Each new entry to the Call of Duty franchise is much like Christmas, it comes once a year, and there’s a huge amount of hype for it, we play, enjoy, forget and then wait for the next year to do it all over again. Call of Duty as a franchise is immense, but for the last few years, it’s had both its hits and misses. The Modern Warfare reboot was set to revamp the trend and bring forth a new edge the franchise sorely needed. Modern Warfare 2 is aiming for the high bar and the hype leading up to this entry has been ungodly, to say the least. Was the wait worth it? And will this be one of the best Call of Duty games the franchise needs?
This review is for the campaign only – multiplayer review in progress What is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2? 
Okay, so everyone and their mum knows what Call of Duty is, to be honest. But Modern Warfare 2 is the sequel to the smash hit 2019 Call of Duty title and a continuation of the reboot/reimagining of the beloved and critically acclaimed Modern Warfare trilogy which started in 2007.
This incarnation of Modern Warfare is a much darker, and more grounded beast than most Call of Duty games, which aims not only for high spectacle, but mature thematics centred on gritty warfare with enough dramatic flair that would make Denis Villeneuve. Instead of being more akin to immense action blockbusters, this version of Modern Warfare feels more influenced by the likes of Sicario, Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker. The conflict is incredibly grey, and while there are clear-cut bad guys, the good guys will eventually have to face unimaginable horrors, humanity at its absolute worse and play dirty when the times call for it.
Modern Warfare 2 puts players right into the heart of a terrifying global conflict, that spans Europe, Mexico, and the United States. We see the return of Captain Price, Gaz, and Soap, along with some new faces (or lack of) including the legendary operative “Ghost”. Experienced intense first-person action only Call of Duty can offer, but also witness a rise of new mechanics, gameplay elements and dynamic set pieces that elevate this as one of the most refined and versatile Call of Duty games ever!
Familiar, yet new
Call of Duty has always provided storytelling that never truly excels in complexity yet gives plenty of memorable moments and passionate drama that will keep players gripped to the controller. Thankfully, Modern Warfare 2 is no different.
Things kick off right after the assassination of Iranian general Ghorbrani during an arms deal in Al Mazrah. While this is seen as a victory, the nature of warfare usually sees a successor rise up to take the mantle, and so enters Quds Force Major Hassan Zyani, a ruthless and determined killer who continues to fund terrorist activity over the next several months. Soon enough his activities draw the attention of General Shepherd and CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell, who decides he has become too much of a problem and needs to be dealt with. They deploy the MARSOC Marines led by Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley and Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish, who have been advised to apprehend Hassan in Al Mazrah.
However, when they arrive it seems Hassan has made a clean getaway and fled the area but left a parting gift and a sign of things to come when Soap and Ghost discover an American-made ballistic missile.
Now it’s a race against the clock to track down Hassan and the other missiles before they can wreak havoc on the free world. Joining Ghost and Soap are Captain Price, Gaz and a few other familiar and new allies who travel the globe from Amsterdam, Mexico, and Al Mazrah in order to track down and stop Hassan. They will fight not only an elite terrorist organisation, but also the Mexican cartel, and even those close who they thought were on the same side. All incredibly solid storytelling material, which is executed well enough here.
The original Modern Warfare games were very much a product of the era of HD gaming, where bigger was possible and seen as better. It was a trilogy favoured by fans, especially the second game which was released in 2009. I bring up the original MW2 for its plot, as it featured for the time some ground-breaking and extremely controversial material. With the likes of No Russian, which saw a massacre at a civilian airport, and the United States being invaded by Russia, thus triggering World War 3. It was a bombastic, incredibly intense campaign of violence, betrayal, and drama. Yet contained numerous plot holes, and Ex Machina moments, making it enjoyable yet clunky as a narrative.
The reboot has some stiff competition indeed, and in some ways, it couldn’t stand up to the likes of No Russian (quite possibly, we’ll see in MW3 how that goes). But the writers (including the legendary voice actor Brian Bloom) have managed to create a compelling narrative nonetheless, with plenty of heart, soul and bleak morality that will leave you in a cold sweat.
