Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PS5
After years of flipping through history channels and reused settings, 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare saw the long-standing franchise experience a revitalization like no other. Who knew that a return to a modern setting, a re-imagination of a previously completed story ark injected with the most militaristic gameplay the franchise has ever seen, and a free-to-play battle royal experience would suddenly wipe away the franchise fatigue fans have been experiencing since the same game released back in 2007?
It’s safe to say there’s a palpable amount of hype surrounding this title. 2020 brought us to the Cold War era with Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War, and 2021 brought us back to the World War setting for the millionth time, with the latter performing rather abysmally across the board. Couple that with the looming Microsoft acquisition, the sequel to 2019’s smash hit has a fair amount of weight on its shoulders.
This is a rather hefty introduction, yet it’s necessary to set the tone as with everything I just mentioned, this is the first time a Call of Duty game will see support for a two-year cycle. No new title will release next year unless plans change, and if this game drops the ball, Activision will most certainly be facing many questions as they head into a possible acquisition. So, does Modern Warfare 2 live up to those expectations?
**This next part will feature a minor spoiler about the end of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. If you have not played and completed the story yet, please come back when you do.**
Let’s start with the basics, the campaign. MW2 kicks off three years after the conclusion of the previous game. Task Force 141 is now an official group, comprised of familiar names like Lieutenant Simon “Ghost” Riley, SAS Captain John Price, and Sergeant John “Soap” MacTavish, whose goal is to protect the world from threats that arise. Task Force 141 is working under the command of General Sheppard, and the group soon discovers a threat against the world after an assassination of a foreign leader sees an even more severe threat take control. It unfolds into something greater as you progress through the story, but no spoilers will be discussed.
The story is what you’ve come to expect from the series at this point, but this time around, it’s a bit more unique and actually enjoyable. There’s plenty to appreciate here whether you’ve experienced the original Modern Warfare trilogy or are a newcomer to this iteration of Modern Warfare. As a part of the former crowd, seeing familiar names receive expanded roles and get their moments to shine is incredible. I grew up in the period where these characters wouldn’t talk when you played as them, and now they’re fully voiced over, giving their backstories and sharing light-hearted moments in the face of peril. That type of evolution brought a smile to my face.
From a gameplay perspective, this is arguably the most unique the campaign portion of the franchise has ever been, aside from what Treyarch has done in its version of Call of Duty. Many moments capture the brutal moments of the war, while others allow you to choose your talk track when being spoken to. There are some well-done parts; one mission, in particular, has you behind enemy lines crafting equipment from local materials to survive. It’s a very light version of something you’d expect in a survival title like The Last of Us, but I was pleasantly surprised despite how random it felt to see this system get thrown in.
It’s all very cinematic, with plenty of Uncharted and Michael Bay moments, which is what we’ve come to expect from Infinity Ward after the team’s latest entry. I will say, by the campaign’s conclusion, the uniqueness starts to wear off a bit as the end game results in a combo of all the systems I highlighted, but it did not work in the game’s favor at all. Be sure to complete the campaign, as you’ll receive plenty of rewards that carry over into the multiplayer setting. Also, stick around for the end credits, as there’s more to see.
Speaking of cinematic, it helps that this game looks superb. You might’ve already seen it circulating, but the Amsterdam level caught traction on social media for how absurdly detailed Infinity Ward recreated a section of the city. Side note: a user recreated the Amsterdam level in the PS5 title, Dreams, with incredible results. Aside from Amsterdam, nighttime levels introduce an added layer of tension as you execute plans in the dark, and all of the beautiful lighting makes every character look believably real. Production and sound design is incredible as always as guns pack meaty weight to them across all of the three modes in MW2.
When the credits roll, you are free to experience the game’s wide variety of online settings. Modern Warfare 2 sees the return of Special Ops, AKA Spec Ops after two years of Zombies. The newest iteration of the two-player co-op experience puts players on moderately sized maps, tasking players to extract radioactive assets at night time, protect various sites in a survival-type mission, or destroy SAM turrets in a larger scale map.
Out of the three total missions, “Low Profile” and “Denied Area” were my favorites as they reminded me of the good old days of Splinter Cell co-op, although I did enjoy “Defender: Mt.Zaya” to a lesser extent. It’s a solid experience, but it’s very disappointing that this experience launched with only three missions out of the gate. Not to mention, none of the playable missions are anywhere close in design to what was designed to be an “asymmetrical experience” per the CoD: Next Showcase in September.
Now, the elephant in the room is the game’s multiplayer portion. I’m going to date myself a bit and maybe sound like a know-it-all, so forgive me when I say I’ve been playing this franchise since CoD: World at War. I’ve seen how the franchise has evolved over the years, and I’ve seen how three different development teams have made their version of what Call of Duty should be. Despite its various ups and downs, I’ve still found myself purchasing the games because they’re quick fun when you only have a short period of time to spend gaming.