In prior years, we eagerly awaited the release of the latest Call of Duty, with Call of Duty Modern Warfare II being the latest. Each year, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, or Treyarch would put out their latest addition to the series. Sadly, over the last seven years, our love for Call of Duty has declined; this decline is partially due to the formulaic approach that Activision and its studios have taken with the franchise. Out of the last six titles, only Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) were worth playing at launch. Now, with the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare II (2022) (MW2), has Infinity Ward continued with its hot streak or produced a forgettable title?
Going into Call of Duty Modern Warfare II (2022), very little information was shared about the upcoming game. Prior to the game’s official release, the biggest talking points were the Wetwork level trailer, the Open Multiplayer Beta, and the two-factor authentication backlash; yes, there was other news but most of it fell to the wayside. A week before the game’s official launch, Activision and Infinity Ward gave players who preordered the game the opportunity to play through the campaign.
As many are aware, most Call of Duty players only play through the campaign once or not at all. By releasing the Call of Duty Modern Warfare II campaign early, Activision and Infinity Ward were able to give players a taste of what to expect from the upcoming game. So how does Call of Duty Modern Warfare II compare to its predecessors?
Gameplay
The Call of Duty Modern Warfare Campaigns has arguably been the best out of all the Call of Duty campaigns. Call of Duty Modern Warfare II is divided into three different game menus: Campaign, Cooperative, & Multiplayer. Unlike the previous Call of Duties, MW2 launches without the hardcore game type, the gunfight game mode, leaderboards, and barracks to track medals and achievements.
Campaign
Going into the Modern Warfare II campaign, we were hoping that it would fall closer to that of the original MW2 while still tying in the events of the 2019 reboot. Instead, we got something unlike anything we’ve had before, a Call of Duty focused more on stealth and almost movie-like sequences. Compared to the previous Call of Duty Campaigns, Call of Duty Modern Warfare II‘s gunfights take a back seat to action sequences and stealth missions; if you choose to play the missions like the previous Call of Duties, you will get put in your place… an early grave.
Rather than focusing on Russia being the enemy like in previous games, Infinity Ward takes a different approach. Yes, the Russians are still an enemy but early on, the game shifts focus towards the Mexican cartels and even the American government being the enemy. The beloved characters of Shadow Company and Task Force 141 still are the primary focus of the campaign. Most of the game’s story takes place in Mexico with Soap, Ghost, Gaz, and Price as the primary characters.
The biggest problem with Call of Duty Modern Warfare II‘s campaign is that it really never finds its pacing. The campaign feels more like it was made to be watched rather than played. On one mission you can be stealthily looking for weapons of mass destruction and then the next chasing after a kidnapped ally, shooting enemies while driving a truck. In past Call of Duty titles, if there was a mission where you were in a chase sequence, there would be an AI to do so; the lack of an AI in this sequence can be overwhelming and frustrating.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer is technically divided into two different game modes regular Multiplayer and Cooperative. Players can choose between twelve different game modes; the twelve game modes are: Team Deathmatch, Free-for-All, Domination, Search and Destroy, Headquarters, Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint, Prisoner Rescue, Knockout, Ground War, Invasion, and 3rd Person Moshpit.
As previously stated, hardcore is just one of the many features missing from Call of Duty Modern Warfare II; it is arguably the biggest tied with barracks for missing. Players who like to look at their stats can no longer do so after a match. Even in-game, a player’s death total is hitting on the stats board. Theatre mode is also missing making it hard for players to save their favorite clips.
Operators in multiplayer take a back seat to the overall gameplay. They are strictly cosmetic. The Battle Pass also appears to be inactive at this time despite having a menu for it. Kill Streaks are now locked behind kill tiers making it so players can not equip two kill steaks from the same tier. Sorry, no more UAV, Counter UAV, and Care package kill streaks setups. At the current moment, most maps have a primarily indoor fighting space. Yes, there are some with skylights and outdoor areas, but air-based kill streaks feel insufficient.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare II does feature one of the most highly customizable weapons menus. Yes, players do still have to unlock attachments, kills steaks, equipment, and perks but the range of choices that a player can customize their loadout is superior to the previous Call of Duty titles. The only downside is that perks are not activated at the start of the match but rather they come online as the match goes on.
