Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
Call of Duty has been around for nearly two decades. Most of us who’ve played video games growing up have probably spent some amount of time either playing or hearing about one of Activision’s 16 games. It stands to reason that once people have seen something for long enough they start to get tired of it. Similar to the Assassin’s Creed series it started off to a thundering wave of support and eventually dwindled to a trickle of applause. The releases became industrial, and for a time it seemed as if Activision was pumping the games out on an assembly line. It got to the point that we had a new Call of Duty every nine months or so. To avoid stagnation Activision decided to repackage the product and get back to the series roots. And it turns out that was exactly what the ailing franchise needed.
Story-wise, the formula still feels very similar to its predecessors. But this new interpretation may be one of the most well written throughout the entire series. You play as a few different operators from various military-based backgrounds. You search for a VIP, or some key piece of intelligence, in hopes of ultimately preventing a large scale terrorist attack. This is all while running and gunning or sneaking your way through several countries. The difference, however, between the old games and this new one is found in the dialogue, heavy setting, and realistic feel of the operations and weapons. The game has more than a few somber moments that remind you about the purpose of your occupation. You are first and foremost a soldier. You follow orders and do a job that most would never dare to do. Beyond all the cool explosions and tough exteriors is the raw truth. You do whatever is necessary to accomplish the mission. Sometimes this involves getting your hands dirty, for the greater good. And therein lies the question, does the end justify the means? The game strikes a solid balance between believable tension and excessive dramatics. To Activision’s credit, there were only a couple over the top moments towards the end of the campaign where I remembered that I was indeed playing a Call of Duty video game.
Which takes me into the next topic, gameplay. The graphics this time around are polished to a fine sheen. The detail on the weapons alone is stunning, but the feeling you have while using them bars none. Each weapon I used surprised me with its feeling of heft and realism. It felt like every shot mattered. On some levels, during the campaign for this and other Call of Duty titles, this was very well the case but it’s another thing entirely to get the feeling across in a weapon. I’d like to note that they came close in their recent title Call of Duty WWII but it felt like they got it down for Modern Warfare. Some of the most exciting moments in the game came not from the series’ massive explosions and endless shootouts, but the much quieter parts. Parts which had you infiltrating a complex in the dead of night with your squad and clearing it out room by room, floor by floor. During these segments, you must show extreme discipline and trigger control. There are enemies around every corner, and sometimes there aren’t. What you took for an armed figure darting across the halfway was actually a child holding a toy while running towards their mother. What you thought was just a shadow in the corner is actually an armed assailant waiting to get the jump on you. A person might show their hands in surrender, only to moments later reach for a hidden weapon in their clothes. The line separating civilians and soldiers is blurred at the best of times. It was moments like these that made the game for me.
Multiplayer is still pretty good, especially with crossplay (Ability to play with people either on console or PC) enabled. With the other CoD games, there wasn’t much of a problem with the player base, but now there won’t be any shortage of people playing this game in the foreseeable future. When you log in there are more than a few choices of play depending on your mood. There’s your standard PvP multiplayer where you can go toe to toe with people in a variety of game modes like team deathmatch, free for all, and domination, a mode similar to capture the flag. Next, there’s Warzone which is Call of Duties takes on the Battle Royale trend that’s been going on. Finally for those who feel more inclined to work together you have the PvE Co-Op mode where a group of four tackle missions that feel similar to the campaign. Plenty of options for whatever you might feel like getting into.
If you’re looking for a realistic first-person shooter with plenty of exciting moments, a strong multiplayer, and themes about morality then this is the game for you. You can get Call of Duty at any local retailer for around $45.
