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It is no secret that the Call of Duty games of recent years have been released to a mixed reception from fans and critics alike. The latest iteration in the series, Vanguard, was a commercial success but it also proved to all that developers can no longer release WWII titles as a part of the franchise and expect it to be an automatic hit with fans. It is little wonder, then, that Activision has turned to the Modern Warfare subseries to get the brand as a whole back on track.
Developed by Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will act as a direct sequel to the 2019 release, itself a reboot of the wildly successful games of the late 2000s. Although details are relatively thin on the ground, a new gameplay trailer has shed some light on what players can expect when the game launches on October 28.
Modern Warfare Returns to Its Roots
Longttime Call of Duty fans may find the new level showcase oddly familiar. Named Operation: Dark Water, it is set across what looks like a deep-sea facility and tasks the squad with infiltrating it and stopping the launch of a missile. While there is currently no context for the scale of the threat posed by the weapon, it is impossible not to notice the similarities to the fourth game's almost mythical second level, Crew Expendable.
This looks to be a theme that the developer is actively pursuing, with many of the guns, sights, animations, and equipment instantly recognizable as Modern Warfare staples. This design choice is clearly deliberate and seeks to secure fans' support through nostalgia. Success beyond that, though, depends on how they have replicated the fast-paced, run-and-gun style that drew an audience to the original.
New Game, Same Faces
Despite the shiny new exterior, Infinity Ward is continuing to lean on past successes through its use of familiar characters. The new gameplay video featured a variety of returning characters, including Captain Price, John "Soap" McTavish, Simon "Ghost" Riley, and Kyle "Gaz" Garrick. Jeff Negus, Cinematic Lead and Director of Photography at Infinity Ward, has also confirmed that Colonel Rojas will be returning alongside new character Commander Graves.
The return of Rojas is an interesting one, as it probably dictates that these missions will be set before the events of the original MW2, in which he is killed "by the streets." It was confirmed further that this game would serve as an extension of the Modern Warfare universe by the game's GM Johanna Faries, so events happening in tandem with the originals could further serve to garner the interest of the consumer base.
Gameplay & Immersion Features Are In for a Big Upgrade
Much of the fuss around this new reveal relates to how the engine will handle the content. The ocean setting allows Infinity Ward to demonstrate impressive progress in several areas related to the game's physics. The containers on board the ship move around with the tide, sliding back and forth across the deck. Avoiding them as a hazard makes the whole scene feel impressively alive, though whether coming into contact with them carries any consequences remains unclear.
The water physics have also been lauded, with rain bouncing off the hard surfaces and waves crashing over the side. In a possible blow to PC players on restrictive hardware, these new elements cannot be disabled to lower graphical fidelity, so running the title could prove a challenge on levels where effects like these are used extensively. The final thing to note here is the remarkably stripped-back HUD, with no display for ammo, stance, or grenades in the video. There is a display when new items are collected, but beyond that, there is very little. Whether this is a design choice purely for the trailer is difficult to tell, but it is one of the few moves away from series tradition on display.
Time to Return to the Ranks of Task Force 141?
With the game set to release in a little over four months, more specific details around the narrative will inevitably emerge soon. What is clear from fan reaction so far, though, is that this return to a classic experience is overwhelmingly seen positively. Without full context, there is little here to criticize, but equally little to suggest that this new MW2 will break any significant new ground in the genre. One guarantee is that players of all platforms will be able to try, despite Microsoft's deal to acquire Activision Blizzard.