The general plot is what you’ve seen before, with there being a bad guy, having to track said bad guy but finding a new threat to deal with, a victory ensues, followed by a betrayal and everything wraps up in an action pack finale (with minor sequel baiting). Regardless of the tried and trusted formula, there are plenty of epic moments and interesting dynamics in MW2. The cartel is the new enemy faction here and seeing how they operate, and the stranglehold they have on those willing to do or die is rather menacing. The power struggles, the corruption from ally forces and the display of war crimes are the stuff of political nightmares yet make for entertaining observations.
We get plenty more twists this time around, with some being obvious (even for those who’ve not played the original MW2), but that doesn’t stop the moments of gravitas still hitting at the heart regardless. And the end credit scene left me feeling both colds, and extremely intrigued with what the next instalment will show.
I love the return of the likes of Gaz, Soap, Price, and Ghost, who in the original MW2 was just a dude with a cool mask who bit the bullet near the end. This Ghost is fully fleshed out, with plenty of charm, and excellent dialogue exchanges that made me grow to love him. And above all, I just loved how everyone was in the game, from Gaz and Price having their father/son dynamic, Soap and Ghost developing to be vital allies in the darkest times, and great inclusions such as newcomer Alejandro Vargas and the return of Farah which really elevated the human element to the story.
While there is plenty of bleakness, and crushing drama, MW2 managed to add in some nice moments of humour (some gallows humour to be fair) and remarkable character development. The banter between Ghost and Soap during one of the most memorable missions really did make me chuckle, and the father/son dynamic between Gaz and Price made you root for them immensely. These feel like actual people, and while I love the original Modern Warfare games, the characters in those titles felt more like portrayals and personas, rather than feeling like genuine human beings who can be funny, emotional, violent and determined to keep their friends alive.
Overall, it’s a fantastic story, with legendary characters, plenty of immense moments of drama, tension and an ending that will get you ready for the next chapter.
Warfare is a playground of destruction and mayhem
But to be fair, it is largely about the gameplay for any Call of Duty game, and I will be honest and say, this is by far one of the best I’ve played.
Modern Warfare has all that straightforward run, gun, duck, and dive action you’ve seen before in the multiple titles. But things such as set pieces have been ramped up greatly in scale, with many of the levels taking new directions in structure, offering new experiences unlike most Call of Duty titles. MW2’s gunplay is still highly refined and enjoyable, but new innovations in mission structures make this one of the more versatile, and enthralling Call of Duty games ever.
We saw in recent titles the inclusion of more thought-provoking tactics, stealth gameplay and focusing on patience, timing, and violence rather than just running and gunning. The original Modern Warfare gave us All Ghillie Up, an excellent level mixing stealth, combat and tactics, and this philosophy has been expanded upon to give us many more levels where the brain matters more than pure brawn.
We get classic gunplay-based objectives, such as holding position on a crashed ally helicopter, and gunfights with armed cartels out in the open wilderness. But everything is given a slight twist to make it vastly more engrossing, whether it's fighting the Mexican military while in a fierce river or climbing the US/Mexican wall to find a terrorist in a Texan suburb in the dead of night. MW2 also brings back those infamous night vision-style missions as seen in 2019’s MW, which is just as intense as ever. Whenever there is a gunfight, it feels as though the developers thought “how can we make this more engaging and different”, and they’ve done a brilliant job at doing so.
Other missions see neat dynamics implement to expand on the ingenuity, with Amsterdam being a classic example. We see Gaz and Price navigating through a dockyard and having to stealthily take out enemies before boarding an enemy boat. The innovative factor here is being able to hide in the water and drag in enemy bodies to conceal them, differing from standard stealth encounters. We then get a wonderful trip through central Amsterdam (as seen in many videos) taking out cartel agents discreetly, before a gunfight erupts on the streets.
There is a huge variation in mission structure, ranging from creative, intense action to quieter and more subdued. The “Death from Above” style gunship mission returns, but it's enhanced with new inclusions making it even more thrilling, such as incredible destructible environments, civilians and the fact enemies can fire back at you.
