Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty has a long and storied history within the gaming community. A phrase from The Dark Knight comes to mind: "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

This is certainly the case with the biggest videogame franchise in the world. Around the time of the Xbox 360 launch, Call of Duty 2 was blowing people's minds with its graphics and intense World War II battles. Only two iterations later, Modern Warfare (not this one) was released and still stands as a revered, timeless classic in many gamers' minds. Over the years some great games followed, but the series got further away from its roots, the plots became thinner, and the multiplayer became largely recycled. The series was still HUGE from a sales perspective, but it had lost a lot of what made it standout, especially in the face of other, better competitors. I've reviewed a handful of them on my site (Advanced Warfare and Black Ops 4) and played most all of them at some point or another. Last year's BLOPS4 was particularly troubling because, while fun for a little while, it signified a horrific change in the franchise: the removal of a single player campaign. 

Sure, sure. What everyone focuses on is the multiplayer. But ask any player WHY they would rank Call of Duty games in certain orders and the campaigns are a large part of it. Your campaign should be good enough to create buzz and force the multiplayer-only gamers (truly a subset of the population that saddens me) to want to check it out. The first Modern Warfare features one of the best first-person-shooter (FPS) campaigns of all time and one of the best missions of all time, "All Ghillied Up". Removal of these modes hardly ever goes well. Battlefront did it (and it pissed people off), Titanfall 1 did it (and will always be overshadowed by Titanfall 2), and BLOPS 4 did it and will likely be forgotten as one of the most "meh" CODs ever. 

"Peek-a-boo f**ker!"

"Hype" is not something I possessed for Modern Warfare. To me I felt burned by the franchise and already enjoying my time with other shooters like Apex Legends and Borderlands 3 from earlier this year. But something became clear to me through the features/ads for this new Call of Duty: for the first time in a long time, it seemed like they were building it as if it were the first game in the series. Rethinking what was fun. Focusing on an exciting campaign. Finally upgrading the graphics engine. There was a lot of "new" here...would it translate into quality? 

I'm excited to say that it has, tremendously. Call of Duty Modern Warfare is one of my favorite games of the year, and one of the very best in the storied series. After a period as the "villain" in gaming, the "hero" might be able to reclaim the throne for some time. 

I understand there will be Call of Duty haters. In fact, I'd say I was one for a while where it seemed like everything was recycled and no true effort was being made to push the boundaries forward. Modern Warfare certainly doesn't reinvent the wheel. This is still "twitch-based" shooting and there is a lot of familiar stuff here. But familiar doesn't always equal lacking in quality. For starters, the campaign is incredible and one of the few stories (across many FPS series) that I could actually follow and become attached to the characters. It's easily the best shooter campaign since Titanfall 2 (though definitely not better) and it would probably rank in my Top 3 for this franchise. Part of the reason for this is the attention to detail and return to semi-realism. Gone are the days of running on walls and futuristic weapons. This is an...ahem...modern day story with locales like Russia, the Middle East, and Europe with real guns and a somewhat plausible story. Characters are better written than in the past and a couple in specific actually see some development and have compelling arcs. From start to finish the story plays out like an intense and page-turning Tom Clancy novel and I was eager to see how it all ended. The voice acting and motion capture is astonishing, breathing life into these characters both old and new. Seriously...the CG scenes between levels are breathtaking. I dare you to count the number of hairs in Price's beard. 

I wasn't kidding when I said it was eerie

There's also a strong variety of gameplay within the campaign, some of it new, and some of it that could be labeled as "old favorites". Controlling a gunship high in the clouds is still a damn blast (pun intended) while new segments like guiding an escaping hostage remotely via security camera footage is not only unique, but a smart change of pace. Only on a few occasions did I ever get "bored" from the monotony of shooting and the overall missions are designed in thoughtful ways that compliment the exciting story. My only wish is that it was longer, though I feel like that could be said about 80% of FPS campaigns in general and there's also such thing as overstaying one's welcome.

