Call of duty MW2

On October 28, 2022, Activision’s goal to wash out the poor taste of Call of Duty:Vanguard was possibly becoming a reality. With Activision Blizzard being bought by Microsoft for just over $68.5 billion, fans awaited a sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare. When it came out, there were a few bugs in the system, most notably the lighting glitch, and directive bug, but other than this, the game has had a relatively quiet launch. 

I ended up not seeing much of this game initially. It almost felt as if everyone just moved on and forgot it existed, but over the following weeks, the game gained more momentum, as the player base grew. Due to the popularity the game has gained, we decided to play it and decide if we agree with its hype.

CAMPAIGN

Our first thoughts on the campaign—the storyline— are pretty basic. The story is simple but not executed correctly. The story follows team Bravo Squad, trying to take down a terrorist that is smuggling missiles into the U.S. through Mexico. Here is the first problem, on paper the story seems simple, and generic, however on the ground, this is far from the truth. 

Every other mission is completely different and you have trouble seeing the actual plot form. You go from Iran to Amsterdam to Mexico in a matter of minutes of gameplay. As a result you don’t really know what's going on, you are essentially just told to shoot people on a new map. 

The missions are all very similar, unlike missions from Vanguard and Cold War, these missions only take a matter of minutes. The longest mission, “Recon by Fire,” taking thirty minutes. 

The next problem is the missions themselves, as they felt very off pace. In one mission you play as a sniper and act very cautiously and by the book, but the next mission you are jumping on trucks blowing things up. It doesn't appear organized at all and, instead, like there were different writers for each mission. 

On the contrary, the campaign gameplay is great. Allowing you to access new weapons and tools was genius on the developers' part. Each mission has a new main weapon to use, like grenade launchers, makeshift land mines, and a war plane. The combat feels intense and tactical, especially in hard mode.

Finally the maps are also really fun. On each one I felt a little intimidated and like I thoroughly needed to explore to discover more about it. One mission is where you must get through a city in Mexico by crafting weapons. This one was extremely fun and slightly challenging, I felt as if I was really in the moment, easily getting spooked by sounds and NPCs. 

Despite the fun maps and good gameplay, the story falls short of a genuinely fun game to play. Small details like the poorly designed antagonist, very complex two story missions and just completely different unrelated missions makes the game feel short and unorganized. On top of this the few glitches you will encounter, such as the lighting glitch, and the directive bug create a large waste of time for most people and even ruining gameplay. Overall we would rate the campaign a 6.5/10. Compared to the recent Call of Duty: Vanguard, this game holds up really well but at the end of the day it falls short of Modern Warfare 2019 and Black Ops Cold War.

MULTIPLAYER

Along with the campaign, there was also multiplayer, which had mixed reviews from the player base. In our experience, the gunplay and mechanics felt enjoyable and fun to use as well as the utility options and killstreak options. There is no feeling in a game as good as being on a Call of Duty kill streak and obtaining overpowered abilities then perfectly using them on your opponents. Although we believe the core gameplay is fun, it is important to realize that this is the same game Infinity ward, the publisher of Call Of Duty, has made over and over again. 

The new gun upgrade mechanics and gun obtainment system need to be a stronger spot for the playability of this game. The way you obtain new guns and attachments is way more confusing than it needs to be. Infinity Ward tried to do too much with this aspect of the game which turned it into a confusing mess of features that is hard to understand. This ultimately makes the game hard to get into if you are new to the franchise and are just trying to have fun. 

Although most of the Call of Duty games are carbon copies of each other, Infinity Ward has added a new gun class for twitch streamers alike to have fun with. This class is called the marksmen class which includes a multitude of bolt action and DMR-like rifles. This class of new guns has been very well received by the community and I personally have had a great time using them. This class offers a great alternative to quick-scoping sniper rifles which are notoriously clunky and hard to use for new players if you do not have the right attachments.

Overall the multiplayer is very fun to mess around in and fun to play. My only gripe with multiplayer is that it is not very user-friendly. The user interface is a little confusing when you first start out and the gun customization menu just feels like a lot of cluttered information being thrown at you. Gun leveling is the main reason why I think a lot of people would not enjoy this game, but if you ignore this one thing I think that most people would enjoy playing this game. If you are debating getting this game I think you should definitely consider that it is almost the same game that has come out every single year.

This game is a solid 6.5/10. The campaign has its ups and downs, but what do you expect from a game that focuses more on a multiplayer aspect than a riveting story. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the multiplayer. All of the key details that are needed to make a good first person shooter game were fulfilled by my standards except the gun customization system. The idea for the system is cool but the execution is very poor. If you are considering getting this game it is super fun to just play around with but can be hard for new players, especially if you are new to gaming in general. You get the same game play for more money every time, but at the end of the day it is still well done entertainment and action. Had I known what I was getting, I still would have gotten it.

By Baxter Hernacki and Jackson Stewart