'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II' Campaign Review: Old Dog, New Tricks

 

       Captain Price Promotional Image. Source: IGDB

Reviewed on Xbox Series X

        Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is the 20th installment of the long running Call of Duty series owned by Activision Blizzard. Developed by Infinity Ward, it is the sequel to 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and also serves as a reboot of the original Modern Warfare trilogy from the days of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The campaign is best described as "short but sweet" with a creative spark that truly shines from start to finish. While it's not perfect and only lasts roughly eight to nine hours on the normal difficulty, Modern Warfare II sets itself apart from previous entries in the series with a top-notch campaign that is bound to keep players smiling. 

        The campaign contains a unique blend of non-stop and heart pounding action with quiet and meticulous stealth that feels like a breath of fresh air for the Call of Duty series. It starts off hot with the player storming an outpost with night vision goggles, then the next mission is a quiet stealth mission that emphasizes underwater exploration. Infinity Ward went out of their way to introduce new and creative ways to engage missions. One mission has the player control an AC130 gunship when attacking a base of a drug cartel, and another brings back the fan-favorite "All Ghillied Up" mission from 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Later on, players are introduced to an adrenaline rush in a helicopter. Players are taken on a race to stop a convoy with intense moment to moment action involving a car chase, hanging for dear life from a helicopter, and right after that, the game takes the opportunity to slow down with a stealth-infiltration mission where choices effect the outcome of the mission. Infinity Ward even implemented elements of survival horror, with a major focus on players gathering materials to create tools while avoiding enemies. The atmosphere of the mission is tense, with dreary colors and a haunting score to boot. It's new design choices like these that makes Modern Warfare II stand out from previous entries from the series. 

        The gunplay in Modern Warfare II is excellent, with fluid movement and moment-to-moment action. The weapons, ranging from assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, marksman and sniper rifles, and explosives all feel like they have a place in the sandbox. The weapons had weight, you could feel the rumble, the power of every shot as you worked your way through enemies towards the end of the mission. The M4 assault rifle and the Fennec SMG in particular stood out as weapons that packed a punch. The sound design, visual fidelity, and the new IW engine all made the game feel like it was alive. In fact, Modern Warfare II's greatest strength lies in its level of detail, from the environments to the very weapons themselves. The most standout mission to showcase this is set in Amsterdam, where Gaz, Laswell, and Price are tracking a weaponds smuggler at at a diner. The reflections on the river, the crisp textures of the buildings, bridges, the diner tables, and more truly makes the player feel like they're in Amsterdam. This coupled with the phenomenal soundtrack composed by Sarah Schachner and Mike Dean give the game that visual and audio "pop" that has this reviewer coming back for more. The harsh, horror-like screeches of cello, the heavy, tension-filled synths, and the quiet yet hopeful violins combine together to give Modern Warfare II an unforgettable score from start to finish. 

        The plot of Modern Warfare II is set three years after the events of Modern Warfare (2019).  Captain John Price has officially formed the elite group and fan-favorite Task Force 141, comprising of series veterans John "Soap" McTavish, Simon "Ghost" Riley, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, and newcomer Alejandro Vargas of the Mexican Special Forces. Joined by CIA operative Kate Laswell, the infamous General Shepherd, and the PMC Shadow Company, Task Force 141 is sent on a mission to find and capture Hassan Zyani, leader of the terrorist group known as Al-Qatala. After learning that the terrorist organizations has their hands on American ICBMs, 141 rushes on a globe-trotting adventure to find the missles before they launch. The plot of this game starts off strong, introducing Alejandro to the team and further developing his story and the backstory of the Mexican drug cartel Las Almas. The characters and their dialogue are well-written and their motivations felt clear without going overboard on any "cool" sounding dialogue. What stood out was the relationship between Soap and Ghost, it felt human seeing the two interact with each other.  They start out as simple teammates, but over the course of the game, the two form a friendship as brothers-in-arms, and the direction of said development was spectacular. This relationship is also greatly shown between Captain Price and Gaz, whose back-and-forth dialogue made for a few laughs and set the tone that the two of them had become good friends and better squadmates. Alejandro Vargas is also a welcome addition to Task Force 141, a man who likes to talk, but still has a story to tell that was overall adequate and felt important. Other characters unfortunately could've used more development, such as Kate Laswell, who appears as the typical "we have our orders" type of monotone character development. 

        As the story progresses, the plot starts to become rather predictable, especially for long-time Call of Duty fans. Something happens that sets the whole plan into chaos, and our characters begin pointing fingers at each other and start screaming, trying to figure out what to do next. Some motivations become lost in the overarching story, and some characters feel like they were simply "there," as is the unfortunate case with Urzikstani freedom-fighter Farah Karim, who had an excellent story arc in 2019's Modern Warfare. Hassan Zyani, who is the main antagonist, also felt like a "bad guy for the sake of being a bad guy," with no clear motivations in the plot. In the cold open to the campaign, Hassan's mentor, General Ghorbrani, is killed by Ghost, but other than wanting revenge, Hassan has no clear character traits or motivations that truly make him standout like previous Call of Duty villains like Raul Menendez, Viktor Reznov, or Vladimir Makarov. Some of the explanations to certain events also feel rushed, even poorly thought out as the second act of the story kicks in. Despite that, the campaign ends on a bombastic note with an incredible mission set in the heart of Chicago, Illinois. 

         All in all, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II delivers a fantastic single-player story experience that stands as one of the best in the series. From its creative level design, fantastic sound engineering and soundtrack, and well-written characters, Modern Warfare II shows how well Infinity Ward has learned from the past. Despite its weaker second act and predictable plot later on, players can expect to come back and play over and over for its overall incredible design. 

         Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II's Campaign is available now for those who digitally pre-order the game. Multiplayer and Spec Ops will release with the full game on October 28th, 2022 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC for $69.99.

Final Verdict: 8/10