Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review (PS5)

As the development cycle of the Call of Duty series wraps back around to Infinity Ward, excitement in the FPS franchise feels renewed. Last year’s Call of Duty: Vanguard will forever go down as a misfire, but after the success that was 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Activision couldn’t have wished for a better studio to take its turn next. Alongside Warzone 2, the team pitches Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as the franchise’s next era. First impressions suggest it might well be.

However, the problem is we only have the first piece of the puzzle right now. The single player campaign has been made available one week early for anyone who pre-ordered the game, which is what this Review in Progress will cover. Once we’ve spent enough time with the multiplayer and co-op mode Spec Ops following the official launch on 28th October 2022, we shall update this piece with our full thoughts and a final score.

Considered an afterthought much of the time, Infinity Ward has at least managed to attract some interest to its offline levels by making them the only thing playable at the time of writing. The return of Task Force 141 is more than enough reason to play for some, though, as fan favourites like Ghost, Captain Price, and Soap face another terrorist threat to the USA. What follows is very “Oorah” in typical Call of Duty fashion, but Modern Warfare 2’s campaign is definitely up there as one of the more enjoyable ones.

This is an incredibly intense collection of levels and scenes that jumps from one to the next so quickly it becomes difficult to fit in a breather. Some are fully-fledged, engaging missions with twists and turns that escalate objectives and the stakes at play. Others are smaller scenarios presented more like vignettes — the viral Amsterdam level, for example — that are over within five minutes. The extreme variations in runtime have allowed Infinity Ward to craft a campaign that’s not always about shooting the gun in your hands. In fact, sometimes there’s no weapon at all.

The campaign is at its most interesting when you’re stripped of resources and support, instead forced to make do with the items you find to form a simple crafting system. Placed roughly halfway through the campaign when you’re on the run following a twist in the story, it’s a great example of how the developer is willing to break tradition.

While the standard run and gun missions have their own highlights, these levels that twist the Call of Duty formula are always going to be the most memorable ones. Modern Warfare 2 features another excellent AC-130 mission, and then there’s another sequence that wouldn’t look out of place in Uncharted. Tailing a convoy along the dusty roads of fictional country Urzikstan, you’ll jump from one car roof to another, chucking the driver out and shooting enemies up ahead. It’s a bit chaotic — instant death should you hit the tarmac also makes it a bit frustrating — but it’s undeniably fun in the moment.

The only gimmick we would consider a dud actually takes place in the closing minutes of the final mission, so we’ll have to choose our words carefully for fear of spoilers. Building upon a mechanic established earlier in the campaign, it’s just a really strange way to end the story gameplay-wise. It’s functional, but it never feels good to perform.

While it is the end of the game, it’s just one sequence in a six-hour narrative with many more highs than lows. Another highlight would be the sniper mission Recon By Fire. It still doesn’t beat All Ghillied Up from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare — we highly doubt anything will at this point — but it’s another case of Infinity Ward changing up the pace and tone to make those moments you are in the thick of a firefight all the more intense.

It all feels really good too, with the developer’s signature style of traversal and gun feel returning. Combined with outstanding visuals and best-in-class audio cues, Modern Warfare 2 looks, sounds, and feels phenomenal. Save for a few visual glitches that introduced a bit of texture pop-in and a flicker in the environment, the campaign runs flawlessly.

Conclusion

If you’re eager to get started with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, then the campaign will serve you well until the multiplayer and online co-op mode unlocks on Friday. With many missions that break away from the status quo, it’s not always just about shooting the bad guys. From high-speed car chases and crafting systems to the turrets of an AC-130, Modern Warfare 2 thoroughly entertains when it’s offline.