The hotly-anticipated Modern Warfare 2 was Infinity Ward’s 2009 follow-up to their seminal 2007 title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It managed to live up to its predecessor, blowing up the sales charts and netting universal critical acclaim. Beenox Interactive recently remastered the single-player campaign for modern consoles, giving fans of the first-person shooter franchise a chance to relive one of its finest moments.
Going through the bombastic story again, one can see which elements of the 10-year-old game hold up today, and which parts are relics of the genre’s past. As the following list reveals, the campaign is still valuable in today’s gaming landscape, despite some roughness around the edges.
10 Hasn’t Aged Well: Auto Aim
With technological advancements and fine-tuning to shooting mechanics over the years, modern auto aiming in the series is not as strong as in Modern Warfare 2. Going back to the old game, the reticle will lock on to an enemy several feel away. It makes one feel less in control of their shooting when the assistance is so strong. The way the campaign is designed, playing without it is nearly impossible, especially on the higher difficulties.
9 Holds Up: Pacing
The campaign is one explosive mission after another. Rarely is a moment wasted simply going down corridors and shooting enemies.
The characters are always pushing forward and each level is usually topped off with a bombastic set piece, whether it be escaping an exploding prison or a last stand at a safe house.
8 Hasn’t Aged Well: Length
Like most Call of Duty campaigns, Modern Warfare 2 takes about four hours on Regular difficulty while the added challenge on harder modes can extend the length by an hour or two. The original package came with online multiplayer and spec ops mode, so it was difficult to complain about a lack of content. This re-release, however, only contains the campaign, so there is little to do after the credits roll.
7 Holds Up: Graphics
The re-release features a significant graphical overhaul, going beyond the treatment given to the first Modern Warfare remaster.
The additional shine Beenox Interactive bestows upon the decade-old game could fool someone into thinking it was built from the ground up for the PS4 and Xbox One. To its credit, the original release still doesn’t look half bad.
6 Hasn’t Aged Well: Invisible Boundaries
This problem isn’t as prevalent as it was in the first Modern Warfare, but standards of acceptable level boundaries have changed in the years since Modern Warfare 2’s release. What was once a reasonable way to lock a player onto a path is now seen as silly, with gamers looking at fences and questioning why the character cannot simply vault over it.
5 Holds Up: Acting
By 2009, almost every game had full voice acting. However, the standard of quality was not as high as it is today.
Still, the performances delivered by notable actors like Keith David and Lance Henriksen hold up against today’s. Beenox also redid the motion capture for the cinematics, breathing new life into the cutscenes.
4 Hasn’t Aged Well: Movement
As the series goes on, subtle changes to movement and aiming make the experience more seamless and comfortable. They are so slight, it is difficult to notice the improvements on a year-to-year basis. However, going 10 years into the past reveals the value of these adjustments. Sprinting in particular feels more natural than ever when compared to the older titles.
3 Holds Up: Stealth Missions
All in all, every mission in the campaign is still a blast to play. Where many first-person shooters fail, however, is in the stealth mission. These can easily devolve into frustrating sessions of trial and error.
The “Cliffhanger” mission manages to avoid this while also feeling more open than any other mission in the campaign. Using the Heartbeat Sensor to track enemy movement and crouching around in the middle of the blizzard is thrilling.
2 Hasn’t Aged Well: Briefings
New games in the series have done away with the briefing used to disguise load times. The new Modern Warfare tells its story through beautifully rendered cutscenes. Even the exposition is dramatically divulged.
Hearing the characters talk over a load screen makes one wish the re-release added more dramatic flair. They most likely kept it as is for the sake of preservation. But when seeing how good some of the new cutscenes look, it cannot help but feel like a missed opportunity.
1 Holds Up: Story
While the plot can move along too fast for its own good, there is a compelling story hiding behind all the explosions and bloodshed. Playing through the opening chapters again after learning the game’s shocking twist shines a new light on the dialogue. The general idea is extreme and unfeasible, but the game does a great job of sucking the player into the world and making the conflict believable.
