Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) Review — Going Dark, Again

The Call of Duty franchise seems to be dabbling between delivering something old-school and familiar to longtime CoD fans, while also presenting a ‘new’ experience that’s still pushing the series forward; and to be fair, with Modern Warfare II, developer Infinity Ward has done a good job at teetering between the two approaches, providing something that should appease everyone.

First and foremost, because, admittedly, it can be confusing for the uninitiated, there already was Modern Warfare 2 back in 2009; but after the brilliant 2019 Modern Warfare reboot, the Call of Duty franchise is following that new CoD universe story arc with the brand-spanking-new Modern Warfare II, acting as a sequel to the reboot but incorporating elements from the original MWII.

With this nod to the original, there are some familiar missions set-ups (yes, you get a ghillie suit sniper mission), but this is essentially a new direction, picking up with Captain Price, Soap, Gaz, and the rest of Task Force 141, who have become a go-to Spec Ops team, of sorts, to solve tricky issues following the events of Modern Warfare 1. While the game’s set-up brings back nostalgic feelings, the visuals are as contemporary as ever, delivering photorealistic cutscenes, superb lighting, and immersive effects during firefights.

Like other CoD games, the campaign sees you jumping from various squad members in exotic locations around the world as you track down a terrorist hellbent on vengeance following an assassination on one of his comrades’ lives years earlier. The story is full of the usual collusion, secret intel, one-liners, and hidden nuclear weapon plot beats, but it’s incredibly engaging given the fact that we’ve got to know these characters over the course of two games now and the vocal and motion capture performances of all involved are akin to something you’d see in an espionage thriller.

The campaign itself is great, and the Call of Duty franchise has a knack for throwing players into some fascinating scenarios. Modern Warfare II definitely lives up to that, and while it may not reach the heights of Modern Warfare 1 or the recent Cold War campaign, MW2 does do some interesting things that will seem fresh to veteran CoD campaign fans.

As for the gameplay, the sequel brings some notable changes, including revamped movement, an advanced AI system, water physics, and swimming mechanics, as well as an overhauled vehicle system. Shooting feels meaty and weighty – with bullet impact actually leaving you feeling that you’re shooting ‘something’ rather than a paper target, turning CoD‘s frantic run-and-gun ethos of yesteryear into more of a tactical gunfight.

The multiplayer component of Modern Warfare II continues the previous entry’s approach to being more of a homecoming for the series. The focus sticks to the franchise’s trademark features: strong maps, solid gunplay, and a focus on strategy, with fewer bells and whistles and more practical gameplay improvements that’ll please longtime fans the most.

Maps are far more dynamic than in recent entries, giving even the freshest of players an opportunity to compete thanks to tons of routes and more open areas; while weapon loadouts play an even bigger role than before to counter the aforementioned map layouts. Utilising SMGs in tight spaces, sniper-rifles in larger areas, and assault rifles for medium range bouts are all more important this time around, and weapon-junkies will love the focus on ‘feel’ of all the boom-boom sticks.

The standard fare of modes are there, but the new addition, Knockout and Prisoner Rescue, are fun spins on the usual strategies. Knockout sees two teams attempt to capture a package with limited lives; and Prisoner Rescue requires an attacking team to extract a hostage while a defending team prevents them by fortifying defences around the hostage.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is a fitting sequel for the more focused and refined experience that we’re witnessing with the latest CoD entries on current-gen hardware. It isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it doesn’t really need to, as the Call of Duty formula is one that works, and works well. The campaign will tickle fans of the series, giving them 5-6 hours of entertainment, and the multiplayer, while familiar, is a little slicker this time around thanks to some small tweaks.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, and PC.