You'll also immediately notice that Modern Warfare's graphics are frequently insane. This is the prettiest Call of Duty has ever looked and it's been a long, long time since a game from this franchise has been in any sort of "best graphics of the year" conversation. The campaign readily shows this off in nearly every level, but the graphics and framerate stay mostly consistent in multiplayer and spec ops modes too. As is usual with these games, the sound and music plays a large role and when every aspect of visuals and audio is singing in perfect harmony, you have an enveloping game that sucks you in. I can't think of a more perfect example of this than the multiple house raid campaign missions where you're under night vision (that looks eerily accurate) and going room to room clearing out terrorists. If you were to have guests over and hide your controller as you play, they'd think it was a scene ripped straight from the movies and as the one playing it, it's wickedly intense. 

Luckily, the game continues to control like a dream too. It's a "slower" COD for sure, but not one where you feel like you're on ice or totally inhibited by it. Aiming is crisp and quick, guns feel powerful and distinctively different depending on type, and in general this is still a well-oiled shooter machine. Of course there are going to be moments (especially in multiplayer) where it feels like the way someone just killed you should be impossible, but I never felt held back by the controls, their responsiveness, or the mapping. 

Lots of s**t goes down on this bridge, trust me

Call of Duty often prides itself on being a complete package and, despite the quality of their games, I'd generally agree. Starting with multiplayer, I have to admit that I'm 100% hooked. Why exactly? I'm not certain, but I think it's probably because in this Battle Royale-obsessed environment (of which I am not very talented but enjoy to a certain degree), it was so damn refreshing to get back into some quick Team Deathmatch, Domination, Confirmed Kill, etc. Multiplayer this time around has its fair share of issues - spawn camping is sometimes a thing, handful of weird map designs, the UI/menus are a mess that take forever to load - but I can't deny that I'm having a blast 90% of the time. The progression system keeps the itch alive and the ability to highly customize your gun via the gunsmith leveling system is so damn cool. Having overall progression levels and weapon progression levels isn't new, but its done well here and games are quick, often close, and fun. The promise of tons of upcoming free content and updates is far from the norm for this franchise but a totally welcome change of pace that ensures I'll be playing for a while. 

Spec Ops is a beefy mode too as a co-op challenge opportunity where you play through longer missions that are incredibly difficult. As is the case with similar modes (Gears 5 Horde mode comes to mind) I do wish there was an ability to save. Yes, that would technically make it "easier", but it would also be less crushing when you've put 30-40 minutes into a mission and have to start all over from the beginning. Much like Horde, it holds back the mode from being something that I invest more than one round into. Even with a coordinated effort, these missions are no joke and throw everything + the kitchen sink at you. Their objective-based progression is a blast and it's probably the most hectic version of Call of Duty that you'll ever see, which is saying a lot. 

I count 459,443 beard hairs

Modern Warfare wasn't on my radar earlier this year. I knew it was coming, but like I mentioned, my interest in the series has waned. However, much like another series' ability to reinvent itself, this game takes us back to basics (in certain ways) and focuses on delivering quality across the board. An epic, well paced campaign is the highlight, but classic multiplayer (with no Battle Royale in sight), and an uber challenging Spec Ops mode give it hours upon hours of life past the end credits. I for one am excited for the future of Call of Duty and it's been a while since I could say that.

CONS

• Multiplayer UI/menus are slow for simple stuff. Why does it take 5-10 seconds for a weapon skin to load?
• Campaign is on the short side
• Mutiplayer has some common issues that need ironing out: spawn camping, minor map design, toxic players (not playing the mother f**king objective!!!), etc.
• Spec Ops really needs a save/checkpoint feature and the first "Horde"-ish style game to figure that out is going to have a gold mine 

PROS

• A well-paced and engaging campaign. It's got considerable variety that keeps things exciting
• I enjoyed the story more than most other FPS "nonsense" campaigns (of which this series owns a few) and the characters have satisfying arcs
• The house/compound raid missions are intense, realistic, and downright jaw dropping
• Impressive graphics. The CG cut scenes are in a league of their own, but the actual gameplay with new engine (for this series) is impressive
• Sound design, effects, editing, and music is all on point
• "Full package" with beefy multiplayer and Spec Ops modes
• Multiplayer is fast-paced, familiar, but exciting. The progression isn't anything new, but weapon gunsmith-ing and progression makes sure that you're always unlocking something
• Promise of continued free content is new for the series and greatly welcomed
• Spec ops, while difficult, is very cool and the objective based missions are a unique way to extend the campaign with friends
• Lots of awesome content, a new engine, and a lot of focus in all the right areas make this the best Call of Duty in a very long time

Rath's Review Score | 9.5/10