MW2 pulls out all the stops in the solo campaign test and even delivers more variety than its predecessor. Only one mission drives us up the wall.
CoD Modern Warfare 2 is confronted with a very fundamental problem: How on earth do you tie in with the campaign of the most successful Call of Dutys to date?
Can developer Infinity Ward go one better here without falling into the same trap as the old Modern Warfare trilogy – which staged even more explosions, bombast and noise with each part and at the same time became increasingly clumsy bit by bit? Or, to put it another way, is it possible to top 2019”s Modern Warfare without simply stringing together more noise boom and cheap shock effects?
First, we can state: CoD will still be CoD in 2022! In a total of 17 missions, you have to free hostages while hanging upside down from a skyscraper, fire at terrorists from the guns of a plane or penetrate enemy bases unseen in a camouflage suit.
Modern Warfare 2 shines with variety and its impressive staging, but at the same time it has one of the most disastrous missions the CoD series has ever seen. How much of a difference this makes and whether the story is still worthwhile is the subject of our test here.
The Sicario Feeling
The staging has always been one of Call of Duty”s greatest strengths and MW2 raises the level a notch again. In terms of story, the game ties in with 2019”s Modern Warfare, the reboot of the original MW trilogy – our Modern Warfare 2 story recap explains what you should know about this before you play. Task Force 141 around Captain Price, Ghost, Gaz and Co. are back and, of course, on the trail of terrorists once again.
These are linked to a Mexican cartel this time and call up new characters like Alejandro Vargas of the Mexican Special Forces. Chases over the border wall between the USA and Mexico and a visit to the villa of a drug lord provide a spatial change from the monotonous desert regions of the predecessor.
All in all, the setting is much fresher than the hackneyed terrorists-from-the-Middle-East story and brings atmospheric Sicario vibes with it – at times we actually feel as if we have been transported to Denis Villeneuve”s film masterpiece about the drug war on the Arizona border. The plot is driven forward in excellently acted cutscenes or dialogues within the missions and, apart from a few minor gaps in logic, provides comprehensible motivation for each character.
We particularly liked the highly professional English speakers, but the German synchro falls far behind and sometimes seems a bit cheap – for example, when a hit to the head of a syndicate member is acknowledged with a forced cool “The cartel has openings.
In English, however, even incidental banter over the radio becomes a highlight, such as when Ghost tells a few bad jokes to boost his teammate”s morale as he flees shot from enemies. Modern Warfare 2 is surprisingly human here – and that suits the game very well, because its characters seem more tangible and alive.
So alternate like never before
The missions themselves are bursting with player variety and oscillate between short and linear and larger sandbox levels in which we have more or less free rein. The latter includes, for example, the sniper mission “Violent Reconnaissance”, where we attack an enemy base as a sniper in a ghillie suit. Where we strike from, whether we bypass or take out patrols and when we abandon our cover and storm the target is entirely up to us.
Generally, MW2 offers a nice balance between stealth and combat missions, almost never requiring us to be quiet: If we are discovered, the mission is not automatically failed, but merely becomes more difficult because the enemies call for reinforcements – this often gives us a stronger sense of freedom than in Modern Warfare of 2019. Bluntly shooting at hordes of enemies is also done this time, but often it is advisable to proceed thoughtfully even on the normal difficulty level: If you”re too quick on the trigger finger, you”ll mess up some missions very quickly.
An example: If we provide cover for our team on the ground at the guns of an AC-130J aircraft, we should observe our targets closely and choose them carefully. Otherwise, we will hit uninvolved civilians with our on-board weapons and have to start from the last save point. In some situations we are even without a weapon against an enemy superiority and have to build tools and traps with the help of a rudimentary crafting system in order to then strike from ambush.
Let”s be clear about this: We are still miles away from a tactical shooter! Nevertheless, such subtleties make MW2 seem a bit more intelligent than usual. MW2 makes it clear: Call of Duty is now definitely better than its reputation as a dull baller!
