Another year, another Call of Duty. It’s a reliable cycle gamers have come to expect, a year goes by, and a Call of Duty game comes out. CoD is definitely not the only game series that does this; you’ve also got other yearly or almost yearly game releases such as the Assassin’s Creed series, Pokemon, Madden, and probably many others I’m not able to remember off the top of my head.
The good thing about annual releases is that if you’re a fan of a given series that gets this many games, you’ll be eating well for a very long time. Lots of great games come out and never get a sequel or any sort of downloadable content, leaving fans in the lurch for a long, if not indefinite time. But if you’re a Call of Duty fan, ironically your biggest problem might be that you’re getting too much Call of Duty.
As a side note, Infinity Ward recently announced that they’re going to be slowing down their yearly releases of Call of Duty games, which is probably a good thing as it means that future titles are going to be more polished than ever. And given the quality of this newest release, I expect that’s going to lead to some really unforgettable experiences.
We got Call of Duty Vanguard last year, and while I wasn’t blown away by that title, I’m pleased to say that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare 2 is actually a really nice breath of fresh air. It manages to innovate in some really surprising ways, and while the campaign might not be the longest thing around, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and as always the multiplayer is definitely where the action is at.
The title of this game might be a bit confusing to some. Long-time fans of this series will probably be aware that we already got a game called Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare 2. But this game isn’t an original entry, it’s meant to be a sort of spiritual remake of a game by the same title that was released in 2009 for consoles like the Xbox 360. This was actually the first Modern Warfare game I had ever played, so it’s been really interesting to see how this one compares to the original.
While I don’t think the original looks bad at this point, it’s definitely starting to show its age if you go back and look at videos of it. Consoles are so much better now that it isn’t even a question of if it looks better, a more apt question would be “how much better does it look?” I’m pleased to say that this game looks absolutely beautiful and photorealistic at times, which is exactly how I felt with the original version on the 360.
Of course, back then it didn’t look “real”, but the high framerate coupled with lots of other neat graphical tricks brought this game to life in a way I wasn’t used to at the time. I remember enjoying the single-player campaign and the multiplayer of the original game quite a lot, and I’m happy to say that they’re just as good, if not better in this new version.
Let’s touch on the campaign first. It’s not super long, clocking in at about 7 hours or so, but what you get is absolutely loaded with quality. The gameplay has lots of fun twists so it doesn’t get stale, stuff like stealth and combat sections are mixed in with good variety. Many of the locations you visit just look absolutely gorgeous and I have no idea how they managed to get them looking so good on consoles. Personally, I was taken away by how nice Amsterdam looked. The water, the people, the colors, everything just looks so alive.
Breaching a door in slow motion is still one heck of a grin-inducing experience.
As far as the story goes, honestly, the details aren’t too important, at least to me they aren’t. This game takes place in an alternate timeline to the original Modern Warfare 2, but it still includes all the old characters from the original, including Ghost, Soap, Price, and many others. This is a very welcome addition of some nice nostalgia for those that played the originals.
Now for the multiplayer: as expected, the multiplayer is absolutely top-notch and is still somehow the king of fast-paced online military shooters of its style. If you haven’t played a CoD game before you might not understand the appeal. It’s hard to verbalize, but essentially when playing an online game of Modern Warfare, it almost feels like it flows better than many other shooters of its kind.
The guns feel amazing to fire (even when they miss) with amazing sound design, the satisfaction of hitting a target is immense, and if you die, in most modes you’re right back in the action in seconds. Not a moment is spent sitting around and not actively playing the game or thinking about what you’re going to do next, which is just awesome for a game like this.
One thing I actually liked that they changed up in multiplayer was the fact that players now need to get guns to a certain level by using them in combat before they are able to unlock and use different guns. This might sound restrictive to some, and for people who just want to equip their favorite loadouts it might be annoying, but I personally like being forced to slow down and collect these things one by one. It’s also a great way to encourage players to use guns they would have ignored previously. Who knows, maybe that one gun you never use will become your new favorite.
Bottom line, if you’re hungry for a Call of Duty game, now is a fantastic time to buy into the series. You can play one of the older games of the series if you’d like, but this one is so polished and easy to get into at this point that I feel the need to strongly recommend this over the older titles. Definitely check this one out if you get a chance.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remake Review
Review Summary: Great
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer moves the formula forward with bigger maps and more customization without sacrificing its bulletproof mechanics.
Overall
80%Pros
- Solid maps for 6v6 and Ground War
- Feels like classic Modern Warfare movement and experience
- Spec Ops is enjoyable and improvement from 2019
Cons
- New game modes are lacking
