Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Reviewed on: PC - Specs - 114fps at 4K max settings (average)
Also available on: PS5, Xbox Series X&S, PS4, Xbox One
Release Date: October 28th 2022
Rating: MA15+
Price: Console - $82 - Amazon, PC - $109.95 - Steam
Here we are again, another year and another Call of Duty title is upon us. Some might consider it a bad thing, others will be very happy that their favorite franchise is back. There is one thing that's for sure though…… This time it doesn't feel like this is just another yearly obligation a bit like Vanguard did and the way other COD titles have in the past.. This one feels like a deliberate release. It’s packed full of content, it's graphically superior to just about any game I've ever played and the story, despite not being groundbreaking, is fun and extremely engaging.
First of all, let's talk about the graphics. I personally had the extra week to play the campaign thanks to its early release for pre-orders, which I will add, I think is a fantastic idea. It gives hardcore fans of the franchise a week to complete the campaign before they spend almost all of their time in online multiplayer. But we're talking about the graphics and honestly, they are sensational. The Call of Duty MW2 2022 campaign is the best looking game I've ever played. We all know that games like The Last of Us 2 look fantastic, but the level of photorealism in some of the MW2 scenes is unrivaled. We probably have all seen the screenshots by now of the way in which Amsterdam has been portrayed and just how true to life and how realistic it looks. On my Allied Patriot, it looks like a movie, honestly. The textures, the environments, the depth of field effects, everything about the way the campaign looks is just amazing. Multiplayer on the other hand, and understandably so, doesn't quite reach these levels of realism. I mean, how can it…. But despite not quite being on the same level as the campaign, it is still the best looking multiplayer game I’ve played. And the fact that it can look that good and run at 120FPS on console is mind blowing really.
The campaign is one of the best COD campaigns I've played for quite some time. Modern Warfare 2019 was also pretty good, however personally, I prefer this one, it just has a much bigger variety of gameplay, much more involved strategy and like I've already mentioned, the level of realism really helps immerse you into the gameplay. The story isn't the best COD story ever written, but it's probably up there since the original Modern Warfare 2 came out. While the story is a bit lacking of anything that makes it stand out, the gameplay itself is pretty bloody good. Some of the missions can be a little frustrating, and there's actually a couple that really lack any sort of explanation of what to do so you end up failing a few times before you catch on to what you have to do. There's a nice variety in the types of missions you have to do, from all out madness and jumping from vehicle to vehicle, to over watch and even some very “Hitmanesque” stealth missions. All in all the campaign is fun, the gameplay is engaging and sometimes exhilarating and it's one of the COD campaigns I'd recommend everyone plays.
Now I am going to tell you one thing I love about MW2 and one thing I hate. Firstly, I hate the UI. It is downright awful. They have done this thing where my personal belief is that they've tried to make it look a little like Netflix and other popular services similar to it. However the whole thing is one of the worst UI’s I can remember and leads to a bit of confusion. I am sure I will get used to it the longer I play it, but I don't know why they had to mess with it so extensively. Now onto what I love, I am a massive fan of how they have brought back the co-op (including local multiplayer) missions like in the original MW2. The ‘Spec-Ops’ missions in MW2 were some of my favorite things to do. I played them alone, I played them with my wife, they were just a lot of fun. Now I haven't played any of them this time round yet, but I absolutely will and I hope they are even half as good as they were last time.
Multiplayer is probably the game mode we are all wondering about the most right? It's certainly the game mode that will be played the most by almost all of us. And while I've seen a lot of negative comments online about it, I suspect that those complaining about it are just not very good at it. I mean, sure, it has its issues. I have been impacted by quite a few technical problems from no audio, to complete crashes (multiple complete crashes). Now I'm not here to tell anyone to ‘git gud’, however I am a realist. I know what I myself am like, I either play really well, or I play really poorly. When I'm winning the game is great, and when I play poorly, the game sucks. That's just human and I suspect is why so many people are vocal about how bad Call of Duty games are. Honestly though, the multiplayer here is really good. It feels very raw, the gunplay is punchy and powerful, the movement is mostly improved with a few little downgrades, the visuals are excellent and I really like the variety of different game modes and maps included on release with many more to come. I am hoping however that they bring back 2v2 and 3v3 modes, because they are, in my opinion, the best game modes COD has to offer.
The multiplayer maps are hands down the best bunch of launch maps I can remember. Sure the maps from the early games give me a nostalgia hit, but in terms of design and layout etc. There's never been a launch day where I've enjoyed as many maps as I do this time round. There's a good mix between urban warfare, close quarters maps and some more open maps with fewer places to hide and honestly just about every one of them is excellent.
Cod seems to be one of those polarizing games, you either love it, or you hate it. There doesn't really seem to be an in between. So of course there will be people that hate this game. But honestly, Modern Warfare 2 the best Call of Duty in a long while. It's fun, it's packed with content, and it looks phenomenal. There's honestly very little to fault aside from the technical issues that have plagued me.
