It’s been a while since I have enjoyed a Call of Duty game. Whilst Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was an amazing game, I was still nervous about doing the Modern Warfare (2019 reboot) review. I was half expecting it to be a letdown.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare is a pleasant surprise and since I’m enjoying it so much I have decided to make the campaign and multiplayer into separate reviews.
This is partially due to the fact that I found the campaign so much more enjoyable than the multiplayer. Personally I haven’t had this much fun shooting people since Farcry 5.
*Contains minor spoilers from here*
COD: Modern Warfare playable characters
Kyle Garrick:
The character Kyle Garrick starts out in the campaign as a police officer in London posted in an anti-terrorism unit.
During an extremely atmospheric shootout in Piccadilly Circus he encounters Captain Price and is recruited to work with Price.
Terrorist attack on Piccadilly Circus:
Fighting Al-Qatala alongside Captain Price puts Kyle into situations he could have never imagined. At times they seem to test his morals.
One of the most tense scenes in the game involves Kyle working with Price’s team to take out Al-Qatala’s safe house in London.
Alex:
Alex is a special operations agent for the CIA’s “Special Activities Division”. In short, he does the work Governments can’t do, clearing our terrorist threats in his own special way.
Alex’s missions seem to change from covert operations to full on siege with in a matter of minutes. This can be both exhilarating and tense at the same time.
The fast adapting pace of the game is honestly one of it’s best features. In the picture above you are pretending to be a local carrying building supplies.
The next thing you know, you are blowing up helicopters with C4, suddenly ending up in an aircraft hanger with hordes of enemies quickly closing in on you.
Modern Warfare’s Atmosphere
Another major noteworthy part of the game is the general atmosphere it produces. Firstly the graphics are stunning, especially on a 4K device.
But stunning graphics only get you so far, it’s the situations and attention to detail that border on that of a movies’ that makes it what it is.
The above gallery shows some scenes of a siege at the US embassy of the fictional country of Urzikstan. Some of the images are extremely blurred, but honestly when there is that much going on, I challenge you to take a good screenshot.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare Tension
There are tons of examples of how tense the atmosphere is in Modern Warfare, however this particular mission stood out for me.
In one of the images you can see a lit up field. Without warning, all of those lights are shot out and Captain Price is asking you to shoot flares via a mortar up into the sky to light them up.
Each time the lights go out, the invaders are that bit closer to you and ready to take you out. Soon after, there is a moment of silence while one of the soldiers royally sh*t themselves.
This is shortly countered by a rain or mortar fire and soldiers storming your position.
As I mentioned, this isn’t a one off thing, these high octane and extremely tense moments are ten to the dozen in Modern Warfare.
Modern Warfare (2019) Decisions
Sometimes the game doesn’t need to have any action to add to the atmosphere though. The picture above shows a room in the Urzikstan hospital moments before storming “The Wolf”.
The ammo shells sprawled across the floor, coupled with the blood everywhere made the pre-fight jitters so much more intense.
What should I expect in the next room waiting for me?
Another nail biting moment is when a mob of terrorists storm the embassy led by “The Butcher”. There’s one moment where you are left questioning your own moral compass.
If you walk away, the family will be shot and killed. However, if you decide to open the door as he is demanding, you will be shot and killed.
The sneaky so and so tells you people will be spared if you open the door. I know, right? A lying terrorist, who would have thought?
After trying Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on both PC and Xbox I can honestly say that the Ray Tracing makes the atmosphere even better.
If you have both, I would strongly suggest getting the game on PC for Ray Tracing alone.
Modern Warfare’s Gadgets:
In the true spirit of Modern Warfare there are plenty of gadgets to play with. From remotely controlled drones to laser targeting missiles. Modern Warfare doesn’t disappoint with the toys it gives you to play with.
Hacking into the cameras and guiding Stacy around the embassy was another part of this mission that helped make it extra memorable for me.
The great thing about the guns and gadgets is their authenticity. For too long Call Of Duty has been getting criticism over it’s futuristic approach to the game.
Thankfully it’s not the case with Modern Warfare; everything feels real.
You can see a full list of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019’s weapons from the article here.
Modern Warfare’s Audio
Another suggestion would be to ensure you are using a Dolby enabled headset or speaker setup.
The attention to detail doesn’t just stop at the graphics. The audio is also absolutely fantastic, with so much going on at any given time it amazes me that you can still hear enemy footsteps.
You can even hear expended bullet casings hitting the floor in great detail. This is further enhanced with a headset like Turtle Beach (one of my personal favourites).
It’s not just the effects that make it so great. As I mentioned above in the siege at the embassy, you can hear the panic in other soldiers’ voices.
You’re left with just the eerie sounds of the night, which really added to the tension.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) Summary
Infinity Ward have clearly set out to prove a point with Modern Warfare 2019 reboot and that point is clear that they can still make great campaigns.
This is a point I imagine they felt that they had to make following the backlash of their decision to make Black-ops 4. This game was multiplayer only and completely removed the campaign aspect altogether.
With such incredible visuals and audios, it’s at times hard to remember you’re actually playing a game, especially with the cinematic scenes.
