Call of Duty: Modern Warfare exists as a series within the larger Call of Duty franchise. With the eighth game releasing in 2019, the titles have proven themselves a mainstay of the franchise. That said, not all Modern Warfare titles have been equally well-received. Some entries have become legendary in their own right, while others have been called mediocre.
When Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare launched, it brought a new era of competitive online play with it. Subsequently, future titles would attempt to improve and expand upon the formula with varying degrees of success. Using an average of each game's Metacritic and Internet Games Database scores, here's a ranking of every Call of Duty: Modern Warfare title by critics.
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Defiance: 57/100
The worst-rated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game is the final attempt at the Nintendo DS companion titles that accompanied the series entries since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Though the title did its best to recreate the console and PC experience on a handheld, many found the title too ambitious for the hardware. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Defiance suffered from several issues resulting from the underpowered console it was made for. Frame rate issues and clunky controls were a norm for the game. Many even found that similar titles available on phones and tablets offered a better looking and better playing experience.
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Mobilized: 70.5/100
Another low-ranking title for the Nintendo DS, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Mobilized, is saved perhaps by eeking as much as possible out of Nintendo's hardware before the next installment would prove the DS completely underpowered. The game handles itself as well as it can, still experiencing hiccups or stutters from time to time, and the controls aren't perfect. Still, most agree that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Mobilized is about as good a shooter experience as anyone can hope to find on a handheld console. The title also offered a functional online multiplayer for players, adding in what many would consider an essential component for any Call of Duty game. That said, it wouldn't be enough to elevate the title to the levels its console peers reach.
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered: 76/100
It turns out giving players another chance to experience the stellar Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 isn't as impressive when stripped of essential components and pitted against its own series reboot. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is a partial remastered offering of a title whose original release lands much higher in this ranking.
Lacking multiplayer, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered has only its once-strong narrative experience to entice players -- but that's starting to feel inadequate and dated by today's standards. Coincidentally, the title also released shortly after 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot, pushing players looking for a more modern and complete experience towards the last entry.
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019): 80.6/100
With this reboot, the developers saw a chance to redefine what players could expect from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series in the future. Some of the implemented changes work, and others do not. Narratively, the title's shift to what it perceives as morally grey encounters and adversaries are hit or miss. On top of this, the game takes a few new approaches to online multiplayer that divided players. All this said, some have really enjoyed the changes Modern Warfare made to the franchise. The campaign offers a return to form not experienced since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and its sequel -- and that's caught some player's attention.
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: 81/100
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is where the series began to feel comfortable. In some ways coasting off the success of the previous two entries, there was a definite lack of innovation present in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Still, the title played well, and it quickly engrossed players in a system of constant rewards. Still, there were few risks taken beyond some minor sculpting of the experience from Modern Warfare 2.
Modern Warfare 3 remained the king of online shooters in its time, but in retrospect, it did little to evolve the series. It offered the signature thrills players had grown accustomed to and expanded upon them a bit. To many, that was just fine, but to others, there was room to grow.
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered: 82/100
The remaster, not remake, to the game that started it all, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, reaches almost the same heights as its predecessor nearly a decade later. All in all, that's pretty good for a 10-year-old game that mostly received some visual enhancements. Much of the title's admiration comes from delivering an updated version of the classic that still looks and plays like the original. Updated visuals, bonus content and a slight modernization of some multiplayer systems don't change much to the core experience Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare delivered, and that's what left most critics satisfied with what's quickly becoming the definitive version of the game.
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: 85.6/100
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare changed everything for not just multiplayer shooters, but first-person shooters in general. Offering players an immersive and cinematic war experience like nothing ever had before, the game quickly became a sensation. Not only did players find joy through the excellent campaign, but Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare found itself at the head of an emerging social experience. Call of Duty exploded in popularity among groups that made played games like Halo or Battlefield online together. Arguably going further than any other FPS series at the time to normalize casual online gaming, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had the single-player and multiplayer experiences to engage any player.
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: 86.7/100
Expanding upon its predecessor in nearly every way, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 stands as the highest-rated Modern Warfare title by critics. The signature multiplayer bolstered more weapons with additional customization options, new game modes with larger maps and new aesthetic possibilities for players to explore. This was in addition to what has been referred to as a Michael Bay-esque explosive campaign.
Critics were blown away by the amount of detail and depth present in a title whose ultimate goal is to have the player shoot the bad guys. Each level in the campaign is meticulously designed, with environments full of structures and items imbued with then-impressive physics. Many also found the game absolutely filled with content, offering players more than a simple narrative or generic multiplayer experience. It even sparked some controversy over a particular mission.