Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – PS5
Drugs, Missiles & Spies
Hello again, dear friends and kind readers. Every Fall for nine years now, I sit down at my Mac and write a new review for the latest Call of Duty game. This time though, is the first to actually do this in English. I don’t know why, but I always wanted to do so. Probably because in the back of my mind I associate this kind of military shooters with the United States and the world of international special operations.
This year, Activision has entrusted the next episode of the renowned saga to the teams of developers at Infinity Ward.
I can tell you right from the beginning that there are no actual big surprises awaiting Call of Duty players in Modern Warfare 2. This, of course, can be a good thing or a bad one. That’s depending on how much you like familiar situations or if you were hoping for something revolutionary from this year’s incursion.
Although I am blind now, I take pleasure from sitting with Alina as she plays through these short campaigns filled with intrigue, action and espionage. The campaign picks up some time after the one in Modern Warfare from 2019. Alina and I liked that game very much and that’s why we were very interested to continue the adventure alongside some of the most recognizable characters in Call of Duty history.
In Modern Warfare 2 we are once again pulled into the world of special operations and we are boots on the ground for another globetrotting adventure, as an imminent threat to the United States security puts the country in a clear and present danger.
You see, this time the terrorists are in cahoots with high-ranking individuals in the drug cartel. With the traffickers’ help, a shipment of missiles are on route to the US and if we lose track of them, millions of lives could be at stake. The missions in Modern Warfare 2 are reminiscent of others in previous Call of Duty titles and some of them even rehash classic scenarios from the Modern Warfare IP, but trying at the same time to give them a different spin. All in all, prepare yourself for another rollercoaster of a run & gun ride, all over the world, from fictional locations to real-life cities such as Amsterdam. In our mission we will embark in intense action, hunting targets from under water, from the skies and from every other point in between. These chaotic sequences are balanced by quiet segments when we need to scavenge for parts, try to sneak unseen through buildings or sniping heads from a distance.
As I said, business as usual for a Call of Duty game. Sadly, although interesting at first, the stealth and crafting mechanics seem to be both in need of more in-depth implementation and thus feel somewhat half-baked. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad with them, but they become tedious very fast. Beginning with a relatively slow start to the campaign, as quite early there’s a drone level that isn’t too popular with anyone that I’ve talked to, the action picks up and after some twists and turns, plus a few plot twists later, the story ends and we are left to play multiplayer for another year, while we wait for the next Call of Duty title.
The gameplay is the one Call of Duty fans know and love. Real weapons, fast encounters, unbelievable set pieces worthy of Hollywood and some scenarios that would have seemed more appropriate for a 007, Splinter Cell, or Metal Gear Solid title make for continuous entertainment.
If you pick up Call of Duty every year to play the campaign, you may like the one in MW2 or really hate it. On the other part, if you just pass through it in order to prepare yourself for the multiplayer, to get familiar with the locations, the level design and the way the weapons feel and respond, I can tell you that you can try both competitive and cooperative challenges in Modern Warfare 2.
The Spec Ops mode returns for co-op fun alongside friends from Modern Warfare and the multiplayer brings some nice, smaller maps, better level design but also bigger playgrounds for those wanting chaos on a larger scale.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has launched with 12 unique modes, 10 traditional modes on Core Maps and 2 Ground War modes on Battle Maps.
There is a new revamped Gunsmith in Modern Warfare II that will allow players to customize their loadouts and expand their arsenal with the introduction of Weapon Platforms and Weapon Tuning.
Multiplayer also features over 30 unique Weapon Platforms available to unlock through the Military Ranks with each Weapon Platform containing up to 6 weapons. So, those of you looking to create your own play style can do so at your heart’s content.
https://youtu.be/tnsOrbljnK0
We are not competitive players here, especially since Modern Warfare 2 is not doing anything modern about the accessibility features shipped this year. The dev teams didn’t even scratch the surface when it comes to this subject. Although the game looks fantastic, sounds great and plays very nice, aside for a few options that cater to low vision and motor disabilities, there’s absolutely nothing for blind gamers, not even menu narration or sound cues to help us navigate the campaign. If you think how could a blind individual play shooters or games in general, I am there to make you aware of the fact that to date, three AAA games from the PlayStation Studios are playable without sight and I’m talking about blockbusters like The Last of Us Part I and II, plus the upcoming God of War Rognarok. So, huge games, with open levels and playtimes 5 or 10 times longer than your standard Call of Duty campaign.
Who knows, maybe now that Microsoft is almost done with purchasing Activision, these developers will understand that they need to release accessible experiences.
As I said above, the game looks great, Alina tells me that it is one of the best-looking games available now. Whether you are stealthily walking along the richly detailed cobblestone streets of Amsterdam on a Fall day, or maybe you take a second to check out the starry sky and realize it is painted by vvivid colors from explosions in the distance or are running for your life, daring death along a sheer mountain cliff with a gorgeous waterfall in the background, there’s no doubt that Modern Warfare 2 is a beautiful game.
The sound is also good, especially if you are using the 3D Headset from PlayStation. Guns sound real, the actors are bringing all the characters to life with talent and you can very much identify enemy positions just by sound. We encountered some weird bugs, but nothing game-breaking. Modern Warfare 2 runs swiftly at 60 FPS on the PS5 and the DualSense controller is put two good use. Each weapon feels different thanks to great haptics and the adaptive triggers give the player the sensation that they fire real ammunition.
I will ask my colleague, Alex, to upload some multiplayer footage on YouTube for you to watch, but I don’t think that Alina or I will adventure too often into that mode.
In conclusion, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a good game, it feels great as a shooter, it looks modern, packs a solid solo campaign, co-op adventures and fast multiplayer, but does not bring anything fresh or revolutionary to the table. The lack of accessibility features is bad form, bad for the business and especially for those who have liked to give it a chance and thus could have discovered for the first time a shooter they may pay to play for years to come.
If you are a longtime Call of Duty fan, you can pick up Modern Warfare 2 without hesitation, it is what you like and love, what you were expecting, nothing more, nothing less. If you are disabled, please check before making a purchase the accessibility suite included, because it is nothing modern about it!
https://youtu.be/OeVapCrI1pY
I want to end this review on a positive note and say that I have high hopes for the future of gaming. Let’s all hope that Microsoft will force all the developers, including those who will work on future Call of Duty titles to make accessibility a priority for the upcoming games. The gaming industry has started to change when it comes to be more inclusive and to bring down barriers for impaired gamers, so I am not asking for anything special, just for what is right and normal.
Score: 8.0 – Great
Review copy provided by Activision
Victor Dima
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