Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) Reviews
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II continues the pace of Infinity Ward's 2019 reboot. An adrenaline-fueled campaign tackles present day threats but also takes a backseat to a gun-centric multiplayer experience that goes against the grain in surprising ways, allowing players a chance to fine-tune their operators.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign is a riot from its impressive opening act to its explosive finale. While we're still waiting to test the multiplayer, the campaign makes a great first impression on behalf of the entire experience.
You can tell that Infinity Ward has put a lot of thought into creating a varied campaign and in its best moments, MW2 actually comes close to the old trilogy. If you are looking for a solid shooter campaign, and can get over the lengths, Modern Warfare 2 is definitely recommended.
Review in German | Read full review
Overall, this campaign brought me back to the beginning. There’s a deja-vu here, with familiar missions and faces, but that takes you off the beaten path into something more awe-inspiring than it’s ever been. I felt completely immersed in the seven or so hours I spent with Ghost, Price, Soap, and the others I grew up with, riveted to the screen, and I kind of want to do it again. Modern Warfare II is not something you’re going to want to put down, and I get the feeling this is just the start of it.
As finer an example of “AAA” Hollywood gaming spectacle as ever there was – full of incredible visuals and set-pieces with a tonne of gameplay variety and only a few moments that fall flat. It can’t help but occasionally feel to be a greatest hits collection of previous Call of Duty moments at times, despite the earnest and well intentioned efforts to mix things up a bit, and that’s okay. For fans of the series, they’ll be more than satisfied.
As a sequel to the Modern Warfare reboot, Modern Warfare 2 feels like both a celebration of the series' original trilogy as well as "the team" at its core. The party is spoiled somewhat by inconsistent pacing, technical issues, and incongruous mechanics, shoehorned in from what will ultimately be the game's multiplayer suite. Through it all, the referential nods to Call of Duty of old stitched the experience together for me.
The shooting is sharp and impactful, and the slow and snipey set pieces feel as slick as they did all the way back in All Ghillied Up, but it feels like the ratio behind this tried-and-true formula is a little off this time. It’s more stop-start than any COD in recent memory, and the highlights are diluted by a few too many drab stealth missions. It’s not one of the best Call of Duty campaigns, but it’s far from a bad one.
Modern Warfare 2’s campaign is a cocktail of modern mechanics, updated characters, and callbacks to classic missions and villains. By the end of it, the campaign ends up saying little of substance. And though that is certainly true of its predecessor, it at least had the gall to try.
As enjoyable as “Modern Warfare II” is — and it is certainly enjoyable on the whole — the moments when the story prompts uncomfortable real-world questions about the game’s intentions shatter its illusion of immersive entertainment. In those moments, I forget about whatever it is that Capt. Price and Co. are tasked with doing and just wonder what people were thinking when they made the decision to include whatever cringeworthy moment I just witnessed. As Infinity Ward plunges ahead with this story — teasing an upcoming Russian attack during a mid-credits cutscene that includes a nod to the airport massacre from the original “Modern Warfare 2” — they’d do well to devote a little more scrutiny to such decisions.
If like me, you're a Call of Duty fan, this is very much more of the same — but that also means you can't really go wrong. Some new features feel unnecessary, whilst others feel like a tutorial for Warzone 2.0. Modern Warfare 2 is certainly let down by repetitive gameplay and missions that overstay their welcome. But, that said, Infinity Ward has given fans what amounts to a gripping story and stunning cinematic experience that's peppered with a few flawed concepts and disappointing elements.
Modern Warfare 2’s campaign looks, feels, and sounds fantastic with the IW 9.0 engine flexing its capabilities with much success. Characters feel a bit more fleshed out with added personalities that help the player connect and believe in their relationships with each other. However, the narrative is bogged down by tedious mission design, technical bugs, and an overreliance on sequel-baiting that doesn’t feel earned at all.
Even if you've never played a Call of Duty, or dipped in and out of the franchise every so often, you'll probably be okay with not knowing who Task Force 141 and Soap MacTavish, Ghost, and Captain Price are before jumping into the campaign.
A largely excellent COD campaign with a slapdash mixture of the spectacular and the middling, with all the tonal pitfalls you'd expect too.
If you're eager to get started with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, then the campaign will serve you well until the multiplayer and online co-op mode unlocks on Friday. With many missions that break away from the status quo, it's not always just about shooting the bad guys. From high-speed car chases and crafting systems to the turrets of an AC-130, Modern Warfare 2 thoroughly entertains when it's offline.
Modern Warfare II brings an interesting campaign to complement the hit that was the 2019 game. Even if it feels a little bit "prone to tease" instead of a full story, is a fun experience. The MP is more of what make the first so successful, although it does have a few problems regarding parties and matchmaking.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Outside of those missteps, the remaining missions are all top notch and that’s why they’ll be spoken about less – they meet the lofty expectations of a Modern Warfare campaign. Infinity Ward has deliberately varied the pacing to avoid monotonous murdering, and while it doesn’t flow quite as well as Modern Warfare 1, it’s a nice mix that compels you to keep playing just one more mission until suddenly the credits roll. That’s Modern Warfare 2’s campaign. It isn’t as innovative as past Modern Warfare games, nor does it have as many iconic moments. But for the most part, it’s a unified campaign that nails what Modern Warfare should be. Fans of Call of Duty campaigns won’t be able to put their controller down.
I don't think Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is a bad game, it's just incredibly boring for a Call of Duty campaign. It's just not as memorable and won't stick with me for years as some other Call of Duty campaigns did. Perhaps I should learn to keep my expectations in check from now on but even if I went in expecting nothing, I'd say Call of Duty is just an okay game that could be worth your time if you're a die-hard fan.
If it’s a blazing hot few hours of combat you’re after, you’ll find it in Modern Warfare 2. This is an enjoyable campaign buoyed by deep pockets and good looks. But it plays it too safe. Perhaps the inevitable third Modern Warfare 2 will bring change more akin to the first. Because the second missed its golden opportunity.
Over the course of 8 hours playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, the game provided us with an enjoyable experience on all levels, from dialogues and cinematic scenes to improvements in the gameplay, and even the solid graphics level. All this provides us with an exceptional experience that we see as the best among many Call of Duty titles so far.
Review in Arabic | Read full review