Cooperative
Cooperative is story-based missions where two players must complete an objective. Each of the three missions has its own story, focus, and objectives. Once an objective is complete, the game creates an auto-save in case players fail. Once both players are downed and do not have a self-revive kit, the mission is failed. Players then have the choice to quit to the menu or try again.
Each mission features a kit select where players can focus on either assault, medic, or recon. Depending on how many stars are earned in the previous mission will help unlock different tier levels; these tier levels can give players an advantage to complete the mission faster or take down the AI. Players can also earn weapon and level XP in Cooperative. Cooperative also features Intel which gives the missions more lore. After collecting enough intel, the player can unlock emblems, banners, and more cosmetics.
Cooperative is fun when you have a teammate you can communicate with but is rather bland when playing with a random. Thankfully, the game will not make you go it alone and will pair you with another player.
Graphics
Visually, outside of some bugs, the campaign looks great but the overall gameplay feels like it took a back seat to the visuals. Environmentally, the landscapes look amazing and environmental effects such as wind and water are realistic and not just elements to push the player along.
The game does have quite a few issues rendering in-game cutscenes compared to the actual cinematics. Objects throughout the campaign levels would often not spawn so there would be invisible walls to run into. Sometimes, even parts of the terrain or parts of buildings would not spawn.
Oddly, when you compare the campaign to the cooperative this is drastically different, at no point did we have an issue with the level not loading properly. Multiplayer levels typically load properly, but when a lobby is lagging things can get out of wack. The game does still have a crashing issue, especially when trying to switch game menus; the game will also freeze when trying to enter the weapon loadouts screen half the time. At the moment there appear to be no weapon skins in the game.
Controls/Sound
If you have ever played a modern-day shooter or a different Call of Duty, you know the basic controls. Call of Duty Modern Warfare II has introduced two new features that have drastically improved the game. The first new feature is the score streak wheel allowing players to choose what score streaks they want to use. Players also now have the option to customize their loadout while in-game.
As for audio/SFX, when there is no lag Call of Duty Modern Warfare II sounds great. Since the beta, a lot of the weapon fire has changed sounds and you can now easily hear where you are being shot from. The voice acting in the game’s campaign is believable but the multiplayer voice lines feel reproduced.
When you first start the game, the game’s audio is extremely loud and overpowering. This makes communicating with teammates in-game if there is anyone talking a bit difficult.
Replayability
Like any other Call of Duty, Call of Duty Modern Warfare II can easily have you coming back for more. The game does have a good number of bugs that need to be worked on but nothing as bad as Gotham Knights or Cyberpunk 2077 at launch. Over the next year, multiplayer and cooperative will improve as long as Infinity Ward and Activision continue to do what they have been.
Most players will either skip the campaign entirely or have a one-and-done experience.
Modern Warfare II Verdict
Call of Duty Modern Warfare II should have easily been one of our recommended holiday picks. Sadly, even after the launch, the game has a variety of issues. Between crashes, loading issues, lag, and a lackluster campaign, COD MW 2 (2022) fails to live up to its series counterparts. The campaign narrative feels uninspired and unfocused with pacing issues. Visually, when the game does work it looks beautiful with character models looking rather life-like; the visual effects within the game and the environmental physics engine produce a real-life experience making the campaign more realistic.
The game’s multiplayer can be fun to play when you have a team to play with, otherwise, playing by yourself with no one talking in the lobby gets lonely and boring. Cooperative offers a giant open-world experience that makes the player feel like a member of the special forces when they succeed; sadly, it does not offer a variety of difficulties to play it on and can be rather difficult when you first attempt it.
At the end of the day, we know you most likely will be picking up Call of Duty Modern Warfare II for its multiplayer. If that’s all you are looking for then you will enjoy your time. If you were searching for something more or something innovative then skip over this one or wait until it goes on sale. We will monitor Modern Warfare II (2022) for any improvements.
A copy of the game was provided by Activision for review. Call of Duty Modern Warfare II is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
