Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2: Multiplayer review with final grade

After the interlude on the game’s campaign, released in early access also to attract the players’ attention (which is usually monopolized by the multiplayer component), the time has finally come to analyze the remaining components of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 , which puts on the plate an offer full of different options that try to meet the tastes of any type of player. After spending quite a few hours killing and being killed, we’re finally ready to tell you in detail about the latest entry in the Activision series.

Modes for all tastes

As you may have read in our review of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 campaign, the single player component of Infinity Ward’s latest effort has managed to entertain us enough. Did multiplayer and co-op manage to do the same? The answer is yes, but not without some reservations. The part that most convinced us of this new chapter in the reboot series is undoubtedly the gunplay , which without too many surprises proved to be reactive and pleasant just like what we tried in the campaign.

It will be the combination formed by the sounds and the simplicity with which you send enemies to the other world, but shooting in Call of Duty continues to convey a satisfaction that only a few first-person shooters can match. To support the excellent behavior of the instruments of death we find a substantial series of more or less consistent changes, which make Modern Warfare 2 a more intuitive product than in the past and able to satisfy the palates of any shooter fan.

The offer has expanded considerably thanks to the introduction of a large number of modes ranging from the more hardcore and without respawns such as Rescue Prisoners and Knockout (which add to the already known Search and Destroy), to the more traditionalKill Confirmed , Domination and Team Deathmatch.

Another one is added to the two macro-categories, which is focused on generously sized maps and which acts in all respects as a ‘window to the future’, as it approaches what we will see in a couple of weeks with Warzone 2.0. Ground War and Invasion are a large-scale version of Domination and Team Deathmatch, featuring teams of up to 32 players, AI-controlled vehicles and bots. In both cases, there is total freedom of approach and a certain attention to the objectives. Even on a scenic level, the impact is considerable: we take the field aboard a helicopter and around us there are the other aircraft that unload new troops on a regular basis, while other allies controlled by artificial intelligence parachute into neighboring areas. The sensation is that of being completely immersed in this particularly heated war context in which the Killstreak/Scorestreak are almost perpetually in action. We have not mentioned both systems at random, since Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 holds a record in the series: it is now possible to choose whether to accumulate the advantages according to the Streaks of Points or the Streaks of Kills method .

We found this choice to be particularly successful, as it encourages players to score points and destroy enemy traps and vehicles without focusing solely on eliminations.

Another novelty consists of the Third Person Moshpit , a specific playlist whose modes allow you to face matches with the camera behind the character. We have completed quite a few games with this view and we can confirm without too much doubt that it is not a perfect addition. It seems clear that the developers have not paid much attention to the smallest details and, just to give an example, the intro of the game takes place in subjective and then abruptly switches to the third person when the match starts.

Despite these small scenic imperfections, it is undeniable that this playlist represents an additional modality for the players and allows them to play with the same weapons and in the same arenas from a completely different perspective, which calls for adopting a different style of play due to the ability to peek beyond cover without exposing yourself to enemy fire. Furthermore, compared to the Beta, Infinity Ward has retouched the aiming system in order to prevent the view from passing into first person: by holding down the appropriate button, the camera now approaches behind the operator, with the subjective viewfinder active only when the firearm mounts optics for long distances.

Level design da manuale

Moving on to the scenarios that form the backdrop to the frenetic guerrilla warfare in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, we find a total of 16 maps: 11 designed for traditional modes and 5 for broader ones. Net of an often flat and without flashes aesthetic, it is impossible not to praise the care placed by the development team in the level design of each individual arena. Just wander around the worlds to discover how the buildings, obstacles and outdoor sections have been designed to allow ample room for maneuver with any style of play.

One of the maps also tries to create something new and we believe it does it with good results: we are talking about Santa Sena Border Crossing , probably the most talked about stage of the moment. Although many are criticizing the design of this scenario set in Las Almas, we found it interesting the idea of ​​placing players in a long corridor represented by a highway, along which there are vehicles of all kinds ready to explode and whose carcasses they can serve as a shelter.

As for the new game mechanics, we found the introduction of mantling inconsistent : in essence, clinging to a ledge and firing from this position has never proved useful.

For underwater combat , on the other hand, the situation changes, because in a whole series of situations it has proved to be a precious ally. There is a specific map which is set on a small islet surrounded by water: by diving it is possible not only to take the enemy by surprise, but also to enter the ducts that allow you to emerge at various points in the level, to the advantage of a pleasant tactical element available for those with the patience to exploit it. Always connected to the material is a specific gadget, the Perforator Charge, an explosive capable of going beyond a wall to flush out those who too often abandon themselves to the dark path of the camper.

