The Modern Warfare trilogy was a monumental success for Call of Duty as a brand, and was instrumental in shaping the gaming landscape during the seventh console generation. But series developer Infinity Ward underwent massive restructuring during the development of Modern Warfare 3 and the end of the series left a bad taste in the mouths of many. The studios subsequent two Call of Duty games, Ghosts (2013) and Infinite Warfare (2016) struggled to find an audience, and even a proper identity regardless of their overall quality. So what could the studio possibly do to make their games matter as much as they used to? The answer is to stick to what you do best.
Following theft of a Russian biological weapon shipment in Urzikstan by unknown hostiles. The CIA partner with British Special forces to recover the weapons and destroy them before Russian intelligence catch wind of the situation, out of fear it’ll rapidly escalate the already precarious situation into a full blown war against the west.
But when Urzik terrorist organisation known as Al-Quatala take responsibility for the weapons theft, and carry out a massive terror in London, killing thousands, CIA operative Alex is sent to Urzikstan to ally with a rebel group led by Farah Karim, a group the Russians incorrectly believe are Al-Quatala. Meanwhile S.A.S Sergeant Garrick, and Captain Price, begin their hunt for Al-Quatala’s leader, known only as ‘The Wolf’.
Just like Hollywood studios, AAA game devs are obsessed with remakes right now. But remaking a game that was as groundbreaking and is as beloved as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was certainly going to be a big gamble. Infinity Ward’s reputation was not in the best place following Ghosts & Infinite Warfare (even though I maintain that Infinite Warfare is one of the best and most underrated games in the franchise), so deciding to go back to what is arguably the studio’s best game and remake it was a decision met with nervous anticipation.
But once more details about the project started to filter through, excitement began to build more and more, and once audiences got a first look at what was in store it seemed as if Infinity Ward were well and truly back on top form.
Following theft of a Russian biological weapon shipment in Urzikstan by unknown hostiles. The CIA partner with British Special forces to recover the weapons and destroy them before Russian intelligence catch wind of the situation, out of fear it’ll rapidly escalate the already precarious situation into a full blown war against the west.
But when Urzik terrorist organisation known as Al-Quatala take responsibility for the weapons theft, and carry out a massive terror in London, killing thousands, CIA operative Alex is sent to Urzikstan to ally with a rebel group led by Farah Karim, a group the Russians incorrectly believe are Al-Quatala. Meanwhile S.A.S Sergeant Garrick, and Captain Price, begin their hunt for Al-Quatala’s leader, known only as ‘The Wolf’.
Just like Hollywood studios, AAA game devs are obsessed with remakes right now. But remaking a game that was as groundbreaking and is as beloved as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was certainly going to be a big gamble. Infinity Ward’s reputation was not in the best place following Ghosts & Infinite Warfare (even though I maintain that Infinite Warfare is one of the best and most underrated games in the franchise), so deciding to go back to what is arguably the studio’s best game and remake it was a decision met with nervous anticipation.
But once more details about the project started to filter through, excitement began to build more and more, and once audiences got a first look at what was in store it seemed as if Infinity Ward were well and truly back on top form.
Whilst I have been referring to Modern Warfare as a remake, it’s important to point out that it’s actually an original story. If you’re a fan of the original Modern Warfare trilogy then you’ll be familiar some of the characters such as Captain Price, but this is a brand new story unrelated to the original trilogy.
It’s taken the framework of those stories, and made it a significantly darker, grittier, and more mature affair that explores the cyclical nature of war, how a just cause can become twisted into a terrorist organisation, and the destructive nature of blind patriotism.
The game opens with a graphic content warning, and honestly I was prepared for how the Call of Duty games used to approach this by having one controversial mission that could easily be covered with a cutscene if you opted out of the graphic content. But with Modern Warfare this isn’t an opt-in system, this is just a straight up disclaimer that the game contains some pretty extreme content and yeah, honestly, there’s no getting around a lot of it.
The very first thing you see is a guy clad in an explosive vest exit the back of a van in the middle of Trafalgar Square, which is followed up in the second mission which sees this event play out, a mass scale attack on central London. Unlike the similar and infamous ‘No Russian’ mission in Modern Warfare 2, this feels frighteningly realistic, placing you in the shoes of a counter terrorism officer that is woefully unprepared for what transpires.
