From the moment I first had my gaming desktop, the only gaming genres that could keep my interest were MMORPGs and shooters. I won’t dwell on my MMORPG genre but I will talk a bit about my First Person shooter experience. I started with Counter-Strike and played that game non-stop. I loved playing with my teammates, gaining some experience, and figuring out our best tactics. In the end, I discovered the COD series and got hooked. Call of Duty had the best multiplayer experience as well as the best cinematic experience in a single-player game. The game’s story wasn’t award-winning but it gave you the best over-the-top action sequences…
But this feeling faded quickly as publishers wanted to release a COD each year and that’s where my interest in the series faded out. The last COD I played was Black Ops 4 and from that point on I just had enough… Now 4 years later, I want to pick up where I left off and I would love to get my interests peaked again. The Modern Warfare era within the franchise always had the best moments in my experience due to the closeness of the current reality. I hopped on the beta hoping to find my inner shooter again and from what I’ve played and seen, chances are high that my inner shooter will resurrect from the dead.
“My experience was actually positive and I do get my hopes up for the next Call of Duty.”
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2’s beta was upon us and it gave the players the chance to try the game out for themselves. The beta only focused on some of the new modes within the multiplayer platform. Not everything was available, but if you played the beta, you probably had a decent feeling about what to expect. My experience was actually positive and I do get my hopes up for the next Call of Duty.
Call of Duty introduced a couple of new modes to test out: prisoner rescue mode, invasion, knockout, and a third-person mode. First of all, the “invasion” is COD’s take on Battlefield. You get a larger map, a lot more active players ( including bots) a ton of killstreaks, and a couple of vehicles. Knock out is a 6 vs 6 modes where you have to find a large backpack of money and keep it out of the hands of enemy players. Players get knocked out but can still be revived. Third-person mode is another way of shooting at each other, namely in third-person mode. Prisoner Rescue is also an objective-based mode where the attacking team has to rescue prisoners, put the victim on their shoulder, and try to extract the victim with only a handgun in their hand. But just like Knockout, If you manage to eliminate the enemy’s team, you’ll also win.
“Either way, I like the addition but I do feel like this can be a bit more polished.”
Personally, I liked the Invasion mode a lot. You truly feel like you’re invading a certain area and you’ll have to hold your position or try to overcome the enemy team. You’ll be able to climb up on roofs, clear out buildings and cover from afar. To change the pace, the game will often summon BOTS to fight at your side or give you a harder time to survive. If that wasn’t all… you’re still able to call in kill streaks or even loot a kill streak from supply drops. There are also vehicle spawns that can help you change the battlefield.
Prisoner escape and Knockout are definitely decent modes but I feel like they have to put the focus more on the objective-based game style. What I’m trying to say is that I like objective-based games because it keeps you more on the edge instead of the “invincibility”- feeling that you get from dying and having the ability to always respawn. They’ll have to find a way to reward players more if they stick to objective-based gaming because a lot of players just want to run and gun. These types of players will always mess up the experience of other players. Why have an objective-based game, if you can’t even try to complete a certain objective? Either way, I like the addition but I do feel like this can be a bit more polished.
“The gameplay of Call of Duty just feels awesome.”
Third-person mode is also okay but I’m not playing COD to play in the third person. There are a lot more games that play in the third-person mode because the gameplay lends more to it than COD. In my head, COD needs to feel like a first-person shooter because they’re just too good at it. Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that they’re experimenting but stick to what you’re good at. Definitely if these “experimental modes” give some players a lot more ways to exploit the core mechanics of a certain game mode. For example, the third-person mode allows the player to peek around corners without actually passing the corner. I don’t like this because this gives campers a lot more reason to do what they do and eventually ruins other players’ experiences.
The gameplay of Call of Duty just feels awesome. The looks, the movement, the gun feel, … it all makes sense. Yes, the COD still tries to find its balance between a slower or a faster type of game but they’ll get there eventually. I love the fact that the game slows down a bit more. With Black Ops 4, I always had a difficult time holding my ground but this time around, the slower pace just helps me out. Yes, the slower gameplay will give campers a lot more ground to play in, but in the end, I feel like the developers try to give a more “realistic” feeling because of the Modern Warfare name. Dolphin diving is an enjoyable mechanic and I do feel like every window is an opportunity for me to jump through it. The leaning on the edge and peaking with my handgun above the edge is just a great mechanic to get people off guard.
“I have a feeling this COD might be the addition to the franchise that a lot of us veteran players were waiting for…”
The gunsmith 2.0 is also a great addition to the game as it allows you to get your attachments more quickly but without the long grind. This is a great variation for those who don’t have a lot of time to grind for attachments to get them to a certain competing level as some hardcore players. The lack of time shouldn’t be an obstacle to getting the same goods as a hardcore player who plays the game non-stop. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always good to grind for a certain goal and with weapon smith 2.0, this is still possible. However, it will just take a more decent time to get to the end game and enjoy the upcoming multiplayer battles without the hassle.
Conclusion:
The beta was definitely fun and I have a feeling this COD might be the addition to the franchise that a lot of us veteran players were waiting for. The graphical presentation is top-notch and the movement system leans more into normal-paced combat. Yes, there will still be campers/ cheaters in COD and the developers are already working on a system to get that noose out of the garden. But until that moment, I’m looking forward to seeing more from the game and I have my hopes up for the next Warzone.
