Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Preview

Our Score: 9/10

The most anticipated Call of Duty is finally here. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been a game that fans have been waiting for since the 2019 reboot. And there are some fantastic upgrades here that really elevate the whole experience so let’s get to it.

Gunning to the Top

Since we haven’t had a chance to play Modern Warfare 2’s campaign, we can only assume that it will be explosive and bombastic. However, we’ll have to wait till the game’s release to experience it. However, the multiplayer beta has provided a sizable amount of stuff to test out, all of which gives an impression of how Modern Warfare 2 intends to alter things. Still a first-person shooter, this. with the exception of a few playlists in third person for a unique touch. and its time-to-kill and level of competitiveness remain absolutely brutally quick and punishing.

For starters, new Call of Duty is slower than we’ve played in a long time, removing tools for quick mobility like slide-cancelling to force players to navigate more deliberately around the available areas. You may now throw yourself into the fray with a new dolphin-dive action, although doing so pauses the discharge of your weapon and puts you in a prone posture, so the degree of absurd movement you see while playing won’t be nearly as high. Meanwhile, a new ledge-hang technique feels utterly superfluous but may be useful at certain points.

Deep Breaths

It results in a slower, more methodical approach that, especially in modes without respawn systems, manages to resurrect some of the intensity that only Modern Warfare 2019 has truly accomplished in recent years. This is enhanced with a brand-new, really intriguing recoil model; while the weapons kick and require some getting used to, like in MW2019, it’s the noticeable visual recoil that’s most striking. A heavy machine gun feels and seems as hefty and bouncy as you would expect it to in real life when you are shooting one (or a lot closer to it, anyway).

So, despite purposefully undermining that realism with its fast-paced action and modes, Modern Warfare 2 in its present form seems significantly more realistic than most shooters you may encounter. However, this is fantastic progress, and we’re curious to see how much of it is maintained until the official release.

Sound Updates

A major factor in the game’s slower gameplay and more difficult gun controls is a brand-new 3D audio engine that Infinity Ward created. This could well be the light at the end of a dark tunnel after years of uneven audio across COD’s multiplayer and (in especially) Warzone; it represents a remarkable generational jump in fidelity. Modern Warfare 2 provides a world of echoing steps and unambiguous cues, while previously you could usually expect to hear someone sprinting along the same corridor as you or when they passed into the same room as you.

In rare cases, you may trace a person’s precise location merely by the sounds they make as they move around the area above you before attempting to ambush you by moving onto a marble staircase. It’s a significant improvement and explains why the minimap once more won’t display individuals firing silent weapons as red dots. This is a refocusing that puts audio well above map in terms of strategic relevance. This was absurd in Vanguard but works well now that the game’s audio is really excellent.

Even without considering its tactical use, the incredibly punchy and strong sound effects are just excellent from the perspective of immersion, with a character that makes pulling the trigger on a gun viscerally delightful.

Preview Verdict

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 looks and plays incredibly in the beta. With the full game release right around the corner, its a good time to be a Modern Warfare fan, because this is going to be incredible.