From here the game offers up an excellent mix of more explosive missions in the Middle East as you join Farah’s freedom fighter movement, trying to clear their name for the attack on London; and slower paced but high tension S.A.S missions which see you infiltrate potential terrorist safe houses in an attempt to edge your way closer to The Wolf, and prevent future attacks from occurring. The shocks are earned too. It doesn’t feel out of place or unnecessary like it can do in the old games. The extra depth and maturity of which is handles its subject matter allows it to do things that are arguably more shocking than anything those games ever tried.
It’s all really excellent stuff and thanks to this balance of the pacing, the campaign never drags. Missions are much shorter than in previous games, meaning this ebb and flow of high-tension drama in the S.A.S portions, and explosive action of the US Marines comes much faster and more frequently than it did in the original trilogy. It’s also intercut with some excellently directed, high quality cutscenes that really give you an idea of the wider consequences of what’s happening in the missions. This felt like a big budget TV drama, not a Call of Duty game.
It does end rather abruptly though, and despite so much happening it almost feels like it ends just as it starts to get going. It really does feel like the opening act to something much bigger. Something that disappointingly seems to be glossed over somewhat in the game’s Spec Ops mode (which I’ll talk about more later on). I was so pumped for more when the credits started to roll but when I looked back on my time with Modern Warfare it’s probably because the entire game built to a climax that it never actually delivered.
Part of what makes the story so great is the characters and how well written they are. For the first time in the franchise every single character in the campaign has proper depth, emotional complexity, genuine character arcs, and even form genuine relationships with each other based on their personalities and not just because the story says so.
It’s perhaps most evident with characters like Farah and Alex. As the leader of a rebellion movement Farah toes the line between being the ‘good guys’ and the ‘bad guys’, because although she is fighting against Al-Quatala the United States still consider her a dangerous individual, and it’s understandable why because she’s so concerned about the safety of her people and very set against the ideologies of western governments who seem to want to interfere with her country and way of life.
Alex believes himself to be loyal to his country, but when he meets Farah and sees what like in Urzikstan is like, he begins to question where his loyalties lie, to his country or to a valuable cause. The bond these two characters form over the course of the story is some of the best writing the franchise has ever offered up because it goes so far beyond military bravado, it feels like real people trying to make a difference and fight for what they believe in.
It’s taken the framework of those stories, and made it a significantly darker, grittier, and more mature affair that explores the cyclical nature of war, how a just cause can become twisted into a terrorist organisation, and the destructive nature of blind patriotism.
The game opens with a graphic content warning, and honestly I was prepared for how the Call of Duty games used to approach this by having one controversial mission that could easily be covered with a cutscene if you opted out of the graphic content. But with Modern Warfare this isn’t an opt-in system, this is just a straight up disclaimer that the game contains some pretty extreme content and yeah, honestly, there’s no getting around a lot of it.
The very first thing you see is a guy clad in an explosive vest exit the back of a van in the middle of Trafalgar Square, which is followed up in the second mission which sees this event play out, a mass scale attack on central London. Unlike the similar and infamous ‘No Russian’ mission in Modern Warfare 2, this feels frighteningly realistic, placing you in the shoes of a counter terrorism officer that is woefully unprepared for what transpires.
From here the game offers up an excellent mix of more explosive missions in the Middle East as you join Farah’s freedom fighter movement, trying to clear their name for the attack on London; and slower paced but high tension S.A.S missions which see you infiltrate potential terrorist safe houses in an attempt to edge your way closer to The Wolf, and prevent future attacks from occurring. The shocks are earned too. It doesn’t feel out of place or unnecessary like it can do in the old games. The extra depth and maturity of which is handles its subject matter allows it to do things that are arguably more shocking than anything those games ever tried.
It’s all really excellent stuff and thanks to this balance of the pacing, the campaign never drags. Missions are much shorter than in previous games, meaning this ebb and flow of high-tension drama in the S.A.S portions, and explosive action of the US Marines comes much faster and more frequently than it did in the original trilogy. It’s also intercut with some excellently directed, high quality cutscenes that really give you an idea of the wider consequences of what’s happening in the missions. This felt like a big budget TV drama, not a Call of Duty game.
It does end rather abruptly though, and despite so much happening it almost feels like it ends just as it starts to get going. It really does feel like the opening act to something much bigger. Something that disappointingly seems to be glossed over somewhat in the game’s Spec Ops mode (which I’ll talk about more later on). I was so pumped for more when the credits started to roll but when I looked back on my time with Modern Warfare it’s probably because the entire game built to a climax that it never actually delivered.
Part of what makes the story so great is the characters and how well written they are. For the first time in the franchise every single character in the campaign has proper depth, emotional complexity, genuine character arcs, and even form genuine relationships with each other based on their personalities and not just because the story says so.
