Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

 

I've explained as much in my CoD Black Ops: Cold War review a couple years ago that Call of Duty is a franchise with distinct peaks and valleys associated with the developers on hand. Activision, smartly, has yearly iterations but 3 separate developers to allow for a decent amount of time between installments from each. 

Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer are the core developers. While, I do love this franchise for the most part, and its multiplayer consistently is some of the best out there, there's certainly a path I follow with these 3:

Infinity Ward = Day 1 buy (most of the time)

Treyarch = Likely buy, wait and see

Sledgehammer = Likely skip

This year's Modern Warfare II is the highly anticipated sequel to the incredible "reboot" of the franchise, Modern Warfare, one of 2019's best games. Anticipation was high for the continuation of the single player story (IW is about the only developer where people still play the campaign outside of me), the excellent multiplayer, and perhaps the biggest draw: Warzone 2. Call of Duty tends to get a lot of hate in the gaming world - which is weird because most everyone plays it - but what you can't knock it for is the amount of content you get. With that clear separation, I'll review each segment separately because I feel like shaking it up!

"Going in, stay frosty. Like Wendy's"

Campaign

Ahhhh Shoot House. A map you either do
really well or really poorly in,
with no in between

Our reintroduction to famous characters like Ghost, Price, Soap, Gaz, and more was an enthralling start to this new likely (?) trilogy. Modern Warfare II doubles down on that sentiment to great effect and if there's one thing it absolutely nails, more than most FPS stories before it, is the characters and making them feel like a memorable team of brothers. They're all versions of the same rough-and-tough alpha-male type, sure, but each is unique enough in language, style, and specialties that I really enjoyed this cast and the relationships they formed. New entrants like Alejandro, Valeria, and Reyes fit right in to add to this complete, movie-esque feeling of the story. 

That story is also fantastic, and fairly straightforward, which is not always the case in first person shooters where you're shuttled from mission to mission. Here, the stakes are clearly outlined and the path logical and defined. I felt like I knew what I was doing and why I was doing it, and was able to feel impacted by the twists and OMG moments. It's both simultaneously higher and lower stakes than previous because we're dealing with a cartel + terrorist partnership, but missiles are still involved in large cities around the world so in that way it's still big in scope. Time will tell if I remember all the intricacies of it, but for now, this is one of my favorite COD stories ever. 

The actual gameplay and mission structure/variety is also strong, though some of the luster has been lost since the 2019 blew us all away. Many elements that impressed then are re-created here: intense house raids, an airship mission, incredible graphics, a stealth mission, and classic gunfights. Missions either feel "new" or "new-ish" here and the "new" ones stand out significantly. Despite how this paragraph may read, Infinity Ward are still some of the absolute strongest developers at crafting memorable campaign missions and everything in Modern Warfare II is at least "Great", but then there are standouts like the oil rig mission (an all time best) or the lighthouse mission (high up there) that are gaming memories that last a long time, much like the set-in-stone classic, "All Ghillied Up" from so many years ago.

RRS | 9.5/10 

Woah this vertigo is intense!

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is truthfully the place where I spend the bulk of my time over the course of a Call of Duty's lifecycle. I love objective based modes like Hardpoint and Domination and generally shy away from no-respawn type games because...well...I'm playing a game to play am I not? Why waste time dead watching others? 

Play the MOFO objective!!!

Anyway, I digress. The multiplayer is often best with Infinity Ward at the helm and Modern Warfare II is no different. There's always a learning curve as I'm learning maps (which is my biggest weakness, until it's not) but once I get up and running I can usually do well enough to enjoy my time with it. Sure, I still rage quit from time to time and there will be ~10% of games that you're apparently playing against professionals, but you know what you're getting when you hop on COD online, so I can never be too mad. 

The gameplay - same as it is in the campaign - is tight and intense. Time-to-death is quick in this game, particularly if you get hit in the head (obviously). Even the slightest tweaks to your gun are fairly noticeable to your mobility, aim-down-sights-speed, recoil, etc. which makes choosing add-ons for your weapon a delicate battle of compromise. Unfortunately, the unlock system this time out is very odd and feels different, just for the sake of being different. Weapons are unlocked only by playing with other weapons that have the same frame (for the most part) and parts for said weapon types are unlocked across the board, but often tied to weapons you haven't used yet. Example: if I wanted to unlock every sight for assault rifles, I'd likely have to play with 20+ guns to do so. I've heard some massively complain about this process, for me it's a slight inconvenience. I don't find it ruins the experience, it's just kind of...not as good as previous paths.

