare games offer. Unlike Black Ops, Modern Warfare rewards players who act more tactically, but without leaving aggression aside. Unfortunately, the new maps reflect this mindset, and I must admit I’m not a fan of any of them.

The game currently has 9 maps in total (apart from Ground War mode, which is more like the classic gameplay of games like Battlefield). Of these 9 maps, at least half are horrible. Of course, this is my personal opinion, but I don’t particularly understand how certain maps were approved by the quality team at Infinity Ward and Activision.

For example, one of these maps is called “Santa Seña Border Crossing”, and its design is literally a straight line filled with cars that explode as grenades are thrown. The map has a small opening on the right side, but it’s still a huge straight that leaves players’ vision obstructed by useless objects. This map promotes the famous “camping”, that is, the player who sits quietly waiting for enemies to appear in front of him wins.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only map that promotes this. While Modern Warfare 2019 was criticized for offering larger maps with fewer points for campers , Modern Warfare II offers smaller maps but with large corridors that favor the player who likes to be stationary all the time. The design of the maps is totally disjointed, and they don’t seem to deliver any sort of logical structure.

It’s hard not to badmouth maps when they’re the most important thing in a multiplayer game. Despite being a new game, I was saddened to find that none of the maps from the original game had been remastered, which probably indicates that the developers will gradually add them over the next few seasons. The great gameplay and new systems can’t sustain themselves without good maps, and that’s sorely lacking in Modern Warfare II.

I also need to talk about the game’s progression system. At the time of this review, the game still has no challenges other than weapon camouflages, it doesn’t have a battle pass, the maximum level is 55, and many systems that are basic and were present at the launch of other games in the franchise are missing. For example, the game doesn’t have a HQ that details historical progression in matches, and it’s very difficult to understand the developers’ decision not to include something so basic from launch.

Despite all this, the multiplayer is still fun. It had been many years since I woke up with that crazy desire to play a few games, and every day I saw that “a few games” turned into hours and hours of play. This is proof that, despite numerous problems, Infinity Ward has created something worth playing, we just have to be patient and wait for future updates with new maps and weapons.

tactical coop

The “Spec Ops” mode returns with two-player co-op missions, and continues the story of the campaign. At the moment, the game only offers three missions, but each one brings different new features and mechanics. Of them all, my favorite mission is the first one, where you and a colleague must invade three separate bases at dawn without raising suspicion or raising alarms.

The artificial intelligence used in co-op is very good. Enemies react very realistically, changing positions, taking cover or even screaming after taking shots. It is important to note that this same artificial intelligence will be used in the new Warzone 2.0, which launches in mid-November.

Co-op is a nice experience to play with friends, but the lack of missions can be disappointing. Infinity Ward has already stated that new missions will arrive with the new seasons, so it remains to be seen what they have in mind.

Final considerations

Call of Duty Modern Warfare II, despite some issues with map design, brings a solid and compact experience across the three main game modes. The multiplayer is addictive, its campaign is the best in the franchise for many years and the co-op mode has enormous potential, but it all depends on the good will of the developers. At the end of it all, Call of Duty is back bigger than ever, with Modern Warfare II being a big hit for shooter lovers.

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Want to know the details of the future Warzone 2.0 in Modern Warfare II? See Call of Duty Next: Warzone 2 coverage, Multiplayer news and more