It’s perhaps most evident with characters like Farah and Alex. As the leader of a rebellion movement Farah toes the line between being the ‘good guys’ and the ‘bad guys’, because although she is fighting against Al-Quatala the United States still consider her a dangerous individual, and it’s understandable why because she’s so concerned about the safety of her people and very set against the ideologies of western governments who seem to want to interfere with her country and way of life.
Alex believes himself to be loyal to his country, but when he meets Farah and sees what like in Urzikstan is like, he begins to question where his loyalties lie, to his country or to a valuable cause. The bond these two characters form over the course of the story is some of the best writing the franchise has ever offered up because it goes so far beyond military bravado, it feels like real people trying to make a difference and fight for what they believe in.
I’ve talked about the story for a thousand words now, so perhaps I should move on to the gameplay. With the creation of the new engine for Modern Warfare, the gameplay does feel significantly different to that of any previous Call of Duty game. It’s much weightier, slower paced, and meaty. It actually felt more akin to playing Killzone 2 than a Call of Duty game. You take damage much faster than in previous titles, and so cover really if your best friend. You can now mount your weapon to cover and peer around corners for a better angle, but you can also traverse environmental objects smoother than ever before. It’s an interesting mix to have the guns feel heavy, your movement speed slow, but your traversal and cover mechanics to be smooth as butter. It just feels really good to play, and extremely responsive.
Because the game feels so different to play, this carries over into the multiplayer in interesting ways. Guns have considerably more recoil now and matches generally play out at a much slower pace. You’ve got all the modes you would expect to find in a Call of Duty title, and in a lot of ways it does feel like a return to what made Call of Duty 4 so enjoyable because it’s real boots on the ground Call of Duty, in a similar fashion to what Sledgehammer pulled off with WWII.
It’s Spec Ops that’s arguably the most interesting mode though, and it’s because it’s implemented in an entirely new way. Spec Ops now has a story, picking up where the main game ends and in a few ways retelling some of the plot points of Call of Duty 4. Al Asad is now the leader of Al Quatala and is working alongside arms dealer Victor Zakhaev who are posing a significant threat to the Russian military. In a joint operation between Task Force 141 and the Russian FSB, they must take down a number of high value targets to weaken Al Quatala’s hold on the region of Verdansk.
Spec Ops comprises of two different sets of missions, solo or co-op missions that require mastery of a particular weapon or killstreak to succeed, and co-op only missions where you are sent in to eliminate a high value target. I must say I didn’t get to play an awful lot of Spec Ops before writing this review because it was near impossible to find a game, and I didn’t have any friends who were available to play the co-op missions with me. The mode is very reminiscent of Modern Warfare 2’s spec-ops ode in the sense of it being short missions where you’re rated on how well you do. But the co-op only takedown missions are more in line with a campaign mission, it’s scripted with lots of story dialogue added in, and they all build to a large-scale climax.
Whilst I did enjoy what I played of the mode, it’s much better when playing in co-op, and best when playing with friends. So, my experience was perhaps not the best it could have been.
There is also something I want to address and that’s that you only get half of the ‘Spec Ops’ story in Spec Ops, and the other half was presented during timed events for Call of Duty: Warzone, the free to play Battle Royale game that released alongside Modern Warfare. I think this is outrageously stupid because you can’t actually access most of that content anymore, so I took the time to watch a compilation of all the cutscenes on YouTube before writing this review. In fact, accessibility is a big problem for the game as a whole.
It took me almost two full days to get Modern Warfare installed on my PS5 because of the poorly designed way it makes content available to players.
I bought the game physically, so I put the disc in and that required an outrageous 150GB install size. The reason for this is that the game also installs a lot of Warzone content, as well as the Modern Warfare content. Anyway, once I booted the game up, I selected the campaign, only to be told I needed to download a further 30GB content package which contained the campaign. I did that, restarted the game, clicked on campaign, and then I was told I needed to also download the 25GB Spec Ops content package because that contains story content too. Because I was going to play every mode anyway, I just downloaded every content pack I could, which resulted in another nearly 100GB worth of downloads. There’s no warning on the box that the game requires an internet connection either, but in order to play the game I had to download over 100GB worth of content from the PlayStation Store, content that should have been installed from the disc! Also, what was the 150GB that the game installed to even boot up? I can’t even begin to describe how unfriendly this is to consumers, and after spending almost half a day trying to get the game to even work, I questioned whether I should even bother. Thankfully after I left the downloads going overnight and came back to it the next day it did work, and everything was there, but I had to make so much space available for the game on my console, and I couldn’t just play the game. What’s all the more baffling is that Activision claim that this is all done in service of improving the user experience. Whatever the real reason is, I’m sure the user is the last person they were thinking of when designing the game’s setup in this way.