Some of the other standout missions include a semi-open playground where Gaz and Price need to clear out warehouses and safe houses on an island near the coast of Spain. This involves sneaking around, evading detection while out in the open, sniper sections where timing and concealment are vital, and moments where you creatively clear out warehouses and safe houses, via tear gas in air ducts, breaching doors or taking out enemies via skylights. This level really made me wish that Call of Duty would have more missions like this, and maybe in a co-op format too, as it would work so well.
Another standout features Soap having to defend himself and progress through a Mexican town under siege. He is without traditional weapons, and instead has to sneak through and make improvised gear from everyday items, such as Molotov cocktails, smoke bombs and explosives where the trigger is a mouse trap. Its atmosphere is deeply oppressive, the tension so high and the level relies more on your instincts and creativity to venture unharmed. It felt almost like something from The Last of Us and again, I would love to see more levels or even an entire Call of Duty like this.
The last stand out, while a little clunky in execution, sees Gaz having to move along a moving convoy of trucks and armoured vehicles, by hijacking and driving them up to the front. Previous Call of Duty games was heavily reliant on QTEs and having the game take control when making leaps of faith (like Advanced Warfare), but MW2 does the brave decision and has you manually leave the vehicle you’re in, jump to another and take control. Players will also need to lean out the window, to shoot nearby enemies, making multiple threats incoming all the time. It’s a terrific level and a series highlight, being filled with cool action and combining quick thinking and good reflexes to get the job done. While it took me a little bit of time to manage to jump from vehicle to vehicle, it was a spectacular moment that escapes the hand-holding nature of many previous COD games.
I can see some fans not liking the slower moments (considering when new ideas are implemented, like in Black Ops 2, some fans get upset), but the change of pacing is done exceptionally well. There are still great action set pieces, and the moments like the improvised gear and sneaking are executed so well that it's enjoyable and never overstays its welcome.
I will admit a couple of things were not as good, such as a couple of slower missions which never really introduced any interesting dynamics but felt more like trial and error (just one level did this and it's short thankfully). The time to kill can be incredibly short, even in normal mode, and considering at times a clean headshot doesn’t mean an enemy will be downed. And one of the last bosses towards the end was a generic fight with an armoured tank, which felt a little dated. I would have admired a more grounded fight, with a solo NPC in a unique setting, like The End boss fight in Metal Gear Solid 3.
But in all fairness, these are minor gripes, and the overall quality and execution of the mission structures, gunplay and action are phenomenal in MW2.
Bravo, Tango …. Amsterdam?A final note regards the visual presentation of MW2, and I have to say, wow! I’m amazed to see how far Call of Duty and gaming have come in visual presentation and sound design from the early 2000s. I’ve been playing the Call of Duty series since the beginning and was even amazed at it back then. But the phenomenal work I’ve seen on screen and what I hear is sheer brilliance and is the panicle of AAA gaming.
Everything looked and sounded fantastic, from the impressive cut scenes, beautifully organic environmental effects, stellar voice work and for me personally, a stable and consistent playtime. I was playing this on an Xbox Series S and didn’t encounter any major issues, aside from some minor clipping and once where the sound didn’t play in a shortcut scene. But this is one of the best-running Call of Duty games I’ve played, in quite some time. I understand every experience is different, but I do feel the developers did work effortlessly to make this the best Call of Duty game to play.
Overall? Call of Duty gets a lot of flak from many gamers, and I can see why from certain titles in the series (personally I’ve never felt one Call of Duty game was awful, even Infinite Warfare which I did like), but Modern Warfare 2 is an amazing steppingstone that rises high and mighty. This reboot had a tough time as the original trilogy is immensely beloved, but MW2 shows it really does have what it takes to set itself apart and be the next big thing for the franchise. The variety of mission structures, the refined action, engaging character development and polish make this one of the best Call of Duty games to date.
I highly recommend this above the likes of Vanguard or Black Ops 4, as one of the most Stellar entries in the franchise, and I cannot wait for MW3.
+++ Phenomenal and varied mission structures
++ Stellar and solid gunplay and action
++ Fantastic visual presentation and sound design
+ Love the character developments and dynamics
- Couple of missions and objectives aren’t as inventive as the rest
- Can be insanely difficult on harder difficulties
An Xbox Series S/X review code for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