Apropos intelligent: The quality of the enemies in Modern Warfare 2 fluctuates greatly from one side to the other, sometimes the game stubbornly sends cannon fodder rushing at us, sometimes we are only confronted with a handful of armoured elite soldiers who at least reliably seek cover and throw grenades. Especially the latter often force us to rethink, because their protective waistcoats sometimes absorb an entire magazine of bullets – especially on higher difficulty levels, guerrilla tactics and precise headshots with large-calibre weapons become obligatory.
The Horror Mission
While the gameplay experiments of the other missions almost always succeed, one in particular becomes a pure ordeal and might go down in the history of the series as one of the worst CoD missions! In search of a kidnapped target, we return to Urzikstan, the setting of the predecessor. There, we have to get to the head of a motorcade in a wild chase by hijacking, ramming and shooting down enemy vehicles.
This is actually quite cool in the first few minutes, because the cars control surprisingly well and the spectacular manoeuvres are quite fun. But after 15 minutes of driving and what feels like 500 wrecked vehicles, we only wish that the mission would finally end! Because every time we think we have reached the top of the convoy, new enemy jeeps and trucks appear as if by magic, each time even more heavily armoured and better armed. Where do they all come from?
The monotony is soon joined by absurdity: suddenly the terrorists unpack rocket launchers by the dozen, launch suicide drones and lay mines so that we have to drive in serpentine lines. Everything burns and explodes. And the fun of the game with it. But it goes on: more vehicles approach, we shoot, board, drive on, yawn. Eventually, with every kilometre covered and every broken car, something inside us dies. After 25 minutes we yell at the screen, “When is this going to stop, how many more cars can they have?!”
When we then realised that we were now driving down the track for the second time because the level is set up as a circuit, the very last vestige of atmosphere and credibility flew out the window. How such a mission got through Infinity Ward”s internal test run will probably forever remain a mystery.
The last word
How much does this outlier matter? Ultimately, with a playing time of seven to eight hours in otherwise top quality, you can probably overlook the disastrous vehicle mission – especially since the story later comes up with a thoroughly surprising plot twist that reshuffles the cards.
The finale really packs a punch with two dramatic boss fights and long-term fans of the Modern Warfare series are served a very special atmospheric treat in the post-credit scene.
In terms of technology, our test ran without any problems apart from one crash. The graphics are on a very high to excellent level on the appropriate settings, the game world is bursting with nice details and the lighting mood provides a tangible atmosphere.
Sounds such as explosions or gunshots sound extremely crisp and convey the force of real weapons almost frighteningly credibly. Another nice detail are the night vision devices and visors, which convey an even more realistic feeling than in the predecessor.
What remains to be said in conclusion? Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2”s campaign is exactly what fans of its 2019 predecessor must have dreamed of: A spec-ops thriller in the style of Sicario, Extraction or 13 Hours, in which we feel like the coolest elite soldier in the world and in which spectacular action scenes and stylish stealth missions alternate.
If you ignore the terrible car chase, the campaign entertains shooter fans with a penchant for military action very well. It offers a record-breaking amount of variety and forgoes over-the-top scandalous moments like the tasteless poison gas attack and war crimes in 2019”s Modern Warfare, because it doesn”t need them.
Editor”s Verdict
I”ll say it straight out: I love MW2”s campaign. The special forces atmosphere, the gripping mission design and the varied locations lift the single player a little bit above MW19 in my eyes.
Although I miss the significant decisions and different solutions of Black Ops Cold War a little, the characters in MW2 are a bit more sophisticated. In my eyes, this is mainly thanks to the excellent actors, who bring Ghost, Alejandro, Graves & Co. to life almost on a Hollywood level.
The story doesn”t always make one hundred percent sense, I”ve learned to love or hate some of the characters dearly – sometimes both. When the credits rolled, my first thought was: Hopefully we will soon experience more stories with this great cast, be it in a sequel or a story addon.
