Like many others I’ve spent the last couple of weekends ranking up on the Call of Duty: MW2 Beta, but how was it and how can it be improved for the full launch of the game on October 28th?
Pros:
- Ground War. The large-scale mode Ground War is ideal for these Modern Warfare titles, and I actually like the Battlefield-esque feel of the larger maps.
- Third-person mode. A genuine surprise and one which I loved in the original MW2, third person mode spices up gameplay and lets you actually see your operator.
- Prisoner Rescue. A novel take on a Search and Destroy-type game mode, in Prisoner Rescue you do just that whilst reviving downed team mates. Good fun.
- The detail. Something which Infinity Ward seem to be really good at is detail. The weapons are highly detailed with gun inspects, and look and sound great – nice to see that returning from Modern Warfare (2019).
- The setting. I feel as though the game will do well or at least better than the last two COD games, as people seem to prefer the modern setting. Personally, I like the mix of time periods to keep things fresh, but there’s no denying that I’m looking forward to seeing Price and the gang again.
Changes:
- Visibility. Name plates need to return to help player visibility and to help distinguish friend from foe. Good news, Infinity Ward might be looking into this.
- Mini-map. The map needs to be reverted back to how it has always been with classic red dots appearing when players fire unsuppressed. The developers have stated that this is so players aren’t punished for firing their weapons, but this just promotes a more defensive style of play.
- Footsteps. Speaking of defensive play styles, Infinity Ward also seem to prefer this for the game as in the MW2 Beta footsteps are still incredibly loud, with pinpoint directional feedback. The way to counter this would be to reduce the noise made from them or to make Dead Silence a perk again and not a field upgrade.
- Dead Silence. It makes a noise when you activate it. No.
- Perks. For some reason the classic perk system of three main perks has been changed to two perks, with an additional two being earnable in-game. This both negatively affects class variety and also match balance as those joining late are at a distinct disadvantage having not earned their other perks. What happened to the Pro Perk rumours? I guess there’s always 2024…
- TTK. The time to kill feels very inconsistent currently, especially at close range as you die almost instantly.
- UI. Currently the UI in MW2 (2022) is confusing, with way too many button presses. Sometimes less is more.
- Cheating & bugs. Infinity Ward seem to be on top of this but things like map exploits, killstreaks (like the chopper gunner not working properly), and straight up cheating in the beta need to be addressed before launch.
- SBMM. A divisive topic but one which I feel is killing the franchise for veteran players. Skill-based match-making should simply not exist in public lobbies (they also shouldn’t disband after games) and should be reserved exclusively for a ranked mode. When every match plays the same because every player is at the same level, using the same guns with the same attachments, the fun disappears. There’s no variety with such a strict match finding algorithm, and it also offers no incentive for new players to get better at the game, as they are only rewarded with harder lobbies. SBMM in its current form, as well as the above issues, essentially result in there being next to no skill gap. Every game playing like a tournament final because the game thinks you have too high of a K/D ratio is not fun.
Though it wasn’t really possible to tell in the beta I would also like to see the return of prestige mode. It’s another classic feature that has been missing for three years, but I feel like the current seasonal progression system doesn’t add anything to the game or make players feel like they’re achieving anything at all.
Actually being able to unlock things like titles and emblems for doing things in-game, in addition to blueprints and camos would be nice to see make a comeback also. However, seen as the game now supports a battle pass system as well as a shop, the days of earning cool new things as opposed to just buying them may well and truly be over. We traded map packs for mobile gaming features it seems…
Did you enjoy the MW2 Beta? Lets see if any of the above changes make their way into the game before launch.
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