Because the game feels so different to play, this carries over into the multiplayer in interesting ways. Guns have considerably more recoil now and matches generally play out at a much slower pace. You’ve got all the modes you would expect to find in a Call of Duty title, and in a lot of ways it does feel like a return to what made Call of Duty 4 so enjoyable because it’s real boots on the ground Call of Duty, in a similar fashion to what Sledgehammer pulled off with WWII.
It’s Spec Ops that’s arguably the most interesting mode though, and it’s because it’s implemented in an entirely new way. Spec Ops now has a story, picking up where the main game ends and in a few ways retelling some of the plot points of Call of Duty 4. Al Asad is now the leader of Al Quatala and is working alongside arms dealer Victor Zakhaev who are posing a significant threat to the Russian military. In a joint operation between Task Force 141 and the Russian FSB, they must take down a number of high value targets to weaken Al Quatala’s hold on the region of Verdansk.
Spec Ops comprises of two different sets of missions, solo or co-op missions that require mastery of a particular weapon or killstreak to succeed, and co-op only missions where you are sent in to eliminate a high value target. I must say I didn’t get to play an awful lot of Spec Ops before writing this review because it was near impossible to find a game, and I didn’t have any friends who were available to play the co-op missions with me. The mode is very reminiscent of Modern Warfare 2’s spec-ops ode in the sense of it being short missions where you’re rated on how well you do. But the co-op only takedown missions are more in line with a campaign mission, it’s scripted with lots of story dialogue added in, and they all build to a large-scale climax.
Whilst I did enjoy what I played of the mode, it’s much better when playing in co-op, and best when playing with friends. So, my experience was perhaps not the best it could have been.
There is also something I want to address and that’s that you only get half of the ‘Spec Ops’ story in Spec Ops, and the other half was presented during timed events for Call of Duty: Warzone, the free to play Battle Royale game that released alongside Modern Warfare. I think this is outrageously stupid because you can’t actually access most of that content anymore, so I took the time to watch a compilation of all the cutscenes on YouTube before writing this review. In fact, accessibility is a big problem for the game as a whole.
It took me almost two full days to get Modern Warfare installed on my PS5 because of the poorly designed way it makes content available to players.
I bought the game physically, so I put the disc in and that required an outrageous 150GB install size. The reason for this is that the game also installs a lot of Warzone content, as well as the Modern Warfare content. Anyway, once I booted the game up, I selected the campaign, only to be told I needed to download a further 30GB content package which contained the campaign. I did that, restarted the game, clicked on campaign, and then I was told I needed to also download the 25GB Spec Ops content package because that contains story content too. Because I was going to play every mode anyway, I just downloaded every content pack I could, which resulted in another nearly 100GB worth of downloads. There’s no warning on the box that the game requires an internet connection either, but in order to play the game I had to download over 100GB worth of content from the PlayStation Store, content that should have been installed from the disc! Also, what was the 150GB that the game installed to even boot up? I can’t even begin to describe how unfriendly this is to consumers, and after spending almost half a day trying to get the game to even work, I questioned whether I should even bother. Thankfully after I left the downloads going overnight and came back to it the next day it did work, and everything was there, but I had to make so much space available for the game on my console, and I couldn’t just play the game. What’s all the more baffling is that Activision claim that this is all done in service of improving the user experience. Whatever the real reason is, I’m sure the user is the last person they were thinking of when designing the game’s setup in this way.
Infinity Ward had been building Modern Warfare’s new engine for five years prior to the game’s release. It’s rather misleadingly called the IW 8.0 Engine, implying that like all the previous IW Engine’s, it’s just an upgraded version of the same engine they first rolled out for Call of Duty 2 (which itself was a modified version of id Tech 3). But in reality, it’s a whole new engine which is part of the reason why Modern Warfare feels so distinct against the previous Call of Duty games.
What this amounts to is one of the most visually stunning first person shooters on the market at the time of its release. Character models are so finely detailed that there are moments where they could be mistaken for being photorealistic, in combination with the motion capture performances this provides some of the most realistic looking videogame characters ever as of 2019. It doesn’t stop there either, environments are highly detailed and objects have multiple layers of destructible textures placed onto them, allowing for some of the most destructible terrain in a Call of Duty yet. It still pales in comparison to destructibility in some of the Battlefield titles, but it’s a good step forward for the franchise.