Ever evolving weapons

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is a product that tries to bring a breath of fresh air with some important innovations and among these it is impossible not to mention the new platform system . Thanks to this new mechanic, our weapons accumulate experience to ‘evolve’. Want to unlock MP5? Then you must first obtain the weapon platform – the Lachmann – and upgrade it to access one of its variants which corresponds precisely to the famous machine gun.

In addition to being a more complex system, that of the platforms is a mechanism that allows you to share the same accessories among multiple weapons , significantly streamlining the grinding. In essence, once a new gun has been unlocked, it will be easier to already have a small range of “toys” with which to modify it, so as to make it immediately operational. Even the camouflages follow the same philosophy which, although they are unlocked in an almost identical way to the past episodes, are now “universal” in almost all cases. Basically, each weapon has four basic camouflages which, once obtained, can be applied to the entire game arsenal.

The only exception is represented by the high-level ones (platinum or higher), which continue to have as a requirement the completion of numerous challenges related to the weapons of the same category. We then come to the renewed management of the Specialties . Unlike platforms, this specific addition didn’t quite meet our tastes. Infinity Ward has in fact decided to overturn the Perks and make sure that only two of them are in operation throughout the course of the game, relegating two other bonuses to the more advanced stages of the same. Among the Specialties that can only be activated in the second half of the match we also find Cold Blood and Ghost , essential to avoid being targeted by UAVs and other series of killings.

As you can guess, this system tends to leave players ‘uncovered’ and the feeling we got is that its goal is to allow those who are less skilled to accumulate more eliminations or points in the early stages of the match, before the users with a reasoned loadout can reach the maximum potential.

Who shoots in company…

The cooperative mode is another important component of the package, which further expands the content offer. At the launch of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 we find only three missions to face in the company of a friend , but in the future this section will be enriched with new activities structured in a similar way to those available and the long-awaited Raids , which should offer missions more complex to deal with in groups.

However, the first of the three missions is a night stealth operation, which starts with the classic Warzone-style jump from an aircraft. Once landed, the two players must coordinate and help each other with a visor to break into the buildings in the area, avoiding traps and doing everything possible not to trigger the alarm.

The second activity is the least imaginative one, since in Al-Mazrah we will have to face a series of hordes of increasing difficulty with a large arsenal at our disposal. To close the circle we find an assignment set in a quite large area and in which the duo of operators can freely decide whether to act silently (in which case they will have a rifle with a thermal sight at their disposal) or whether to unleash chaos in the search for some devices .

We are therefore not faced with who knows what situational variety but as a starting point this trio of Spec Ops seemed more than sufficient to us and we are sure that in the coming seasons we will have many other activities to deal with in a cooperative. Meanwhile, it is also possible to take advantage of aprogression system within the mode that allows you to improve the three available classes and unlock some exclusive rewards, among which there are also projects for weapons to be used in multiplayer and in Warzone 2.0.

An interface to completely review

There isn’t much to add on the technical side compared to what was said when evaluating the campaign, since both the coop and the multiplayer offer a visual aspect comparable to that of the single player with some due exceptions which mainly concern the creation of faces and, more generally, the level of detail.

Net of this, the frame rate on PlayStation 5 proved to be solid, given that during our test we never witnessed any kind of uncertainty and 60 frames per second seemed stable on any occasion. The increased FOV and the various tests with the FidelityFX CAS , both options also available in multiplayer, did not have a negative influence on the performance, testifying to the care taken by the developers for optimization. We would have liked such attention to involve all aspects of the production, which landed on the shelves with more than a few technical edges, capable of making some interactions problematic.

We are referring, for example, to navigating between screens, performing basic actions such as changing camouflage and even selecting game modes. The menus are confusing , separated by annoying loading and characterized by elements that are difficult to distinguish.

Even the camouflage screen is sketchy and it is difficult to understand which skins are unlocked and which ones are yet to be obtained. It is understandable that making multiple titles that need to interface with each other is a complex challenge, but some revision work is needed in this regard to make everything more accessible and intuitive. To aggravate the situation there are also elements of the interface that overlap making the information on the screen unreadable and the total absence of a system to find out what the active challenges are.

Instead, we don’t feel like giving too much weight to small bugswhich emerged in the first days of the launch, since, with the exception of the serious ping problem (immediately removed), these are minor hitches that will be fixed shortly with an update and which now characterize most of the online productions. The only technical problem that we hope will be fixed as soon as possible consists of the annoying freezes that occur during matchmaking , which degrade the scenic impact of the moments preceding entering the game.