Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Story Campaign Overview

While this year’s Call of Duty multiplayer won’t launch until more than a week after the official release of the “full” game, the single-player or single-player story campaign was released yesterday for all pre-orders. . If a publisher decided to split the game into two separate phases, like this, we decided to consider it also in two phases. So the next article is only about the story campaign, including ratings. Since the duration of the sixteen missions presented here does not fundamentally differ from the standard of this series (we expect 5-10 hours depending on the difficulty set), I managed to “blow up” it last night and now I offer an assessment. So has Infinity Ward managed to surpass its own 2009 shadow?

• Platform: PS5 (Review), PS4, PC, X1, XSX/S
• Publication date: 20.10.2022
• Producer: Infinity Ward (USA)
• Genre: FPS
• Czech localization: Not
• Multiplayer: no (valid for campaign only)
• Data to download: 50 GB
• Game time: 7 o’clock
• Price: 2099 kr (PS Store), 1700 kr (Steam)

The reboot series continues.

Longtime fans of the series aren’t the only ones who are a bit confused by the new game’s more or less the same name as the sixth installment in the 2009 Call of Duty series. Although there are characters with the same names in the game. and many similar themes or events, this is not a remake or a sequel. In practice, we can call the “new” Modern Warfare a reboot. Unfortunately, I feel that the story of this new series is nowhere near as strong as the original. Whether it’s the overall development of the (geopolitical) story or the personality and fate of individual characters such as Captain Price, Soap or Ghost. If thirteen years ago we were embroiled in a war between the US and Russia, this time we are faced with a conspiracy between Iranian terrorists and a Mexican drug cartel.

In practice, it looks like the creators copied scenes from several successful action films of recent years, from Sicario to American Assassin. Thus, individual missions or story sequences contain impressive moments, but in general they feel somewhat incoherent and overpaid. So I definitely wouldn’t look for a quality story here, although the delivery is absolutely first-rate in places: the rendered movie sequences are again some of the best that can currently be achieved in the field of computer animation of human faces or photorealistic environments. . Especially since these cutscenes contrast with the game graphics during the missions themselves, which, while sometimes looking very good, are slipping into the genre average in other places. However, the ability to set up to 120fps when playing on PS5 deserves applause.

The plot of the new series is nowhere near as strong as the original.

As with the previous installment (Modern Warfare 2019), the game is at its strongest (and scariest) when it takes you to the streets of western cities rather than anonymous battlefields somewhere in the mountains. If last time we survived a terrorist attack in London, then this time we are in picturesque Amsterdam. Not only here, but the game will push you towards stealth, which makes it perhaps more exciting, but somewhat loses the immediate fun we’re used to in the Call of Duty series. In other words, I was expecting and wanting another exciting shooter, and instead, most of the game is dedicated to all sorts of rigorous stealth playthroughs. At least it doesn’t penalize you too much for revealing yourself… however, it usually doesn’t give you a proper arsenal for the next fight.

Good missions, bad missions

Among the elements with which the new game tries to reference the original Modern Warfare series, you will also find a couple of iconic missions: sneak in a pair disguised as a heikal camouflage and shoot from the deck of a modern bomber plane. Luckily, these are not remakes of the original missions, so both missions feature new environments and challenges. Both of these missions had great atmosphere and gameplay, but neither of them lived up to the quality of their originals. At least for sniping, however, you need to get away from the vastness of the map, where you can seamlessly move to really far corners of the landscape to find the best shooting angles. In the case of aerial bombardment, you’ll be pleased to see how impressive the destruction your larger missiles can cause (you can level entire buildings with no problem) or how realistic the sound is processed here, including the time delay between shots. and impact.

However, the authors have tried to come up with completely new missions that are significantly different from the classic COD template or add significant new elements to it. These efforts culminate in a mission that works like a small “survival sim” in which you have to search for raw materials and combine them into useful items. I would also add a passage with a car chase, which is great in places (the moment of falling from a helicopter), but in places it is terribly frustrating (when the ammo runs out on an advanced mission checkpoint and you have to restart it). The idea itself or the situation may not be all that bad, but in some places it seemed to me that the designers made the most unfortunate partial decisions, and the result was a cascade of unexpectedly unpleasant moments by the standards of this “very consumer shooter series.”

A cascade of unexpectedly unpleasant moments.

From a technical standpoint, the game runs smoothly on the PS5, with the exception of sometimes suspicious AI behavior on the battlefield, I didn’t notice any significant issues. It’s a shame for the relatively frequent power outages, the original Modern Warfare already knew how to mask them better a decade ago, even without the use of an SSD. In this way, they contribute to the feeling that the game is a conglomeration of cutscenes and missions from several different development teams and cinematographers. Either way, this year’s Call of Duty took me by surprise as I was looking forward to my response to the traditionally narrative campaign and straight-forward thoroughbred shooter. But instead, I ended up with a strangely experimental conglomeration of genres and ideas, some of which were interesting in their own right, but overall ruined my attempt at enjoying a traditional action ride. I know there’s been talk for a long time about the need for some sort of revival of the series, but I really don’t think there’s a need to turn it into an outright action adventure or anything more complex. A straightforward narrative shooter is what gamers have been waiting for from this brand for years. In my opinion, it would be a shame if the show had to abandon this clear concept.