Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 – Carrying the Modern Warfare name is a tremendous responsibility, given the impact that the original games in this Call of Duty line have made in the past.
This year’s version, a direct continuation of the 2019 reboot, had an even more thankless task, since, for a good part of the critics and public, the game is a reinterpretation of what was the best of the entire saga. Between ups and downs, this chapter ends up not reaching the glories of the past, but it is still a fun and action-packed package.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 campaign fluctuates
The whole team is back. In addition to Captain Price, there are also the returns of Soap, Shepherd, Nikolai and, of course, the iconic Ghost with his skull mask. As it is a reboot, the story, however, is quite different, with new villains and missions, but full of references to moments from the classic game.Task Force 141 is after an Iranian terrorist group hiding long-range missiles that could destroy major cities in the West. Together with a group of American mercenaries, called Shadows, they need to advance through different territories to find clues about the missiles and the whereabouts of the terrorist leader, called Hassan. The developments and eventual problems take the team even to Mexico, where they also get involved in disputes against the Cartel and ally themselves with a task force from the region, equally interested in solving the case. In all these locations, the graphics are beautiful, even without the impact of 2019, since it still uses the same version of the graphics engine from years ago and is still based on last generation consoles.The narrative is one of the weakest points of the game and, many times, it makes little sense, with several script shortcuts that break the immersion due to the lack of verisimilitude. In an attempt to pass an aspect of purity to Task Force 141, in some chapters they stop being the ruthless soldiers they are to comply with laws and bureaucracies that make releasing or giving up dangerous villains, only for a few missions later they are again putting the world at risk. Characters like Farah, one of the main ones in COD MW 2019, and Nikolai, only appear in one mission each, being underused.
In gameplay, however, the campaign shines. The missions are very varied and never cease to amaze. There are classic COD moments, with room-to-room break-ins with night vision on and Michael Bay movie-like operations, but there are also some very unexpected ones, like a car chase across the Middle East, an undercover Cartel break-in – what else? it feels like a level in the Hitman series – and even moments where you have to collect supplies throughout the levels to build items, since you are out of weapons.Throughout the 17 missions, the player will always be facing different challenges and will hardly get tired of the formula, as it is always in motion. The most interesting thing is that, even with this level of variation, the doses of action and the rhythm do not suffer much, leaving the campaign far from being monotonous.It lacked, however, some epic moments enough to stand up to Modern Warfare’s legacy. There is no impactful mission like “No Russian”, for example. It also bothered the way they tried to give the spotlight to Ghost at all times, which made him a caricatured character. His relationship with Soap, however, even gave a nice chemistry.Weighing the whole, the campaign oscillates a lot due to the low level of the narrative, but the missions carry it well and make it one of the coolest of the last years of the franchise, especially after the lukewarm Cold War and Vanguard.
multiplayer repeat mistakes
In recent years, Call of Duty multiplayer has also seen its ups and downs, and Modern Warfare 2 has its issues, but overall it’s a pretty solid experience, especially given the refined weapon gameplay and robust weapon customization. Still, it’s amazing how confident Infinity Ward seems in its controversial decisions and map design concepts, even when a vocal part of the community hits since the 2019 version on what they perceive as problems.Starting with the positive, the weapon customization system is pretty cool and highly refined. There are weapon-specific challenges, a good progression tree, and a wide range of edits to make the weapon the way you prefer it for your playstyle. The system also encourages testing new weapons, which is very welcome.The game modes are varied, with plenty of content. Ground War and Invasion have numerous teams, with the first covering up to 32 players and the second being 20 against 20. The maps here are even pretty cool and the gameplay is dynamic due to the possibilities that a large battlefield provides. Prisoner Rescue is similar to Cold War’s VIP Escort and went down really well in MW2 as well. Spec Ops is a cooperative mode that is a huge positive surprise. It’s a shame to only have three scenarios, since each one of them has a different and fun feel to play with a friend or someone on the internet, especially the one focused on stealth. The third-person mode is the least interesting and needs more polishing, but it should please anyone looking for something different from the conventional for the franchise.The problem is in the classic modes, which have some very bad maps, such as Sena Border and Al Bagra, with many points that again favor those who keep the camper-mounted weapon in hidden places at every corner, a problem that was also part of the game 2019. In addition, aspects such as the removal of slice cancel, the lack of a leaderboard, the way crossplay was built trying to compensate for the disadvantages of the control with heavy Aim Assist, bad interface, among others, end up weighing against the positive part, leaving the overall result somewhat divisive.
Conclusion
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 doesn’t measure up to the 2009 game, but it’s a solid action package for fans of the franchise. The campaign has a weak story, but it delivers varied and always fun missions, which makes it one of the best in the saga in recent years. Multiplayer already has many interesting game modes and incredible customization. However, it ends up sinning for the same mistakes of the past, especially with regard to the design of the maps.pros
Gameplay variety of missions in the campaign
Good multiplayer game modes
Robust weapon customization system
Graphics impress in some stages, despite being crossgen
News2 months ago
