It’s difficult not to be apprehensive every time a new instalment of Call of Duty is announced, especially with the franchise’s track record of releasing a praiseworthy game every year being so unpredictable.
As someone who grew up playing the games for a considerable chunk of their life, I can’t help but still be emotionally attached to the franchise, and I tend to feel upset when Activision releases yet another game that’s barely even comparable to their older titles like Black Ops II or Modern Warfare II (2009) – even when I preemptively set myself up for disappointment.
Fortunately, Modern Warfare II (2022) has surpassed all my expectations, and has honestly been the best experience I’ve had with a Call of Duty game for years.
The campaign was a major change of pace compared to previous titles, with a heavier emphasis on stealth and the realistic gameplay that was so prominent in the Modern Warfare (2019) campaign.
I was hoping to see some areas that were reminiscent of the iconic “Clean House” mission, and it’s safe to say that Activision provided just what I wanted, and more. One minute you could be swimming around a barge zone executing guards, trying desperately to avoid their detection, and soon find yourself hanging upside-down from a moving helicopter blowing enemies up on a highway.
There are some mission segments that fall a little short, but the variety of content that the campaign has to offer makes up for the areas that seem a little tedious or out of place. So players can be sure that they won’t be left on an empty stomach while playing.
My main gripe with the campaign is towards the very end, which (without trying to spoil anything) left me unsatisfied with its abrupt, anti-climactic finale. This part of the game felt insanely rushed, and I can only wish that Activision had taken their time to flesh out the last mission, so they could’ve avoided having such a shoddy climax, that didn’t stand out as being the lousiest portion of an otherwise great campaign.
As with most Call of Duty campaigns, there’s not much replayability outside of achievement hunting or trying to complete it on the highest difficulty, but for 6-7 hours worth of playtime, there’s lots to enjoy, and it’s always nice to have something aside from Warzone or multiplayer to experience that’s clearly had a lot of care and passion squeezed into it.
Multiplayer wise, Activision didn’t really have much of a challenge competing with their main rivals this year, with Halo Infinite and Battlefield 2042 being so offensively bad. When comparing these three games to one another, Modern Warfare II (2022) completely outshines the other flops.
At the end of the day, it’s Call of Duty. If you’ve enjoyed it for the last 10 years, you’ll probably love what Modern Warfare II (2022) has to give. The gunplay is as smooth as it’s ever been and all the maps feel solid and well-polished. There’s surprisingly little-to-no imbalance with weapons too, which is great for players trying to complete camo challenges or wanting to try different loadouts without being hindered by the meta.
My only real criticism is with the UI, which is appalling, and almost impossible to navigate through. Whilst this is something I can see being fixed in the near future with updates, I do feel for anyone else who took almost 20 minutes to realise that there weren’t any barracks. Regardless, it’s pretty strange for a Call of Duty to release without a way of viewing stats, especially since it’s a feature that’s been available in almost every instalment since I can remember.
Skill-based matchmaking is still blatantly prevalent in all the multiplayer modes, which makes it difficult to play casually when you’re constantly playing against people at the same level as you. I think it’d be pretty easy to resolve this problem by just adding a ranked and casual playlist like every other game on the planet, but hey what do I know – after all it must be difficult for a multi-billion-dollar company like Activision to implement this into their game.
Luckily, if you’re trying to have a more casual experience, Spec Ops missions are an enjoyable alternative if you’ve got someone you can play with who also doesn’t feel like sweating in a multiplayer lobby filled with a bunch of hardcore kill-hungry maniacs.
Whether you’re hiding in bushes trying to stealthily sneak past enemy lines in the campaign, or going trigger-happy with your mates in a multiplayer lobby filled with screaming grown-men and battle-hardened 12-year-olds… Modern Warfare II (2022) feels like a real return to form for the franchise.
There’s a ton of incredible content that I’m sure fans will be sinking hours of their time into, all while trying to max-out their favourite weapons, or level-up their accounts to the highest prestige like myself. With an upcoming battle-pass on the way, and an expected heap of updates to Warzone coming very soon – the game’s longevity post-launch is also looking to be promising, and I’m excited to see how the game will evolve now that Activision has left their fans with such a surprisingly impressive amount of base-content already.
Score: 4/5
Image credits: Activision