Lighting has had a massive revamp, and Infinity Ward really make use of more realistic lighting effects. You’ll regularly be plunged into darkness and rely on night-vision goggles or need to follow distant light that trickling through an opening in a cave.
One of the most impressive things though were the transitions from cutscene to gameplay, they were practically seamless and had little to no visible loss in image quality. It was just such a delightful game to look at.
There’s also the sound which has seen an equally massively haul over. Gun sounds are really punchy, delivering some of the most realistic sound effects in any shooter yet. Explosions blast through your speakers, and wind whistles by as it crackles dust and sand down by your feet. I did notice that the dialogue often sounded as though it had been mixed too loud though and came through slightly distorted. I tried fiddling with the settings in the game, as well as even tried switching off my surround sound and using the TV speakers but it still persisted.
As good as most of that is though, the game did come with a number of technical hiccups. I had frequent glitches that saw guns phase in and out of existence, AI squad mate’s glitch through the floor and get stuck on scenery, and enemy AI just choose pacifism. There was also a lot of frame rate issues, slowdown, and even some screen tearing. It was perhaps the buggiest Call of Duty experience I’ve had yet, which for a series that was at one point renowned for its technical polish was a little disheartening.
Call of Duty 4 revolutionised the franchise, and the genre in 2007, and whilst Modern Warfare isn’t that same revolution for the genre, it’s perhaps the single biggest leap the franchise has ever had in almost every area. The story is considerably more mature and well written than any previous game; the gameplay is actively different in feel and design but retains that Call of Duty DNA; and the much overdue leap to a new engine has brought with it some of the finest visuals on the seventh-generation systems. There are things that Modern Warfare doesn’t quite nail, but the overall package is just so outstanding that those issues I do have just don’t impact the overall experience in a significant way. 2019’s Modern Warfare is a return to form for the franchise, for Infinity Ward, and is without a doubt one of the best shooters of the entire generation.
What this amounts to is one of the most visually stunning first person shooters on the market at the time of its release. Character models are so finely detailed that there are moments where they could be mistaken for being photorealistic, in combination with the motion capture performances this provides some of the most realistic looking videogame characters ever as of 2019. It doesn’t stop there either, environments are highly detailed and objects have multiple layers of destructible textures placed onto them, allowing for some of the most destructible terrain in a Call of Duty yet. It still pales in comparison to destructibility in some of the Battlefield titles, but it’s a good step forward for the franchise.
Lighting has had a massive revamp, and Infinity Ward really make use of more realistic lighting effects. You’ll regularly be plunged into darkness and rely on night-vision goggles or need to follow distant light that trickling through an opening in a cave.
One of the most impressive things though were the transitions from cutscene to gameplay, they were practically seamless and had little to no visible loss in image quality. It was just such a delightful game to look at.
There’s also the sound which has seen an equally massively haul over. Gun sounds are really punchy, delivering some of the most realistic sound effects in any shooter yet. Explosions blast through your speakers, and wind whistles by as it crackles dust and sand down by your feet. I did notice that the dialogue often sounded as though it had been mixed too loud though and came through slightly distorted. I tried fiddling with the settings in the game, as well as even tried switching off my surround sound and using the TV speakers but it still persisted.
As good as most of that is though, the game did come with a number of technical hiccups. I had frequent glitches that saw guns phase in and out of existence, AI squad mate’s glitch through the floor and get stuck on scenery, and enemy AI just choose pacifism. There was also a lot of frame rate issues, slowdown, and even some screen tearing. It was perhaps the buggiest Call of Duty experience I’ve had yet, which for a series that was at one point renowned for its technical polish was a little disheartening.
Call of Duty 4 revolutionised the franchise, and the genre in 2007, and whilst Modern Warfare isn’t that same revolution for the genre, it’s perhaps the single biggest leap the franchise has ever had in almost every area. The story is considerably more mature and well written than any previous game; the gameplay is actively different in feel and design but retains that Call of Duty DNA; and the much overdue leap to a new engine has brought with it some of the finest visuals on the seventh-generation systems. There are things that Modern Warfare doesn’t quite nail, but the overall package is just so outstanding that those issues I do have just don’t impact the overall experience in a significant way. 2019’s Modern Warfare is a return to form for the franchise, for Infinity Ward, and is without a doubt one of the best shooters of the entire generation.