After playing Modern Warfare 2 in the single-player campaign, it’s time to take a closer look at the online multiplayer mode, which is now an integral part of most modern games. It’s hard to say that we had high expectations, especially given the disappointment of last year’s Call of Duty Vanguard, but Infinity Ward, at least on paper first of all, tries to fix this with upgraded and light gameplay and a broken weapon system, and we found that the bugs that accompany She managed to reduce the launch period, although not enough. So just before the first season of Modern Warfare 2, we checked whether the game that managed to break the company’s revenue record is really that successful.
New/old gameplay
First of all, the fairly obvious things: Modern Warfare 2 does not reinvent the wheel, but still sticks to small maps mainly and 6 vs. 6 games. However, the game manages to feel refreshing compared to its predecessor, and the shooting is accompanied by effects and sound that cause a feeling of satisfaction with every hit. The game also uses the capabilities of the PlayStation 5 remote, which we used to perform the review, although the hardening of the triggers intended for shooting to simulate pressing a real trigger is less suitable in competitive game situations where a quick response is required.
A diverse start
As mentioned, the familiar game modes, with 6 against 6 players, are still the center of attention in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with the game modes Team Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed and Hardpoint attracting most of the attention. In addition to them, the Ground War mode returns with 32 vs. 32 player battles on large maps with vehicles and squads, with a relatively impressive map offering for the launch period.
The developer was not satisfied with the old modes and added new game modes: Knockout and Prisoner Rescue which reminds VIP Escort from Black Ops Cold War, and another mode called Invasion – a kind of Team Deathmatch in large groups and on Ground War maps, with groups where real players and bots mix. Invasion manages to feel fun and different than Ground War, even though it’s the same maps. A new addition is third-person game modes that make the game feel completely different. Playing in the third person is a good and refreshing experience, and a great addition that we would love to see develop into more situations.
Unlike the variety offered in the game modes, the limited number of maps causes a sense of exhaustion relatively quickly. Overall
It is a fairly large offer of game modes during the launch period with a combination of old and new modes, but the relatively limited number of maps detracts from their diversity.
More weapons, more complicated
In the multiplayer mode of Modern Warfare 2 you can find a large variety of weapons, with the familiar Gunsmith from the last games allowing you to improve and adapt them to different play styles. A new and refreshing addition is the possibility to replace an assembly of a weapon and thus turn it into a completely different weapon, as well as to adjust accessories and aids that are mounted on the weapon. Each weapon has a ‘family tree’ that shows exactly which weapon is locked and which weapon needs to be played with to unlock it. It is evident that the developer is pushing for players to experiment with a large variety of weapons instead of sticking to one preferred weapon.
For example, some weapons are locked behind progressing with another weapon of the same family, and the accessories that unlock for weapons are locked behind playing with other weapons. Unlocking a certain aim, for example, involves reaching a certain level with a different weapon. The push towards diversity in weapons is definitely positive and is felt on the battlefield. Unlike previous games where most players used two or three of the best weapons in the game, this time you encounter more types of weapons in almost every game you enter.
Launch bugs
During our time in the game we also encountered quite a few problems and bugs: frequent crashes in the PC version and freezing when trying to enter a Party group, mainly with players from other platforms. Xbox and PC players cannot turn off the cross-platform co-op mode and are forced to play with players from other platforms. In addition to this, the game currently does not offer the possibility to see data about the player such as, and there are also several bugs that cause players to appear with different camouflages and weapons in the lobby. While playing we encountered unstable servers and disconnections, although rarely. On the positive side, the game offers a host of fairly new capabilities in the console segment, such as the ability to control the field of vision and the ability to play at a refresh rate of 120 frames/second, with supporting screens, in a stable and surprisingly good manner.
Nice to be back
Despite the technically required improvements and fixes, a relatively limited supply of maps and a somewhat cumbersome weapon system, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 feels like a return to the beneficiary after Vanguard that left fans disappointed. The gameplay is light and fluid, the new game modes are well designed and the future of the game, which is preparing to be spread over two years, looks promising. The first season of Modern Warfare 2 will arrive on 16.11 along with Warzone 2.