The banger campaign is just one part of the full experience Modern Warfare II has to offer. It’s the multiplayer that’ll have you play for hours on end. Season 1 is here but does it deliver enough content to keep us entertained for the coming months?
The first part of the multiplayer experience is of course MWII itself. Upon release we got to play Free-for-All and Team Deathmatch which both focus on getting the most kills. It’s your typical run and gun. A fast paced race to fill up those killstreak meters to eventually rain death from above with a nuke if you’re lucky…or very skilled at surviving!
Domination and Hardpoint are a lot more tactical and have you run from point to point to keep the target locations under your team’s control. A good balance between defensive and offensive gear and tactics will keep you on your toes during these matches. Headquarters is a variation of the latter as you will have a short time where you won’t be able to respawn upon capturing the HQ. It’s a bit more unforgiving for mistakes.
Control takes the TDM and Hardpoint formula and mixes it in a cool way. You either focus on both map objectives or you get to kill the other team first by taking their 30 respawn tickets.
If you’re into unforgiving gameplay that’ll have you count every shot and use the max out of your tactical and lethal equipment you can go into Prisoner Rescue (my favorite at release!) or Search & Destroy, a fan favorite for years! In both modes you only have 1 life per team and reviving team mates can get you from the last man standing towards winning the match. There’s a lot of great moments I had where we turned the match around at the very last moment. Leaning on clearing rooms tactically is a must. Using the right tools and equipment like radars and the drill charge will give you an edge!
Knock Out is another unforgiving game mode where both teams fight over the gold in the middle of the small map. Last man standing takes home the cash!
All the previous game modes focused on a small map with small tac teams of 6 VS 6 players. If you’re more into large scale battles on larger maps there’s a some sweet 32 VS 32 player game modes with vehicles for you to discover as well.
Ground War is one of the biggest modes to come to COD in a long time. Full out war over multiple objectives where you’ll have to balance ground teams, air support through helicopters and the destructive power of tanks and APC’s. Add the score streaks you’ll unlock to this mix and you’ll understand why this is possibly the closest Call of Duty has come to rival EA’s Battlefield large scale war. And it’s doing a great job at it! From the sniper nests in every corner of the map and in the shadow of a broken window, the airddrop you can make from jumping out of a support heli into enemy bases to the sound the VTOL kill streak closing in, it’s a very exhilarating game mode that I found very refreshing and is growing on me more and more everyday! I’d love to see a night version on these maps! The only downside is loading into a Ground War match. It can take a good 5 minutes since the countdown restarts when someone leaves the pregame lobby.
Invasion is a spiced up Ground War with AI opponents added to the mix. The AI however is very fluctuating in skill. ranging from funny goons walking past you in plain sight to sometimes pulling M4 headshots from 4 streets away. Sometimes a bit frustrating but nothing a patch can’t fix.
The weapon unlock system has also been completely revamped! It can look a bit overwhelming and chaotic at first but the customization it offers in return is a giant leap forward. Adding pieces of other weapon platforms can turn an SMG like the Fennec into a 2 burst marksman rifle without optic glint. it’s just one of the examples where the way you play is no longer limited to the class the weapon originally is based on. Also the camo unlock is way better in my opinion. Unlocking the exclusive skin colors on the FSS Hurricane will let you use this color on any other melee or gun in your entire inventory. This means I was able to use the green neon color on my riot shield even though I hadn’t used it before. It’s also way faster this time around to get gold camo on every weapon. To get the other exclusive skins on your rifles you’ll have to grind a bit more of course. This new method of unlocking camo is more rewarding than what we’ve seen in previous games within the series and I hope they keep this method for future games as well. Playing the game on PS5 gives with the feedback in the triggers gives every gun a different and realistic feel!
The perk system has been reworked from the ground and have been carefully crafted into packaged deals. You have your base perk that’ll level up within every match towards to bonus perk and eventually into the ultimate perk. It’ll be time based but playing actively and being helpful towards the objectives in the match, wether it’s kills or points, will unlock your ultimate perks faster.
The game also offers great scalability in gameplay through aquatic battle or infiltration in objective game modes. Also the 3rd person POV and these exclusive playlists offer ledge hanging tactical gameplay like we’ve never seen before. It seemed like a gimmick at first but being able to see around corners give both teams a better view of the field. It’s an entirely different game because of this. It makes the separate 3rd person playlist an extra game you can play within the COD universe.
Now we need to talk about DMZ. I had no idea what it was when I first started it, but it is unforgiving. It is hard. It’s the El Mazrah map filled with AI enemies that are buff and there’s even Boss battles. It’s also the game mode where you can steal the M13B from the Chemist Boss if you’re lucky enough to survive and exfill with it equipped. It’s very unlike COD but I feel like DMZ has already found a fanbase with this first version of it. I’ve never seen a full squad behind a tactical cover screen to survive a horde of AI soldiers. There are so many objectives and there’s a load to do inside every time you drop into DMZ. You’ll need to have good squad members and use communications over voice chat if you really want to make the most of this game mode. But it’s worth it!
DMZ came out with the release of WARZONE 2.0 and I feel like 2.0 couldn’t be more different than the first version. The proximity chat alone has made into a completely different experience that borders the hilarious at times. The map is massive and it’ll take time to discover all its secrets and hiding spots. It’s also the first time UAV’s are your most precious tool in the entire arsenal. The game even added a questioning sequence you can pull off on some other players to reveal their squads’ location. It’s all about knowing your enemies’ position and hiding or scrambling yours. I feel like Warzone 2.0 is a lot harder than the first version and does require a bit more tactical approach than before.
And that’s kind of the overall feel I have for Modern Warfare II in it’s entirety. The days of only run and gun are over. Call of Duty is evolving into a more mature game that will reward tactical game styles, communication between teammates and even towards enemy players and most of all, it’s breaking its core conventions with Ground War, DMZ and Warzone 2.0. I must say that I did experience some crashes in the second week of multiplayer but overall the latest patch did get rid of that for me and I mostly enjoyed a good solid matchmaking and fast load times. Season 1 is setting a solid base to expand upon and I can’t wait for new maps, a night mode on some objective based maps, more licensed packs like the Neymar Jr. skin and of course more solid COD gameplay I’m used to right now! This multiplayer experience has something for every type of player and if you’re really into the classic COD run and gun… There’s still the dedicated Shoot House list you can drop into, and it’s still a blast!
9/10
PS:
This clip is for Iliveinmymomsbasement69 that claimed I was using an aimbot:
