Infinity Ward return with this years’ instalment of Call of Duty, confusingly titled Modern Warfare.

Since the mid-2010s Call of Duty has been losing its identity. I, like many long-term fans have become increasingly frustrated with where the franchise has been heading in recent years; with the introduction of jet packs, the removal of key features such as Campaign, and the heavy-handed implementation of micro-transactions.

Yes, Zombies has always maintained my interest, and some more recent games have had interesting additions (Blackout was much better than I anticipated), but sacrificing what made Call of Duty great; the story and the characters, addictingly chaotic multiplayer, and a world grounded in realism, has diluted the overall experience, and I say this as a die-hard Black Ops and Modern Warfare fan.

The new Modern Warfare

Time to hit the refresh button, or is it? Modern Warfare is a strange experience that is quite hard to explain. I’d liken it to an unpolished diamond, as there are fantastic elements in each of the modes, but then there are things that let the game down too.

Campaign is an action-packed, well written return to form for Infinity Ward (though I did somewhat enjoy Infinite Warfare’s story), making use of timeless characters and thrusting them into a new story. The only downside is that it’s only 5-6 hours long. On the other hand, Spec Ops is entirely forgettable, and Multiplayer is a mixed bag.

Campaign

Set in an alternate Modern Warfare universe, the game focuses more on the gritty realism of war, as Tier One operators team up with rebel fighters in the fictional country of Urzikstan in order to stop invading Russian forces.

“We get dirty and the world stays clean. That’s the mission.”

The Campaign has received much criticism over its depiction of Russia committing war crimes throughout the story, with some players boycotting the game entirely over it. This is seen in tense scenes with civilians and the use of chemical weapons. The game uses real life conflicts as inspiration, such as terror attacks in London and the Syrian Civil War.

The game is both a reboot and a prequel to the original trilogy, including returning fan favourite characters like Captain John Price. The game also debuts new faces; CIA officer Alex, SAS Sergeant Kyle Garrick, and rebel leader Farah Karim, among others. The game also looks and sounds amazing, thanks to a new engine.

Spec Ops

Following on from the actions in Campaign, Spec Ops allows players to jump into ‘missions’ with up to three others or take on waves of enemies in Survival.

The mode falls flat of achieving anything other than being an extremely difficult challenge, one which you will require help in order to complete. The pay-off for completing these missions is that you can unlock Operators for use in Multiplayer.

What lets the mode down is that MW2 & 3 simply did it better, with more concise, defined missions, that were fun to play and could be completed solo. At times the endless waves of enemies that spawn in between you and your objective can feel downright cheap, and further highlights the unfinished feeling you get while playing.

The map size of Verdansk is vast and could easily be utilised for battle royale if Infinity Ward choose to include that mode in the coming year…

[Update] After Warzone’s implementation into Modern Warfare & Call of Duty in general, the score rating has been updated to match (8.2 > 8.6).

Multiplayer

The best additions to Modern Warfare’s Multiplayer mode are the massive 32v32 Ground War maps, Cyber Attack (a revive and respawn mode similar to Sabotage or Search & Destroy), and Gunfight (a 2v2 intense tournament-style mode on new, smaller maps). Realism mode and NVG maps are also fun as a novelty but are not great to play long sessions on.

The game makes use of slower paced combat in the classic game modes (apart from the above-mentioned), combined with a slightly faster time to kill, which you will notice if you are coming into this after playing Black Ops 4. This can be described as “tactical” but often just promotes camping.

The biggest draw-backs in this mode however are the unnecessary changes made to the classic Call of Duty formula. The radar no longer works as it used to, footsteps can only be muted with a field upgrade instead of a perk, the progression system no longer rewards players with prestiging, opting instead for ‘seasons’, and there is the ever-present threat of skill-based match making.

To add to the feeling of being unrewarded for playing, Infinity Ward have also taken out key features, such as unlocking character skins, emblems, calling cards and blueprints, and have made most of them purchasable instead, either through packs or in the battle pass. For many this is a better alternative to loot boxes, however after paying full price for the game (and then some), having to fork out for additional content (regardless of maps being free) when it used to be in other COD games, is still frustrating.

Final thoughts

Overall, Modern Warfare is a solid shooter with plenty to offer. What stands out the most is the games’ attention to detail, both in the Campaign and in Multiplayer.

The game is only let down by a few issues, though the developers are still updating the game, adding modes such as Infected, and are fixing bugs to make the experience better, so expect to see changes as the life cycle of Modern Warfare progresses. For more information on the game, see Activison’s Games Blog.

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