Game modes and maps are still strong (the internet is up in arms about the border crossing map being too narrow) and I think there are already some that are all-time classics, while others range from "good" to "great". Game modes are typical for Call of Duty, but as I mentioned earlier, I spend my time with objective based modes. I do feel like I get more points for objectives this time around, which is sometimes my biggest frustration of all. As someone who spends 2+ minutes in the Hardpoint or captures 7+ domination points, I should be one of the top scorers, assuming I'm having a normal kills game. In previous games, kids would run around and rack up 40-50 kills with 0 focus on the objective and it would often result in your team losing. There are still kids doing that (annoying AF, literally the worst) but it feels less overall because there's more motivation to hit the objective. Invasion is another mode I've spent decent time with and greatly enjoy with its massive maps and longer battles. Hindsight while writing this review, I feel like I should spend more time here because outside of a few weird matches, it has played really well. 

With Call of Duty, "more of the same" isn't really a bad thing as long as the maps are up to par. There's still issues to be worked out - the menu UIs are awful and the spawning can be atrocious at random times - but by and large this is another Infinity Ward MP I know I'll sink hours into. 

RRS | 9/10

GRAPHIXZZZ!!

Warzone 2.0 / DMZ

My usual preface applies here: I suck at Battle Royale games, plain and simple. I enjoy them when I can make it far based on stealth alone, but getting in a firefight often catches me "cold" as opposed to the constant action in multiplayer. If you're a Warzone fanatic - and there are many these days - take this portion of the review with a grain of salt. 

Surprisingly, I've really liked Warzone during the handful of times I've played. It still stresses me out a ton, and playing with friends is fun, but my style is more survival/stealth while there's is "let's go into the hottest section we can find". Either way, there's good times to be had and lots of neat advancements. Proximity chat is a definite game changer and will likely create more people using their headsets (I rarely do) for the laughs. Other elements like duals in the Gulag, the ability to repair/refuel vehicles, and even recruit other teams in certain modes add layers to the game that didn't exist before. 

The map itself is obviously massive, with normal multiplayer maps sprinkled throughout. I don't have a super strong opinion either way on the map - I think it's totally fine for battle royale - though I'm sure there are those that hate it because they don't know it as well as Warzone 1's yet (isn't that the point). 

DMZ is a new objective-based mode set on the large map as well, more focused on defeating enemy AI (that can get very challenging) with a trio. Missions to complete outside of the ones within the current round earn you massive XP and are fun to try and accomplish. Throughout the life of Modern Warfare II, I imagine I'll spend a good deal of time in DMZ, and probably less in Warzone as people get very skilled at it. 

Both modes are the buggiest stuff I've encountered in the entire package however. Even weeks later, I've had to outright quit Warzone and DMZ matches due to extreme lag. They've gotten better as both were basically unplayable on Day 1, and future patches will iron out the kinks, but especially in DMZ where you may have stuff worth exfiltrating with, it's VERY painful to have to quit and lose all those goodies. 

RRS | 9/10

"Did I do thaaaattt?"

Overall, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is yet another stellar iteration in this franchise's history. Most of the things I have issues with are all infrequent, minor, and/or fixable in future patches, while the complete package is really quite impressive. Given the disappointment of Overwatch 2 - a game I thought I'd sink a bunch of time into - it's nice to have such a strong multiplayer game back in my rotation. Infinity Ward continues their streak of excellence and quality re-cements themselves as the best first-person-shooter developers currently doing it. If you've been out of the Call of Duty realm for a while, MWII is a great time to hop back in. 

CONS

• Warzone and DMZ still have bugs that require quitting out. For DMZ, this is especially painful
• Menus and interfaces are all pretty janky/awful. Needs better organization
• Gun and gun attachment unlocking feels like they made changes, just for the sake of it. It's weird and I don't love it, but I'm not as up in arms about it as other people
• Some ridiculous difficulty spikes in campaign (I was playing on Hard)
• Handful of kinks to workout in MP (e.g. spawning can be down right awful at times)

PROS

• I loved the story, especially how distinct and defined each character is becoming in this new trilogy. This cast is memorable, which is not something you can say about every CoD
• Campaign is impressive and often very fun. There's a good mix of intensity and changing gameplay
• Oil rig and lighthouse missions are standouts
• Graphics, sound effects, and cutscenes are top-notch and what we'd expect from a AAA game
• Multiplayer remains one of the top FPS MPs out there. I'm already in love with most of what there is to offer and balance generally feels better this time around
• Maps and modes have highlights based on your play style
• Gameplay itself is tight, precise, and some of the best it has ever been. Specifically, I was impressed with how much different guns truly feel with various attachments...it feels more deliberate this iteration
• Warzone and DMZ have a really strong foundation to build off of. Warzone is where some people will live and breath, and there feels like some good ways to get people like me (who suck) involved more. And if not? DMZ can scratch that itch too
• An absolute complete package. This is a TON of content - assuming you play multiplayer - for your money

Rath's Review Score | 9.5/10