Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s single-player campaign ticks absolutely all of the expected boxes. Varied, intense and spectacular.
Here is the recipe for a good Call of Duty campaign: a frenetic pace, a variety of situations, a quick world tour, moments of bravery, a few controversies (hello) and an approach to the big show worthy of Michael’s films Bay. In short, all that was not Call of Duty: Vanguard in 2021 and all that is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
Available from October 28 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PC, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is a reboot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — and the sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019 reboot). Yes, it’s a bit difficult to follow. But let’s remember this: Modern Warfare, attached to the Infinity Ward studio, is the flagship chapter of the Activision saga, the safe bet in a way. Therefore, no one will be surprised to learn that the solo of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is a success.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is an immersion model
Watch this short clip posted on the Call of Duty Twitter account:
On the one hand, therefore, we have a video game and, on the other, what it reproduces. The similarities are staggeringly realistic. They support a quite incredible potential for immersion. We played at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II on PlayStation 5 and every detail is designed to immerse the player in a great show: the graphics, therefore, but also the work on the sound (with surgical precision, especially with the 3D effects) and the appropriation of technologies specific to the DualSense controller (adaptive triggers when firing, for example). To take full eyes and ears, you really have to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
Every detail is thought out to immerse the player and the player in a great show
Frankly, we did not expect the FPS developed by Infinity Ward, helped by a cohort of satellite studios, to be so beautiful. The environments, scattered around the world (Europe, United States, Mexico, Middle East…), border on respect. The weapon modeling is exemplary. The pyrotechnic and aquatic effects are crazy. All with guaranteed fluidity – a hallmark of the saga since its inception. Just can we regret a lack of interactivity with certain elements of the decor and bugs still very annoying.
Call of Duty buys variety, to its detriment
Single versus Multi
This test concerns only the solo part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Our impressions of the multiplayer mode will be published in another article.
The scenario of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is, unsurprisingly, very agreed. In summary, an Iranian terrorist has taken possession of missiles belonging to the United States, and the members of a special force must hunt him down. Very international, the plot has all the twists and turns and betrayals needed to captivate. We are in a pure Hollywood delirium, against the backdrop of this eternal relationship to the limits to be crossed when we are supposed to do good in the face of individuals who are ready to do anything to do evil. There is nothing new, even if we must recognize that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will be less controversial compared to its predecessor (a tad pro-American).
The all-purpose story is in any case only a pretext to pile up, at a steady pace and without real downtime, extremely varied gameplay sequences. They really make us do everything: infiltration, chases with carjacking, air support, hacking cameras to guide a comrade, shooting at very long distances, upside down sequences… The developers have pushed their ideas very far, with moments likely to mark the spirits (special mention to this passage on a boat which pitches and moves containers serving as cover). Others, on the contrary, pull too much on the length.
Quite irreproachable on the form, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is based on a background known in advance, in this case a gameplay of formidable efficiency. On that note, the impeccable feeling of the weapons is a real delight. On the other hand, we taste a little less the eccentricities of the developers, who sometimes ask us to choose the dialogues (laughable) or to devote themselves to crafts in the heat of the action (ridiculous). In general, as soon as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II tries to get off track, he does it to his detriment and the experience is much less successful. There remains all the same, after 6 to 8 hours of play, the feeling of having been the actor of a very well calibrated blockbuster. We don’t expect anything else from the campaign of a Call of Duty, thought of as a disguised appetizer for the multiplayer mode.
The verdict
We liked
- It is really nice
- Super efficient gameplay
- Plot less prone to controversy
We liked less
- A few technical hiccups
- Dispensable additions
- Yes, it’s a guilty pleasure
What to expect from the single player mode of a Call of Duty? Nothing but a great show. And it must be recognized that Modern Warfare II provides end to end. Visually solid, the FPS developed by Infinity Ward looks like this guilty pleasure that we are happy to devour at the end of each year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is the assurance of living a myriad of moments of bravery for 6 to 8 hours.
It’s calibrated like an M16, gleaming like the barrel of a Winchester rifle. And it sounds like a colt. So, yes, it’s very pan pan, boom boom. But the overall experience is incredibly effective. As a bonus, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II definitely feels like a next-gen game. For immersion, it’s only happiness.
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